Cabinet approves education reforms

Cabinet approves education reforms

What has happened?

Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar on Thursday announced that the Cabinet has approved a slew of reforms for school education in the country, in what could be considered as the SarvaShiksha Abhiyan-2 project

Integrated Scheme

Schemes to be integrated:The SSA, the Rashtriya MadhyamikShiksha Abhiyan and teacher training would be integrated into a single scheme from Classes 1 to 12

Timeline of the scheme: The integrated scheme will be in place from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2020, with an estimated allocation of Rs. 75,000 crore over the period, a 20% increase over the current allocation.

Aim of the scheme

• Universalizing access to school education: It aims to support the States in universalising access to school education from pre-nursery to Class 12 across the country
• Focus on educationally backward: The government would focus on educationally backward districts, disabled students and women.
• Digital Blackboards in the classroom: There would be a shift to digital blackboards from Class 9 to college education in the next five years
• Learning based outcome incentive: The government will provide a 20% incentive to the States for a learning-outcome based education.
• Early introduction of skill courses: Now functional from Class 9 to Class 12 — would begin from Class 6 in future. This was aimed at enhancing the employability of students.
• Interest free education loans: The Centre has also approved an increase in the outlay for making educational loans interest-free for students with modest financial means for studying in universities and colleges charging high fees