all files - Azim Premji Foundation

Overview
“… Of the commitments made by
our Government, none is more dear
to us than the one we have made to
Universal Elementary Education.”
Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India
Abhiyan (SSA), Lok Jumbish, Shiksha Karmi,
Education Guarantee Scheme and Alternative and
Innovative Education (EGS&AIE), and National
Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education
(NPNSPE) accord priority to areas of concentration of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Some other
schemes are also being implemented for the upliftment
of SCs, STs and girl students.
Special focus districts have been identified on a cross
matching basis, consisting of areas of Minority
concentration blocks/tehsils, ITDP blocks, Schedule V
and Schedule VI areas, and districts with SC female
literacy less than 10 per cent. In pursuance of the
Government’s National Common Minimum
Programme, new institutions like polytechnics, Kendriya
Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas are proposed to be
set up in selected locations in these districts.
Elementary Education and Literacy
Elementary Education in India received a new thrust
with the National Policy on Education, 1986, as
modified in 1992, which emphasises the following three
aspects:
1) universal access and enrolment,
2) universal retention of children upto 14 years of age,
and
3) a substantial improvement in the quality of
education to enable all children to achieve essential
levels of learning.
The Policy also stresses the need for education to play
a positive and interventionist role in correcting social
and regional imbalance, empowering women, and in
securing a rightful place for the disadvantaged and the
Minorities.
India is also an active participant in the worldwide
movement for universal education that began in
Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. It is a signatory to the Dakar
(Senegal) declaration and framework of action for
‘Education For All’. During the last few years,
Government of India has taken the following significant
steps to accelerate progress towards universal
elementary education:
r The Constitution (86 th Amendment) Act, 2002,
makes elementary education a fundamental right
for all children in the age group of 6-14 years.
r
r
An Education Cess @2 per cent on major Central
taxes was imposed in 2004 to augment resources for
elementary education. A separate, dedicated nonlapsable
fund called Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh has
been created to receive proceeds of the Education
Cess.
Rs. 28,750 crore has been allocated for elementary
education in the Tenth Five Year Plan period (2002-
07), which is 75 per cent higher than the allocation
for the Ninth Plan.
Milestones : On the road to Universalisation
of Elementary Education
1) Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) rises from 32.1 in
1950-51 to 85 in 2003-04.
2) Gender Parity: Gender disparity in GER at
elementary stage declines from 17.1 percentage
points in 2001-02 to 6.5 percentage points in 2003-
04.
3) Out-of-School Children: Declines from 3.2 crore
in 2001 to 95 lakhs in October 2005.
4) Dropout rate at primary level: reduces by 7.7 per
cent. From 39.03 per cent in 2001-02 to 31.36 per
cent in 2003-04. In the case of girls the dropout rate
Annual Report 2005-06
4