This article on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is part of a series of articles for Contemporary India and Education B.Ed. Notes. We also have other such articles. Do not forget to check them out.
This article describes the needs, aims, objectives, and features of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan or SSA-2002.
What is Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
- It is part of the universalization of elementary education.
- Launched by the Government Of India in 2002.
- It aims to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group range by 2010.
- This program has time-bound objectives.
- SSA would not disturb existing structures of education in states and districts.
- It covers other programs like District Primary Education, Lok Jumbish, Operation Blackboard, etc.
- SSA is an effort to improve the performance of the school system. It aims to provide quality elementary education with community involvement.
- It aspires to bridge gender and social disparities in elementary education.
- It has a special focus on the educational needs of girls, SCs, STs, children with disabilities and disadvantaged children.
Characteristics of SSA
- It is a program with a clear time frame for universal elementary education.
- It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country.
- It is an expression of political will for universal elementary education across the country.
- It was a partnership between central, state and local governments.
- It was an opportunity for states to develop their vision for elementary education.
- It was a result-oriented approach with accountability towards performance and output at all levels.
- It was an approach that focuses on the need for educationally backward areas. It also looks into the needs of disadvantaged social groups including children with special needs.
Objectives of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
- All children in school, Education guarantee center, alternate school or back to school camp by 2003
- All children complete five years of primary school by 2007.
- All children complete eight years of elementary education by 2010.
- Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life.
- Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010
- Universal retention by 2010.
Framework of SSA
SSA has two aspects
- It provides a wide convergent framework for the implementation of elementary education schemes.
- It is also a program with budget provision for strengthening vital areas. This is to achieve the universalization of elementary education.
Broad Strategies central to SSA
1. Institutional reforms
Central and state governments will undertake reforms to improve the efficiency of the delivery system. For example, revitalization if teacher deployment decentralization and community ownership status of girl child education, ST and disadvantaged group education status.
2. Sustainable Financing
The financing of elementary education interventions has to be sustainable for SSA. It calls for a long-term perspective on the financial partnership between central and state governments.
3. Community ownership
It calls for community ownership of school-based interventions through effective decentralization.
4. Priority to the education of girls
It is one of the principal concerns of SSA especially those belonging to SC, ST, minority groups, etc.
5. Focus on special groups
Focus on inclusion and participation of children from SC/ST, minority, children with special needs, and other marginalized groups.
6. Pre-project phase
It will commence throughout the country with a well-planned pre-project phase. It will be providing a large number of interventions for capacity development to improve delivery and monitoring systems. These include household surveys community-based microplanning training of community leaders diagnostic studies etc.
7. Thrust on quality
SSA lays the thrust on making education at an elementary level useful and relevant for children. This can be done by improving the curriculum, effective teaching-learning strategies, etc.
8. Role of teachers
SSA recognizes the critical and central role of teachers. It advocates a focus on their development needs.
Schemes part of SSA
All those schemes were included under SSA which were related to upliftment and promotion of primary education in India. Some of them are
1. Education Guarantee scheme:
This scheme guarantee schooling in areas with very low population density. Education is guaranteed to schools with students as less as 25 in numbers.
2. Operation blackboard:
This operation is related to infrastructure improvement of primary and upper primary schools. Until 2014 – 15 about 90% primary and 80% upper primary schools have benefited from this.
3. Mid-day meal scheme
This was started in 1995 and was linked with SSA. Center and state spend in 75:25 ratio in this scheme
4. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
Started in 2004 Julylinked to SSA in 2007There is a separate budget for this scheme to open schools for girls living in underprivileged and marginalized conditions.
5. District primary education program
This program was started in 1994 for educationally backward districts.