Initiatives and Achievements in Human Resource Development

In the year of 2019, Dr K. Kasturirangan Committee submitted the Draft National Education Policy to Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'. The Government of India had initiated the process of formulating a New Education Policy to meet the changing dynamics of the requirements of the population with regard to quality education, innovation and research, aiming to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its students with the necessary skills and knowledge and to eliminate the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry.

MHRD launched NISHTHA - National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme and the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.   Beside this, MHRD launched several new schemes in Higher Education Department to boost research and innovation culture in the country. Department of Higher Education of HRD Ministry has finalized and released a five-year vision plan named Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP). SWAYAM 2.0, Deeksharambh and PARAMARSH are other major schemes launched in 2019.

NISHTHA - National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement

A National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA - National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement was launched on 21st August, 2019. This integrated programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh teachers and heads of schools, faculty members of State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators. This training programme has been included as one of the two transformative ideas for the 100 days programme of the Government. The initiative is first of its kind wherein standardized training modules are developed at national level for all States and UTs. However, States and UTs can contextualize the training modules and use their own material and resource persons also, keeping in view the core topics and expected outcomes of NISHTHA.

Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme - DHRUV

DHRUV aims to act as a platform to explore the talent of outshining and Meritorious students, and help them achieve excellence in their specific areas of interest may it be science, performing arts, creative writing, etc. These talented students apart from realizing their full potential are expected to contribute to the society in a big way. With children drawn from all over the country, the DHRUV programme reflects the true spirit of EK Bharat Shreshth Bharat.

Integrated Online Junction for School Education 'Shagun'

Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched one of world's largest Integrated Online Junction for - School Education 'Shagun' in New Delhi on 28th August 2019. School Education Shagun (URL: htpp://shagun.govt.in/) is an over-arching initiative to improve school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and Union Territories. 1200 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 600 Navodaya Vidyalayas, 18000 other CBSE affiliated schools, 30 SCERTs, 19000 organisations affiliated with NTCE among others are integrated with Shagun. Report cards of 15 lakh schools all over the country will be available on the newly created junction. The portal seeks to connect approximately 92 lakh teachers and 26 crore students. The website provides a very robust feedback mechanism. Common people can directly give their feedback about schools which will further increase the public participation and will ensure accountability and transparency.

National Awards for Teachers

The purpose of National Awards to Teachers is to celebrate the unique contribution of some of the finest teachers in the country and to honor those teachers who through their commitment and industry have not only improved the quality of school education but also enriched the lives of their students. In 2019, online self nomination process was followed by 3 tier selection process at District, State and National level. The Independent National Jury recommended name of 46 teachers. The award carried a Silver Medal, Certificate and Rs. 50,000/- as award money.

Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with students, teachers and parents, as part of Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi on 29th January 2019. The interaction, which lasted for over ninety minutes, saw students, teachers and parents relax, laugh, and repeatedly applaud the Prime Minister's observations, which included a touch of humour and wit. Students from across the country, and also Indian students residing abroad, participated in the event.

National Workshop on Social Media Outreach & Communication

Union Human Resource Development Ministry organized a Social Media Outreach and Communication: National Workshop on Management and Best Practices in December. Nearly 200 Social Media Champions from various centrally-funded educational institutions participated in the workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to bring the social media communication and outreach of various institutions under one umbrella and to open a channel for day to day communication and dialogue with these institutions.

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+):

To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country, the revamped UDISE + has been launched by the department. The GIS based mapping portal gives information about location of more than 15 lakh schools in the country along with some salient highlights. The Data Analytics portal gives percent information about the aggregate position of the school.

Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) 2.0:-

Diksha Portal was launched in 2017 for providing digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community. This initiative has been taken forward to enhance coverage and improve the quality of e-content for teachers...All States and UTs and also KVs and NVs have been asked to involve proactively in curating contents for DIKSHA. NCERT and CBSE are also actively involved in taking the DIKSHA initiative forward. Till date, more than 67000 of content pieces have been hosted on DIKSHA and more than 10.5 crore scans have been affected.

Four Year B.Ed Integrated Course

A four year B.Ed integrated course to bring about qualitative improvement in teacher/education programme was published in the official gazette on 29th March, 2019.

Performance Grading Index (PGI)

To objectively evaluate the performance of the school education system in the States/UTs, MHRD has designed a 70 indicators based matrix called Performance Grading Index (PGI) to grade the States and UTs.

Operation Digital Board (ODB):

The aim is to provide by March 2023, two smart classrooms for every Secondary/Senior Secondary level  in 1,01,967 government and 42,917 aided schools in all States/UTs and 1704 KVs and NVs making a total of 1,46,588 schools. One-time amount of Rs 2.40 lakhs is required to procure hardware, including accessories and a recurring cost of Rs three lakhs (for 5 years) for electricity charges, internet connection etc. The total budgetary requirement will be Rs. 8782.55 crore (Rs. 5671.50 crore  required by the DoSEL, MHRD and rest  Rs. 3111.05 crore by States) spread over a period from April 2020-21 to March 2026-27. Broad features of this project have been finalized and draft EFC note will soon be uploaded as per prescribed procedure (after 'in principal' approval of D/o Expenditure).

Scheme for Financial Assistance for Appointment of Language Teachers (ALT)

The centrally sponsored restructured scheme of 'Appointment of Language Teachers (ALT) Scheme' has been launched for the remaining period of current FY 2019-20 i.e. from October, 2019 to March, 2020 for appointment and training of Hindi teachers in North Eastern States and the Urdu Teachers in States/UTs.

A proposal is being prepared to extend this scheme.

Mid-Day Meal (MDM)

The National Programme of mid-day meal in schools, popularly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, is an on-going centrally-sponsored scheme which covers all school children studying in Classes I-VIII of government, government-aided, special training centres including madarsas and maqtabs supported under Samagra Shiksha. During 2018-19, 11.98 crore children studying in 11.34 lakh institutions have been enrolled under the scheme. A total of 24.95 lakh cook-cum-helpers have been engaged by the States/UTs under Mid-Day Meal Scheme and more than 90% are women. Out of 24.95 lakh cooks, 21% SCs, 15% STs, 42% OBCs and 7% are from Minorities.

School Nutrition Gardens (SNG)

A guideline on School Nutrition Gardens has been issued to all states and UTs. It is a place where herbs, fruits and vegetables are grown in the school premises for use in preparation of mid-day meal.

Samagra Shiksha

Library Grant and Promotion of Reading

The Central Government has launched the integrated scheme for school education named as Samagra Shiksha w.e.f 2018-19. Under the Samagra Shiksha, for the first time, library grant at school level has been introduced. States/UTs have also been advised to  set up Readers' Club in schools in a phased manner with the help of National Centre for Children's Literature (NCCL), is a wing of National Book Trust (NBT) to promote the habit of reading. In the year 2019-20, an outlay of Rs. 71164.78 lakh has been approved under library grant for 10,09,357 schools of different categories.

Sports and Physical Education

For the year 2019-20, an outlay of Rs. 800.40 crore has been approved under sports grant for 10,02,558 government schools of different categories. Meanwhile, fresh guidelines for sports and physical education are being prepared. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made Health and Physical Education compulsory in all classes from I-XII. It has been advised to schools that Health and Physical Education includes three areas i.e. health education, physical education and yoga and all three areas are essential to achieve holistic health (physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual).

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya

There are Four Types of KGBVs under Samagra Shiksha - Type-I: Existing KGBVs for classes VI to VIII. Type-II: KGBVs for classes VI to X. Type-III: KGBVs for classes VI to XII. Type-IV: Existing Girls'Hostel for IX to XII. Under Samagra Shiksha, total 5930 KGBVs have been sanctioned in the country out of which 4881 KGBVs are operational enrolling 6.18 lakh girls as on 30.09.2019. In the year 2019-20, Rs. 424750.05 lakh has been sanctioned for all KGBVs in the country.

Safety and Security of School Children:

The Department of School Education and Literacy has issued a letter on 18.10.2019 to all States and UTs for display of 'School Safety Pledge' on a board or painted on wall at prominent places in all Schools.  Under Samagra Shiksha, a provision of Rs. 500/- per school has been made in this regard. This Department is framing the guidelines for safety and security of school children. In this regard, consultations have been held with various stakeholders including students, teachers, Counsellors, Principals and School Managements.

Self Defence Training for Girls:

Self defence training is being imparted to girls of class VI to XII belonging to Government Schools under Samagra Shiksha. Fund for this purpose is provided for three months @ Rs. 3000/- per school per month. Self defence training is also being given in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. Under Samagra Shiksha, an amount of Rs. 15346.257 lakh has been estimated for 180160 Elementary Schools and Rs. 6656.358 lakh has been estimated for 81800 Secondary Schools for self defence training for the year 2019-20.

Equity

Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of Samagra Shiksha. The Scheme attempts to  reach  out  to  girls,  and  children  belonging  to  SC,  ST,  Minority  communities  and transgender. State specific interventions: Special state specific projects for varied interventions under equity are emphasized for enhancing access, retention and quality by promoting enrolment drives, retention and motivation camps, gender sensitization modules etc. State specific projects for varied interventions are sanctioned by the Project Approval Board as per the Annual Work Plans proposed by the State/UT concerned.  A total of Rs. 21486.35 lakh at elementary level and Rs. 16083.22869 lakh at secondary level have been approved for various State specific projects for the year 2019-20.

National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS)

Scholarship to the 34493 students involving an amount of Rs. 40.71 crore has been sanctioned. Approx 1,33,460 successful application have been received on NSP.

National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE)

Incentive amount of Rs. 8.56 crore to the 28547 beneficiaries girls have been sanctioned.

Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM)

Project Approval Meeting of the SPQEM was held on 16th September,2019 wherein Rs. 8788.00 lakh for General States and UTs with Legislature has been approved. Whereas an amount of Rs. 950.00 lakh and 2.00 lakh were approved for NER states and UTs without Legislature respectively. Till date, Rs. 5912.808 lakh has been released to States under SPQEM. File of Rs.806.10 lakh has been processed/under submission.

Infrastructure Development of Private Aided/ Unaided Minority Institutes (IDMI)

Project Approval Meeting of the IDMI was held on 27th November, 2019 wherein Rs. 2000.00 lakh for General States and Rs. 250 lakh for NER States have been approved. An amount of Rs. 303.63 lakh under IDMI scheme has been processed to release.

Snapshot of Coverage of Children with Special Needs -CwSN (2019-20)

• More than 20 lakh CWSN enrolled in schools or receiving home based education.
• 136375.31 lakh estimated for various interventions of Inclusive Education for CWSN for the year 2019-20.
• Braille textbooks are being provided to 40,311 children with visual impairment at elementary level (class I to VIII) with an estimated outlay of Rs. 123.25 lakh.
• Large print books are being provided to 91,254 children with low vision at elementary level (class I to VIII) with an estimated outlay of Rs. 289.00 lakh.
• Outlay of Rs. 619.09 lakh has been estimated for in-service training of 26,817 special educators.
• 96 lakh girls with special needs receiving stipend through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• More than 2.32 lakh CWSN using aids and appliances through scheme/s like ADIP etc.
• Total outlay of Rs. 1911.05 lakh has been estimated for conducting 17,734 sports events and exposure visits thus promoting social inclusion..
• Approximately 64.24% of schools at elementary level and 58.28% at secondary level are equipped with ramps with handrails and approximately 19.59% of schools at elementary level and 24.40% at secondary level have disabled friendly toilets (DFT) to enhance retention of CWSN in regular schools.
• An outlay of Rs. 1995.93 lakh has been estimated for 58,392 assistive devices, equipments and teaching learning materials (TLM).
• Engagement of 28,285 resource persons and special educators have been estimated to cater to the diverse & unique needs of CWSN from elementary to higher secondary level.

Initiatives by Autonomous Organizations for CwSN

• Books in accessible format on e-Pathshala Portal for CwSN has been developed by NCERT, the ePathshala mobile app supports Text to Speech to help children with visual impairment.
• Audio books have been developed by NCERT, in which textbooks are presented in audio form, to help the visually challenged learners.
• NCERT has developed Tactile Map Books with 25 maps and diagrams, with Braille and English text to encourage collaborative learning.
• CBSE's provision for CwSN: Exemptions/ Concessions Rules Applicable for Both Class X & XII Board Exam Facility of Scribe and compensatory time: Candidates with disabilities as defined in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 are permitted to use a Scribe or allowed Compensatory time etc.

 Construction of JNV Buildings

As per 100 days action plan,  newly constructed building of 10 JNVs i.e. Kanshiram Nagar (UP), Malkangiri-II (Odisha), Sitapur-II (UP), Dang (Gujarat), Navsari (Gujarat), Puri (Odisha), Palwal (Haryana), Bhandara (Maharashtra), Jhabua-II (MP), Ahemdabad (Gujarat) were inaugurated. As a part of 100 days agenda foundation laying done in respect of 10  JNVs and construction work begun viz. SefaiJala (Tripura), South Tripura (Tripura), South West Khasi Hills (Meghalaya), Jalpaiguri (W.B.) Kalaburgi-I (Karnataka) & Kolar (Karnataka) Jhabua (MP) & Mahisagar (Gujarat). Construction of additional dormitory has been completed in JNV Srikakulam, JNV Vishakhapatnam, JNV Vijayanagaram, JNV Kodagu & JNV Mandya. Infrastructure for implementation of Rooftop grid connected Solar power has been completed on 176 sites. Generation of power has also been started on 12 sites. On other JNVs, net metering is awaited.

Recruitment

Process for engagement of 01 male and 01 female counsellor in all functional JNVs has been completed. Recruitment for filling up 2370 posts advertised on 9th July, 2019 is at advance stage of completion. Offers of appointment to 218 PGTs have been issued. Joining status is awaited.

Shaala Darpan

Shaala Darpan portal of NVS was launched on 06.11.2019 at National Museum Auditorium, New Delhi by Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for HRD. It eliminates the prevailing manual system of service processes followed in the organization & to improve access to real-time data for decision support and to enhance efficiency and transparency of school operations, development of "Shaala Darpan" project is has been developed with the help of C-DAC, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Academic Excellence of NVS Students

Admission in IITS, NITS and MEDICAL COLLEGES OF NVS Students: 2019

Digital initiatives: -

Process of application for the Class VI examination has been made online leading to better access for the rural population to the application process. Faceless admission process has resulted in more transparency and least corruption. Process of transfer has been made online which has resulted in increased transparency and timely completion of the process. Recruitment process has been made online and faceless till appointment. The appointment letters are also downloaded by candidates using their login password.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan's Achievements-2019

• Inauguration of new constructed school buildings: 17 newly constructed school buildings of Kendriya Vidyalayas were inaugurated .
• Foundation Stone laying of school buildings: Minister of HRD has laid the foundation stone of 7 school buildings of Kendriya Vidyalayas.
• Opening of New Kendriya Vidyalayas: During last 6 months 25 Kendriya Vidyalayas have been opened.
• Filling up of vacancies: The details of posting of staff in the last 6 months in various Kendriya Vidyalyas / Regional Offices / KVS (Hqrs.) are as under :-

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s Achievement-2019

CBSE has taken up several initiatives like formation of Hubs of Learning programme, training school teaches, process of recruitment of teachers, a new Vidya-Daan programme, preparation of students for PISA 2021, celebration of 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi, Aryabhat Ganit Challenge , handbooks on Artificial Intelligence for school children, and participation in national Campaigns like Fit India, Swachchtha, EBSB among others.

National Council for Teacher Education

Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP)

NCTE has invited applications form the institutions seeking recognition for 4-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP). The institutions have submitted online applications which will be processed as per the provisions stipulated in the relevant Regulations.  Applications were invited between 03.06.2019 and 31.07.2019.

Launching of online Performance Appraisal Report system (PAR)

One of the conditions of recognition by NCTE is to direct the filing of a Performance Appraisal Report annually, which includes annual statement of accounts duly audited by a Chartered Accountant. The Online Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) system was formally launched on 23rd September 2019 and all recognized TEIs are required to fill up data on various regulatory parameters.

Launching of Online Teacher-Pupil Registration Management System (OTPRMS)

Some prospective employers prior to employing a person as a teacher require verification of recognition status from NCTE regarding degree/diploma/certificate in teacher education. In this regard, the NCTE has launched Online Teacher-Pupil Registration Management System (OTPRMS) to facilitate candidates who have passed out of teacher education programmes from NCTE recognized institution (s).  This programme was launched on 26.07.2019.

Silver Jubilee Celebrations

The NCTE in its Silver Jubilee year organized an International Conference with the theme "Journey of Teacher Education: Local to Global on 17th and 18th August, 2019. The Conference highlighted the achievements of the Indian education system and facilitated dissemination of quality global practices in teacher education.

The NCTE intends to engage its resources towards launching "Project Lighthouse" by identifying 700 institutions, approximately one in each district of the country in the first phase. The partner Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) will be selected by NCTE through a transparent procedure and they shall be academically and administratively supported and mentored for running an emblematic 2-year B.Ed. programme from the academic session 2020-21 onwards. This programme is expected to prepare 70,000 exemplar teachers in the year 2020-22. The selection of the 700 TEIs shall be done for 5 consecutive years after which 3,500 model TEIs will be capacitated to prepare a total of 3,50,000 quality teachers trained at international levels of competence. The TEIs so selected will be supported with several specific interventions like a centralized entrance examination for admission of students, a revised and up-to-date curriculum, capacity building of the teacher educators, etc. It is also envisioned to arrange for international placement of some selected student-teachers of these TEIs.

Instituting "Best Teacher Educator Award" to be given to 20 exemplary teacher-educators every year

The NCTE has initiated a programme for awarding 20 meritorious teacher educators every year.  The first instalment of awards will be given in 2020.

(PIB)