• Revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme to be continued till 2025-26 with a total outlay of Rs. 2,94,283.04 crore

• Samagra Shiksha has been aligned with the recommendation of the National Education Policy 2020

• National Guidelines and Implementation Framework on Equitable and Inclusive Education finalized and circulated

• PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), established by NCERT

• Following the recommendations of NEP 2020, Jadui Pitara and Textbooks for Classes I and II launched

• National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) released

• Over 12 crore children covered in PM POSHAN Scheme

• School Nutrition Gardens (SNGs) developed in about 4.11 lakh schools

• Various activities organised under the ULLAS: Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society Scheme

• National Policy for Promoting Innovations in Schools launched

• Over 6 lakh schools onboarded and over 4.5 lakh volunteers registered on the Vidyanjali portal benefitting over 60 lakh students

• 2 Crore students participated in regular Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat activities in schools across the country

• G20 Education Working Group Meetings and Exhibitions at Chennai, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar and Pune organised

• ‘Sankalp Saptaah’ organised in schools of all 500 Aspirational Blocks​

New Delhi :- 

1. SamagraShiksha

SamagraShiksha, an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from preschool to Class 12 was formulated in 2017 with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes by subsuming the three erstwhile Schemes of SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA), RashtriyaMadhyamikShikshaAbhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The scheme is in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4).

The Government has approved the continuation of the revised SamagraShiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04crore which includes a Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore. SamagraShiksha has been fully aligned with the recommendation of the National Education Policy 2020.

The major objectives of the Scheme are: (i) Support States and UTs in implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020); (ii) Support States in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009; (iii) Focus on Early Childhood Care and Education; (iv) Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy; (v) Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st century skills among the students; (vi) Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students; (vii) Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education; (viii) Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education; (ix) Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training; (x) Ensuring safe, secure and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and (xi) Promoting vocational education.

The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are (i) Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention; (ii) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, (iii) Gender and Equity; (iv) Inclusive Education; (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary; (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE Entitlements including uniforms, textbooks etc.; (ix) Support for ECCE; (x) Vocational Education; (xi) Sports and Physical Education; (xii) Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training; (xiii) Monitoring; (xiv) Programme Management; and (xv) National Component.

A brief of activities undertaken from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023 is as under:

1) 36 States/UTs have implemented VidyaPravesh - 3 Months Play-based ‘School Preparation Module’ for grade I students and a total of 1,01.84,529 students (71.9%) from 8,45,128 schools (96.3%) were covered under VidyaPraveshprogramme across States/UTs in 2023.

2) National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) extended to cover teachers at all levels of schooling including training of master trainers for ECCE. Out of the 69751 Master Trainers enrolled, 32648 have been certified so far across 30 states and UTs.

3) Provision for establishment of VidyaSameeksha Kendra (VSK) provided under SamagraShiksha and so far, VSK set up at the national level at NCERT, CBSE and in 12 states and UTs (Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh &Uttarakhand).

4) Guidelines issued in August 2023 for the provisioning of one Academic Resource Person for career counselling at each block/ULB in the BRC, under SamagraShiksha, to enable students to know the various career opportunities available as per their choice, need and strength.

5) With the aim of re-envisioning teachers’ training, District Institutes of Education and Training are being developed as vibrant institutes of excellence under SamagraShiksha. All 613 functional DIETs in the country will be upgraded into DIETs of Excellence in a phased manner in the next five years, through SamagraShiksha at an estimated cost of Rs. 9,195 crore. The scheme will start approximately with 120 DIETs in FY 2023-24.

6) National Achievement Survey has been conducted once every 3 years and the effort is now to reach out to states to conduct assessments in the interim years as well. Accordingly, the State Educational Achievement Survey (SEAS) was conducted in November 2023 covering learners from grades 3, 6 and 9. SEAS has been aligned with the NEP 2020 and will be done conducted intermittently with NAS.

7) Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalaya (KGBV) are residential school for girls from class VI to XII belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, Minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL). Approximately 6.91 lakh girls’ students are currently enrolled in 5,074 KGBVs across the country.

8) Inclusive Education for CwSN Component:

The NEP 2020 provides for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) to fully participate in the regular schooling process from the Foundational Stage to higher education. There is a dedicated inclusive education component for the education of CWSN as an integral part of SamagraShiksha. During the year 2023-24, the following provisions for children with special needs were approved under SamagraShikshaviz;

• SamagraShiksha is presently covering over 18.50 lakh children with special needs from pre-primary to class XII with an estimated outlay of Rs. 1470.40 crore.
• In order to encourage girls to enrol and complete their schooling, an outlay of Rs. 111.43 crore has been approved for a stipend (Rs. 200 month for 10 months) for 5.57 lakh girls with special needs. The stipend is disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Aids and appliances for over 3.65 lakh eligible CwSN through convergence scheme(s) like ADIP approved with an outlay of Rs. 109.03 crore.
• The provision for home-based education covering 72,186 children with severe &/multiple disabilities with an outlay of Rs. 20.68 crore for children till class XII under the scheme.
• Allocation for resource support through special educators has been made separately in order to appropriately address the learning needs of CwSN from elementary to senior secondary level. The Department has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs. 743.40 crore for 32,196 special educators for the year 2023-24.
• For equipping resource rooms at the block level, non-recurring support has been approved for 681 rooms with a financial outlay of Rs. 13.33 crore.

Apart from these the following major achievements were made for addressing the needs of CWSN as per NEP 2020:

• • The National Guidelines and Implementation Framework on Equitable and Inclusive Education (NGIFEIE) was finalized and circulated to States/UTs and Autonomous Bodies for compliance.
  • Five-day Capacity Building Programme for in-service training of general teachers in inclusive education under NISHTHA - Equitable and Inclusive Education is being organized at Regional Institutes of NCERT (Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysuru and Shillong) under SamagraShiksha
  • The screening of students with special needs is currently being undertaken through the PRASHAST android app and till date there are 729310 registered users on the App.
  • The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with MyGov, hosted a quiz on International Sign Language Day on 23rd September 2023 to create awareness of the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of deaf people and sign language users and to highlight the specific features of ISL and Deaf culture in India. Till 28th Dec, 2023 the participation was 54820.
  • The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with MyGov, hosted a quiz on International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 3rd December to spread awareness and mobilize support for the rights and well-being of people with disabilities everywhere. Till 28th December 2023, the participation was 39974.

9)PARAKH: National Education Policy 2020 Para 4.41 proposes to set up PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), a National Assessment Centre which is autonomous and an expert body in the field of assessment to fulfil the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation of all recognized school boards of India. On 8th February 2023, NCERT notified the establishment of PARAKH as an independent constituent body with the aim at creating institutional structures and tie-ups to bring all school examination boards on a single platform for equivalence and similar patterns of assessment; setting learning standards for the various school levels along with assessment norms; monitoring and reporting achievement of learning outcomes across the nation through various national achievement surveys and transforming school-based assessments to cover various domains and competencies.

A brief update on the activities done under PARAKH:

§State Educational Achievement Survey: NAS has been conducted once every 3 years and the effort is now working to reach out to states to conduct assessments in the interim years as well. This year onwards, the State Educational Achievement Survey was conducted on 3rd November 2023. The primary objective of this survey is to assess the learning competencies of students at the end of each educational stage i.e. foundational, preparatory, and middle with a primary focus on Language and Mathematics. The State Educational Achievement Survey, conducted by PARAKH would serve as a baseline for mapping competencies for students at the end of each stage foundational, preparatory and middle in grades 3, 6, and 9. Aligned with NEP 2020 stages or the 5+3+3 system, the survey intends to study the strategic progression of the various competencies to ensure a comprehensive development of skills and knowledge among learners. This will also provide an impetus for teacher’s training at the end of each stage (preparatory, foundation, and middle) in “Competency-Based Assessment”.

§ The Competency-based Assessment for Holistic Development and the Holistic Progress Card (HPC) for the Foundational stage have been prepared. HPC aims to provide a 360-degree overview of a child’s growth by covering aspects like physical development, socio-emotional development, cognitive development along with aesthetic and cultural development. Peer, Self and parental feedback is also recorded along with the teacher feedback. A teacher document titled, “Understanding the HPC” has been developed to support teachers on the usage and facilitate its implementation across states and UTs. The finalisation of the holistic report card for the preparatory, middle and secondary stages is in progress. States and UTs are in the process of translating/ adopting or adapting the HPC foundational Stage.

§Equivalence of School Boards: First national level consultative meeting among Educational boards on “School Assessment and Examination Practices and Equivalence of Boards across India” held on 22nd May 2023. Twenty-six School Education Boards along with Secretaries/SPD nominees from around 30 States/UTs participated where the findings from the pilot study conducted with 10 School Boards on Equivalence of School Boards to ascertain equality in the opportunity to success and parity were shared by NCERT. A series of 5-day Regional workshops of the Education Board across the five regions namely Northern, Western Eastern, Central and North Eastern on “Study on School Assessments and Examination Practices and Equivalence of Boards” conducted in July-August 2023. A detailed study report using question papers developed by various boards to analyse assessment patterns and establish equivalence among boards is being conducted by NCERT to develop standard guidelines for equivalence of School Educational Boards Across India.

§Strengthening Assessment Cells established in States: More than 26 States and UTs have established Assessment Cells. The programmatic norm is of Rs. 25-50 lakh (recurring and nonrecurring) support under SamagraShiska to States for Assessment Cells.

10) Major Achievements of National Education Policy 2020:

§National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS) launched on 20th October 2022. Based on this, Learning Teaching Material (JaduiPitara) and Textbooks for classes I and II launched on 20th February 2023 and 5th July 2023 respectively.

§ In pursuance of NEP 2020 National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) released on 23rd August 2023. Under NCF-SE, the curriculum has been aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, emphasizing the 5+3+3+4 design of schooling. This framework addresses the entire educational journey from the foundational to secondary stages.

§ Set up PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) on 8th February 2023, to fulfil the objectives of setting norms, standards, and guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment.

§Holistic Progress Card: The Competency-based Assessment for Holistic Development, the Holistic Progress Card for the Foundational stage has been prepared. A teacher document titled, “Understanding the HPC” has been also developed to support teachers on the usage and facilitate its implementation across states and UTs.

§National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) defines the work of teachers and makes explicit elements of high-quality, effective teaching in 21st-century schools that will improve educational outcomes for students. NCTE has developed a guiding document that outlines the competencies that teachers should possess to effectively perform their roles. NPST is being piloted in 75 central schools.

§National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) talks about the creation of a large pool of outstanding professionals willing to provide mentoring to school teachers. These potential mentors, regardless of the age or position of the mentor and mentee, will contribute towards realizing the 21st-century developmental goals of our nation. An initial document ‘Bluebook on NMM’ has been developed and is being piloted in 30 Central schools.

§ The vision of National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) is to create a unifying national digital infrastructure to energize and catalyse the education ecosystem. NDEAR has witnessed 1500+ Micro courses, 5 billion+ Learning sessions, 12 billion+ QR codes, 20K+ ecosystem participants, and 15K+ Micro improvements ongoing across the various linked building blocks.

§VidyaSameeksha Kendra (VSK) launched on 06.09.2020. So far, 11 States have set up VidyaSamiksha Kendra (Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Punjab, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh) while VSK is under progress in 25 States and UTs.

§ Under PM e-VIDYA, DIKSHA is the one nation, one digital education infrastructure. All states/UTs have been onboarded in DIKSHA. This digital infrastructure is artificial intelligence-based and is highly scalable. This infrastructure is also being utilized for creating Energized Textbooks in 31 Indian languages and 7 Foreign Languages including ISL.

§ The existing 12 DTH Channels of SWAYAM PRABHA for School Education are meant to support and reach those who do not have access to the internet have been extended to 200 channels with more than 13,000 contents produced for telecast in 31 languages.

§Vidyanjali is a school volunteer management program to strengthen Government and Government-aided schools through community and private sector involvement across the country. From its inception on 7th September 2021 till date, 671512 Govt. and Govt.-aided schools have been onboarded and 443539 volunteers have registered on the Vidyanjali portal.

11) Achievements of SamagraShiksha from 2018-19 to 2023-24:

• 3062 schools have been upgraded at the Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level.
• 235 new residential schools and hostels have been opened
• 97364 schools have been strengthened including additional classrooms
• 122757 Schools covered under ICT & Digital initiatives including Smart Schools
• 8619 Schools have been covered under Vocational Education
• 351 Number of KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to X
• 2264 Number of KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to XII
• 28447 Separate girls’ toilets have been constructed
• ICT & Smart Classrooms approval: Till November 2023 (since inception), ICT Labs have been approved in 135740 schools and Smart Classrooms in 103662 schools across the country.

2. PM POSHAN

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the continuation of PM POSHAN Scheme (erstwhile MDMS) in Schools for the five-year period 2021-22 to 2025-26 with the financial outlay of central share of Rs.54,061.73 crore for five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

2. During 2023-24 (up to 28th December 2023), Rs. 2571.37 crore has been released to States and UTs as central assistance and 23.61 lakh MT foodgrains had been allocated to them. Also, about 11.56 crore students studying in about 10.65 lakh schools are covered under the PM POSHAN Scheme.

3. PM POSHAN Scheme Guidelines have been comprehensively revised and several focus areas such as Public Financial Management System, Quality and Safety Aspects, Social Audit, Joint Review Mission, School Nutrition Gardens, Cooking Competitions, TithiBhojan, Supplementary Nutrition in Aspirational districts and districts having high burden of malnutrition, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) etc.

4. Material cost (earlier known as cooking cost), which includes the cost of procurement of pulses, vegetables, oil, condiments and fuel has been enhanced to Rs.5.45 per child per day in primary and Rs.8.17 per child per day in upper primary w.e.f. 1st October, 2022.

5. DoSE&L has decided to set up School Nutrition (Kitchen) Gardens (SNGs) and planting in an immense way. So far, SNGs have been developed in about 4.11 lakh schools. School Nutrition (kitchen) Gardens (SNGs) utilizes the schoolyard to reconnect the students to a natural world make them aware of the true source of their food and teach them valuable gardening, agriculture concepts and skills that integrate with several subjects such as math, science, art, health and physical education and social studies etc. The vegetables and fruits grown in these kitchen gardens are being used in the preparation of hot cooked meals. This offers an opportunity for students to eat freshly grown vegetables loaded with vitamins and minerals which are essential sources of their physical and mental growth & development.

6. A Social Audit of PM POSHAN Scheme has been made mandatory to be conducted in all districts. Accordingly, All States and UTs have been requested to conduct a social audit of the implementation of the Scheme. 32 States & UTs have conducted social audits covering 40748 schools in 626 districts.

7. This department has also advised the State & UTs to organise a Cooking Competition for promoting a Variety Menu and the use of locally available vegetables under the PM POSHAN scheme. So far, 17 States have conducted cooking competitions at various levels.

8. Health check-ups have been conducted for about 7crore students across the country under RashtriyaBalSwasthyaKaryakram (RBSK) in convergence with the Department of Health.

9. New procedures for the release of funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) have been operationalised in PM POSHAN Scheme and the same is now being used for release and utilisation of funds under the scheme.

10. A DO letter no. 4-5/2022-PM-POSHAN-1-1-(EE.5) dated 15-09-2023 from Joint Secretary (PMP) was issued to all the States/UTs for celebrating International Year of Millets IYOM and suggested to carry out certain activities for a fortnight from 1st to 14th October 2023. The following activities were carried out under the PM POSHAN Scheme for the Celebration of the International Year of Millets.

Activities:

· Quiz Competition on MyGov Portal on Shree Anna

· Debate/group discussion among schoolchildren

· Rallies/nukkadNataks among school children

· Special School Management Committee meetings on the use of Shree Anaa

· Special Programmes on the use of Shree Anna on SwayamPrabha Channels.

3. ULLAS- Nav Bharat SakshartaKaryakram

The Government of India has approved a centrally sponsored innovative scheme called Nav Bharat SakshartaKaryakram or New India Literacy Programme (NILP), popularly known as ULLAS: Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society. The scheme aligns with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and aims to empower those adults aged 15 years and above from all backgrounds who could not get due schooling and mainstream them with society to be able to contribute more to the growth story of the country. The budget of the scheme is Rs. 1037.90 crore for implementation from FYs 2022-23 to 2026-27. The scheme consists of five components:

i) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy,

ii) Critical Life Skills,

iii) Basic Education,

iv) Vocational Skills, and

v) Continuing Education.

The success of ULLAS rides on the spirit of VOLUNTEERISM to catalyze the program into Janbhagidari that is a citizen’s movement. The aim is to make every individual in the country empowered with the light of literacy i.e., JAN JAN SAAKSHAR.

The scheme is motivating the volunteers to take part in the scheme as DUTY or Kartavyabodh towards nation building and will incentivize the student volunteers through credits in school/ university and appreciation through other means like certificates, appreciation letters, felicitation, etc. Volunteer teachers are students from schools, Higher Education Institutions under UGC, and Teacher Education Institutions under NCTE. Additionally, literate individuals who are willing to contribute, such as those from NYSK, NSS, NCC, CSOs, community members, housewives, Anganwadi workers, and teachers, are being actively involved.

As part of the scheme, learners are encouraged to access online content in their local languages through the DIKSHA platform of NCERT. By accessing content in their local languages, learners can experience improved comprehension, engagement, cultural relevance, language development, inclusivity, and the development of higher-order thinking skills.

Major achievements/initiatives under ULLAS- Nav Bharat SakshartaKaryakram:

(a) The Department of Higher Education and UGC were requested to issue directions to all Universities and HEIs for involving students as volunteers in ULLAS. Accordingly, UGC has issued directions D.O. No.2-2/2023CPP-II dated 27.01.2023 to the Vice Chancellors of all Universities and Principals of all colleges in the country for:

• Involvement of students of Higher Education Institutions in the implementation of the scheme.
• Credit scores will be provided to them for teaching the non-literates.
• Certificate will be given to the Students/VTs.

(b) The Department of Higher Education and AICTE was requested to issue directions to all TEIs for involving students as volunteers in ULLAS. Accordingly, AICTE has issued direction F.No. AICTE/P&AP/Misc/2023 dated 16.01.2023 to the Vice Chancellors of all Technical Universities and Directors/Principals of all AICTE-approved institutions to harness the huge potential and resources of TEIs to contribute to the achievement of 100% literacy in the country.

NCTE has issued directions to their Regional Offices on 09.05.2023 to direct all Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) for mandatory involvement of their students in teaching 8-10 non-literates every year.

(c) To bring this scheme closer to common people, a Facebook page has been launched with the link: https://www.facebook.com/people/ULLAS-Nav-Bharat-Saaksharta-Karyakram/100092449066375/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

(d) A National Workshop on Contents of Teaching Learning Materials under the New India Literacy Programme (NILP) on 6th and 7th February 2023 was organised at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

(d) The 1st Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) took place on 19th March 2023 across 11 States/UTs in an offline mode. The assessment was conducted at Government/Aided schools within these States/UTs. A total of 22,36,190 learners from 11 States/UTs approved in the assessment test, out of which 20,40,346 learners (91.23%) passed the FLNAT and were declared as certified literates.

(e) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Ministry of Education and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) on 19th April 2023 regarding ULLAS-Nav Bharat SaakshartaKaryakram (NILP) for certification of learners.

(f) The Logo, Slogan/Tagline: Jan JanSakshar जनजनसाक्षर, and Popular Name: ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) of Nav Bharat SaakshartaKaryakram were launched by ShriDharmendraPradhan, Union Minister for Education on 29.07.2023 during AkhilBharatiyaShikshaSamagam, 2023 at Bharat Mandapam, International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre, PragatiMaidan, New Delhi.

(g) A letter No.5-6/2023-AE-2 dated 31.08.2023 was sent to all the UTs and the States of Sikkim, Goa and Mizoram to achieve 100% literacy under ULLAS-Nav Bharat SakshartaKaryakram.

(h) Literacy Week was nationally celebrated by the States/UTs breaking all language barriers from 1st September to 8th September, 2023. It culminated with the Celebration of International Literacy Day on 8th September, 2023. More than 2.95 Crore Jan Bhagidari (participation) was recorded during Literacy Week.

• • During this Literacy Week, the ULLAS YouTube Channel and Short Films on the ULLAS Mobile App and its usage were launched.
  • An Online Orientation Programme was held on 06.09.2023 where ULLAS Concise Primer was developed by CNCL, and NCERT was launched by JS (SS-I & AE).

(i) The first Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) for the FY 2023-24 under ULLAS - Nav Bharat SaakshartaKaryakram was conducted on 24th September 2023 in 12 States/UTs in which 18,39,427 learners from 12 States/UTs appeared in the test and its result is awaited.

(j) In order to provide the new-literates with skills, a Joint D.O Letter dated 17.11.2023 from Secretary (SE&L) and Secretary (MSDE) was forwarded to all the Secretaries of Education and Skill Development of 14 States/UTs, for convergence of education and skills for better employability and productivity opportunities for the new-literates.

4. Digital Education

1. Know Your Leaders Programme

"Know Your Leaders Programme" paying homage to our national leaders on their birth anniversary" is organized by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE), Lok Sabha Secretariat in association with DoSEL. The programme was organized on 2nd October 2023 at the Parliament House on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. A total of 25 students for the event from 16 States and 1 UT were selected by NCERT, out of which 13 were girls (6 from rural areas and 7 from urban areas) while 12 were boys (7 from rural areas and 5 from urban areas).

2. Guidelines for Prevention of Suicide for Students/school going Children

As per the directions from the Ministry of Education, NCERT has prepared Guidelines for the Prevention of Suicide for students/school-going children in consultation with CBSE, KVS and NVS. These Guidelines are called UMEED (Understand, Motivate, Manage, Empathize, Empower, Develop). NCERT through these Guidelines has shared details about the causes for which these suicides happen and a detailed plan of action for schools towards its prevention. These guidelines were put in the public domain (MoE website) and shared with all States/UTs for their comments. NCERT has submitted the analysis of the feedback received on UMMEED guidelines. A National level convention will be organized to finalize it.

3. Note on Promotion of Innovation in Schools

DoSEL had launched a National Policy for Promoting Innovations in Schools. A National Steering Committee was set up on 20.09.2023 under the Chairmanship of Secretary (SE&L) to take forward the initiatives on the Promotion of Innovation in Schools. The Committee also include representatives from the Innovation Cell of D/o SE&L, CBSE, NCERT, KVS, NVS, and NIOS.

4. National School Band Competition

The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence proposed to conduct a National School Band Competition at an All-India level for Republic Day Celebrations 2024. This year’s event was organized first at the State Level. The shortlisted teams at the State Level participated in the Zonal Level event. While a total of 487 teams with 12857 children from 30 States/UTs participated during the State Level event, a total of 73 teams with 2002 children participated during the Zonal Level event. Out of these 73 teams, a total of 16 teams from 15 States/UTs with 457 children have been shortlisted for the finals. The finals of the forthcoming National School Band Competition shall be held on 21-22 January 2024 at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium, New Delhi.

5. Vidyanjali:

Vidyanjali-the school volunteer initiative is an online portal that acts as a facilitator by connecting volunteers directly to the schools.

The effort is to bridge the knowledge/skill / human resource and infrastructure gap in the schools by tapping the potential available in civil society. This is not to substitute the government's responsibility, but to complement, supplement and strengthen government efforts to reach the last mile in the best possible way. The government have been trying to mobilise the contribution of assets or services from all segments of the society comprising alumni of educational institutions, serving and retired teachers, scientists, government/semi-government officials, retired armed forces personnel, self-employed and salaried professionals etc.

During the year up to 1st January 2024, 6,84,147 schools were onboarded and 4,46,898 volunteers have registered on the Vidyanjali portal. Volunteers have expressed their interest in several areas such as subject assistance, mentoring of gifted children, teaching vocational skills, sponsoring projectors, ceiling fans, laptops and library for schools etc. With volunteers’ active participation, the program has successfully managed to impact 6077832 students across the country.

• Furthermore, Team Vidyanjali showcased its portal and achievements at the CPSEs Roundtable & Exhibition 2023 organized by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) at Bharat Mandapam from 25th to 26th September 2023.
• All Army Public Schools have been onboarded onto the portal. These schools are mentoring government and government-aided schools in their nearby areas.
• Under Vidyanjali, a series of orientation sessions/review meetings in a bilingual format have been rigorously organized for state/district-level nodal officers from across the country during the year.
• Vidyanjali has also introduced a CSR module for participation, allowing CSR organizations to contribute to schools on a larger scale.
• The portal has registered around 2926 CSR/NGOs for contributions to the schools through Vidyanjali.

6. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Campaign (2022-23):

Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat programme was launched by Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi on EktaDiwas (31st October 2015) on the occasion of the birth anniversary of SardarVallabbhai Patel to foster national integration through a coordinated mutual engagement process between States, Union Territories, Central Ministries, Educational Institutions and general public through linguistic, literary, cultural, sports, tourism and other forms of people-to-people exchanges.

The programme aims to actively enhance interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different States and UTs in India. Every State/UT is paired with another State/UT in India for interaction between people.

The Department of School Education & Literacy has issued guidelines for implementing the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) programme in schools. An illustrative list of suggested activities to be taken up in schools in accordance with NEP 2020 has been drawn up by the Department and shared with States, UTs and concerned organizations. Under EBSB, altogether 2 Crore students from across the country have participated in regular EBSB activities during the year 2023. Further, 4 Lakh plus EBSB Clubs formed in schools in J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Gujarat, Telangana, KendriyaVidyalayas, CBSE schools, etc.

7. Aspirational Districts/Blocks:

The Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 7th January 2023, during the 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries. This transformational programme focuses on improving governance to enhance the quality of life of citizens in the most difficult and underdeveloped blocks of India by converging existing schemes, defining outcomes, and monitoring them on a constant basis. The ABP is built on the noteworthy success of the government’s flagship Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) launched in 2018 across 112 under-developed districts of India.

• 11 Key Performance Indicators (KPI) have been identified to monitor the progress in school education of these blocks.
• In order to channelize the enormous enthusiasm generated in these 500 blocks, a ‘Sankalp Saptaah’ was organised in schools covering all 500 ABP Blocks from 03rd to 09th October 2023 which was launched by the Prime Minister on 30th September 2023 at Bharat Mandapam.
• Further, 100 least developed Aspirational Blocks were finalised on the basis of identified KPIs and the same was shared with NITI Aayog.
• In accordance with the plan of action for saturating KPIs in ABPs, a DO letter dated 24th November 2023 was also issued to States/UTs to include the proposals of Aspirational Blocks/Districts in the Annual Work Plan & Budget, 2024-25 and 2025-26 of Samagra Shiksha.

8. National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme

The Central Sector Scheme ‘National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme’ is being implemented, with the objective to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their dropout at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage. One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students of class IX every year and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme. The amount of the scholarship is Rs. 12000 per annum. The scheme is fully onboarded on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) and the process of registration of eligible candidates is presently underway.

For the financial year 2023-24, 287550 is the expected number of scholarship beneficiaries. The performance of the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme in terms of the number of scholarships and total amount sanctioned to beneficiaries under the Scheme for the period 2022-23 that was disbursed in March 2023 was:

S. No.	Financial Year	No. of Scholarships (Fresh +Renewals)	Total Amount Sanctioned (Rs. in crore)
1.	2022-23	259524	306.49

 

9. National Council of Educational Research & Training
10. 1. 1. Development of National Curriculum Framework and Textbook

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