Central Sector Schemes

In the Secondary Education, there are six apex level National Institutions: Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA).

Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) primarily cater to the educational needs of the wards of transferable Central Government employees including defence personnel. There are 981 KVs with 10.16 lakh students. The total sanctioned strength of teachers in 981 Kendriya Vidyalayas is 40,552 and the student teacher ratio is 25:1. Performance of the students in Board Examinations in Class X and XII has been above the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) average. There are no KVs in the civil sector in 275 districts in the country. Planning Commission has supported the proposal of setting up of new KVs in metros, extremism affected areas and such areas where there is a concentration of defence establishments and personnel as well as in the Bundelkhand region.

The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) schools are fully residential coeducational institutions from Class VI up to senior secondary stage providing free boarding, lodging, textbooks and uniforms to all students. There are 57 6 JNVs with 2.07 lakh students, of which SCs and STs constitute 24 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. Seventy JNVs have been recently sanctioned in districts with SC and ST concentration. The performance of JNV students in Class X and XII examinations of the CBSE has been excellent. Additional JNVs are required in highly populated districts like Midnapore (West Bengal), several districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and in some tribal districts like Bastar (Chhattisgarh).

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is an autonomous organization providing continuing education, from primary to predegree, to those who have missed the opportunity to complete schooling. NIOS provides able and learner centric quality school education, skill upgradation and training through open and distance learning. Currently, 16 lakh students are enrolled in NIOS with an annual admission of 3.71 lakh. The Accredited Vocational Institutes (AVI) for vocational education under NIOS need to be expanded and rated for infrastructure facilities and performance.

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) provides technical and academic support to the MHRD and State Governments for quality improvement in terms of curriculum, preparation of textbooks and teaching learning material for school education. The NCERT continues to carry out its major ongoing programmes: preparation of textbooks based on National Curriculum Framework 2005; Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition for Children; support to State level science exhibitions; National Talent Search Examination; National Awards for Innovations in Teacher Education and School Education; and National Awards for Best Practices in Vocational Education. NCERT is engaged in conducting the Eighth All India School Education Survey (AISES).

Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA) runs about 71 schools for children of Tibetan refugees, mainly in the Tibetan Settlement Areas and in 2008-09, 10,052 students were on roll. In 2009 CBSE examination, CTSA schools achieved a pass percentage of 92.77 in Class X and 91.15 in Class XII as compared to national CBSE average of 88.84 per cent and 81 per cent respectively.

New Initiatives

The Government of India has launched new Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Model Schools, National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS), National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education, Inclusive Education of the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) and Scheme for Girls’ Hostel.

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

It is a major scheme launched in March, 2009 with the objectives of making secondary education of good quality available, accessible and affordable to all young persons in the age group 15-16 years; removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers; making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms; achieving a GER of 75 per cent in secondary education in a period of five years; providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017 and universal retention by 2020. The fund-sharing arrangement between the Centre and the States for the scheme is 75:25 in the Eleventh Plan and 50:50 in the Twelfth Plan. For North-East States, the fund sharing ratio is 90:10 in both Plan periods.

Major targets include (a) strengthening of 44,000 existing secondary schools, (b) opening of 11,188 secondary schools, mostly through upgradation of upper primary schools, (c) appointment of 1.79 lakh additional teachers, and (d) construction of 80,500 additional classrooms. However, the progress has been very slow as proposals from States and Union Territories are still under preparation. Since the scheme targets existing government schools, some States like West Bengal and UP with a low proportion of Government schools in secondary sector may not get an equitable share of RMSA funds. Therefore, RMSA needs equitable fund allocation criteria, with two-third weightage to enrolment in upper primary schools and one-third to child population of the relevant age group. There should also be flexibility to cover Government aided schools with infrastructure support, including library and laboratory facilities. To ensure efficient utilization of funds and greater coordination, other centrally sponsored schemes for secondary education, i.e. Information and Communication Technology at School, Inclusive Education for the Disabled at secondary stage, Vocational Education Scheme, and Girls Hostel Scheme, have been subsumed under the RMSA.

Model Schools

Out of 6,000 model schools to be set up under the Eleventh Plan, 3,500 schools have been approved in KV template to be set up in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) in the first phase. So far, 3 27 model schools are recommended to be set up. The fund-sharing arrangement between the Centre and the States is 75:25 for all States excluding Special Category States (eight NE States, J&K, HP & Uttarakhand) which has a ratio of 90:10. The progress of this scheme is also very slow, as States are taking considerable time to prepare viable proposals. Setting up 2,500 Model schools in PPP mode should be accorded priority. Further, 1184 model schools have been made functional in 12 states since 2010-11. The second component under PPP was initiated during 2012-13 and 500 schools are proposed to be awarded, in as many blocks, under it.