New Delhi: The Government is committed to provide equitable access to quality education to all, across all levels from primary to university level, for which reforms are undertaken in the education sector as a continuous and ongoing process. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976 brought about a fundamental change by transferring education from the State List to the Concurrent List recognizing the federal structure of our country and giving equal responsibility to both the Central and State Governments to promote education. Recognizing the centrality of states both in policy formulation and effective implementation of education reforms, the Ministry of HRD has been regularly convening meetings of the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), which is a composite body and is also the highest advisory body on education. All the schemes implemented by the Government of India are in consultation with the States which meet regularly through the meetings of CABE. Similarly, all reform initiatives are also through consensus evolved between the Centre and the States through the CABE.
Presently, various initiatives, such as, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), ICT in Schools, Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Teacher Education (CSSTE), Shaala Siddhi, Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan are being implemented which envisage significant reforms in the elementary education and secondary education. In higher education also, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN), Impacting Research, Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT), Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme(TEQIP), Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT), Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM), National Digital Library, campus connect programme, Uchhatar Avishkar Abhiyan, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan are being implemented to improve the quality of higher education in the country. A number of initiatives are also undertaken by UGC and AICTE for quality improvement in higher and technical education. With a view to improving the competitiveness of the higher educational institutions, the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) has been launched.
The recent budget announcements refer to reforms in UGC for promoting greater administrative and academic autonomy and revised framework for outcome based accreditation and credit based programmes; leveraging Information Technology and launching 350 online courses through SWAYAM platform; and establishing a National Testing Agency to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions.
It is to be noted that necessary budgetary allocations are provided both for effective implementation of the schemes and also for the proposed reform initiatives.
Currently, the process of formulating a New Education Policy is underway which may propose several reforms in examinations, governance, regulation, school standards, teachers & faculty, literacy & lifelong learning, skills and employability, quality assurance, internationalization, research, curricula, innovation etc. so as to build an education system that promotes equitable access to quality education to all sections of the society.
This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.
