Samagra Shiksha Kerala scheme: Know objectives and features

Samagra Shiksha is an initiative within the field of education whose overarching purpose is to increase the efficiency with which schools provide quality education to all of their students.

Samagra Shiksha is an umbrella initiative for the whole primary and secondary education system in India, beginning with preschool and continuing through class 12. The plan was developed with the primary objective of enhancing the efficacy of educational institutions as assessed by ensuring equal access to educational opportunities and achieving equitable levels of academic achievement

Launched in 2018, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Scheme, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) Scheme, and the Teacher Education (TE) Scheme are all incorporated under one single programme. The programme is implemented in 1.16 million government and aided schools, where more than 156 million pupils and 5.7 million teachers are involved (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

This article provides information on the background of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, as well as its goals and the other related government programmes that have been incorporated into it. Additionally, it highlights some of the program’s key characteristics.

Samagra Shiksha Kerala: Objectives of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan 

Samagra Shiksha is geared towards enhancing the educational opportunities available to students and raising the bar for student achievement. The Samagra Shiksha programme will assist in fostering universal access for students to finish their schooling by increasing the transition rates between various levels of school instruction. Through pedagogical innovations, a single training schedule, mentorship and monitoring, and other interventions, the integration of Teacher Education will allow effective links and convergence across different support systems in school education.  Using this plan, schools in all the states and 7 union territories will be able to share in the advantages of technological advancements, increasing the number of students who have access to high-quality education. The following is a list of the goals and objectives that Samagra Shiksha hopes to achieve. 

• To provide access to a quality education that is both inclusive and equitable from the preschool level all the way to the senior secondary level.
• Provide assistance to individual states and UTs in the process of putting the National Education Policy 2020 plans into action (NEP 2020).
• Raise awareness of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 and assist state governments in putting it into effect. 
• Ensuring that students get an education of a high standard and working to improve their overall academic performance. 
• Advancing education that places a greater emphasis on vocational training 
• Supplying a learning environment that is not just secure but also comfortable and inviting, in addition to establishing a baseline for academic achievement. 
• Filling up the social and gender gaps in education to promote equity and inclusion at all levels. 
• Aims to provide all children with access to free and equal education through high school that will help them succeed in today’s world.

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It is important to improve and fortify the State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and State Institutes of Education (SIET) and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) as the central agency for teacher preparation. Giving students a place to study that is both secure and comfortable while meeting minimal standards of academic quality;

Samagra Shiksha Kerala: Major features 

The educational process under Samagra Shiksha is viewed comprehensively as a whole, beginning with preschool and continuing through class 12. This is the first time that preschool and senior secondary levels of education will be included in the plan for the educational system. The following is a list of the features of the Samagra Shiksha scheme: 

Reform of the administration

A consolidated and single administrative structure will lead to a harmonised implementation, and the plan will incorporate flexibility to allow states to prioritise their actions. This plan aspires to develop an integrated administration system that considers “school” to be a continuum in its scope of application.

Education with an emphasis on technology

Over the next 5 years, the Samagra Shiksha programme will provide funding to every secondary school in India so that “Operation Digital Board” may be implemented there and help revolutionise education. Classrooms centred on technology-based learning will transition into flipped classrooms. Through the implementation of digital boards, smart classrooms, and DTH channels, as well as the strengthening of digital initiatives such as Shagun and UDISE+, this programme expands the use of digital technology in educational settings. In addition to this, it seeks to improve schools’ information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure on all levels, from upper elementary to higher secondary.

Prioritise the education of girls

As part of the Samagra Shiksha initiative, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) received an education that extends from Class 6-8 to Class 6-12. It is a commitment to the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” project and offers training in self-defence for females beginning in the upper elementary stage and continuing until the senior secondary level.

Pay attention to inclusion

The RTE Act’s provision of uniforms was increased from Rs. 400 to Rs. 600 every academic year, for each kid, under the Samagra Shiksha programme, while the RTE Act’s provision of textbooks was increased from Rs. 150/250 to Rs. 250/400 per academic year, per child. The revitalised textbooks are presented to the class. Additionally, the budget for Children Who Have Special Needs (CwSN) has been raised from 3,000 to 3,500 rupees per year for each individual kid. From the first class through the twelfth, females with special needs are eligible to receive a stipend of two hundred rupees (Rs.) each and every month.

Boost infrastructure in schools 

Children in grades one through eight have improved transportation options via the Samagra Shiksha programme, which is designed to make it easier for all children to attend school. This is done to ensure that all children have the opportunity to receive an education. The range of the composite school grant has been expanded from 14,500 to 50,000 rupees to 25,000 to one hundred thousand rupees. The award is still distributed based on student enrollment. This programme offers particular provisions for ‘Swachta’ efforts to assist ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’ and enhance the quality of infrastructure in Government Schools. ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’

Promote physical education

The education of athletes will play a significant role in the overall curriculum. To foster an appreciation for sports and draw attention to their importance, all schools would be provided with sporting goods for 5,000 rupees for elementary schools, 10,000 rupees for upper primary schools, and 25,000 rupees for secondary and senior secondary schools.

Concentrate on achieving regional balance

This system would encourage balanced educational development and grant priority to the 117 aspirational districts that have been recognised by Niti Aayog, as well as LWE-impacted districts, Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs), Border regions, and Special Focus Districts (SFDs).

Putting an emphasis on educational quality

This programme intends to enhance and improve the quality of education by concentrating on the “two T’s,” that is, teachers and technology, as well as the capacity development of school heads and individual teachers. It provides assistance to the Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan and the Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat Programme, both of which are aimed at fostering the growth of fundamental abilities among children in basic education.

This programme is geared toward enhancing the quality of future educators by placing emphasis on the consolidation of Teacher Education Institutions such as the District Institute for Education and Training (DIET) and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). The SCERT will serve as the nodal institution for both pre-service and in-service teacher training to make the training more need-based and dynamic. Under the Samagra Shiksha programme, financial aid in the form of library grants ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 20,000 would be distributed to all schools.

What can the other states learn from Samagra Shiksha Kerala? 

The General Education Department of Kerala is directly responsible for the management of the state’s more than 14k schools, 160K teachers, and 20K non-teaching staff members. Samagra Shiksha in Kerala has been working to improve the overall standard of the state’s educational system by putting in place many different programmes. 

The state of Kerala now has a human development index that is on par with that of the rest of the world’s developed nations. These accomplishments are primarily attributable to a high literacy rate as well as extensive schooling over a lengthy period.

Access and retention are still huge issues in many sections of the nation, but Kerala has made significant strides in solving both of these problems. The percentage of students who continue their education after entering primary school is quite high. Almost all children of school age attend some kind of education. All of the activities that the SSK has carried out this year have been done so to achieve the larger goals, address the existing gaps, and bridge the academic lacuna to guarantee that children receive an education that is suitable for their ages as envisioned in the RTE act.

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