Education Policy of Chhattisgarh
The State of Chhattisgarh formulated and adopted a comprehensive policy on education providing for all round development of the personality of the student population. The main features of this policy relating to school education sector can be stated as follows:
- Free and compulsory education for children in the age group of 6 to 14.
- Education for all without discrimination between different communities and gender.
- Uniformity in primary education.
- Development of community games.
- Universal access to education to be made effective.
- Providing access to education to children deprived of education facilities.
- Construction of ashram schools in colonies where workers/labour reside.
- Improving the implementation of mid-day meal and nutrition programmes.
- Ensuring enrolment of students.
- Spreading consciousness about education among the guardians.
Education Vision 2022 of Chhattisgarh State
- Education is an important input both for the growth of the society as well as for the individual. Properly planned educational input can contribute to increase in the GsDP, cultural richness, build positive attitude towards technology, and increase efficiency and effectiveness of the governance.
- The prevailing literacy rate in Chhattisgarh is 64.7% and ranks 23rd amongst the states in India. In order to achieve the vision in 2022 Chhattisgarh should aim at 100% Literacy and 0% dropout rates.
- One of the most important strategy would be to make available elementary and primary education affordable and within reach. Chhattisgarh today has 35,764 primary schools and this number needs to be scaled up to achieve 100% enrollment.
- The following strategies could be implemented.
- Sizeable funds to be allocated for improving the education infrastructure and making it accessible to all
- More and more village schools and alternative modes of primary education such as Non Formal Education (NFE) need to be encouraged where children can get the basic education without going to school
- Government can increase its efforts to provide Pre-primary and early childhood education, an important element of school education supported through public funds.
- Greater emphasis on educating the girl child through various educational drives with the help of NGO’s, TV Advertisements and also one to one meetings with Village Panchayats
- The government should aim to improve distance learning programmes with the help of Information and Communication Technology
- There needs to be proper appointment of sufficient teaching staff. The teachers need to be trained with their training curriculums more rigorous and relevant.
- The Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary education needs to revisit and revise
- its syllabus to meet the present need of the knowledge society and prepare its students for the global economy
- Emphasis on Adult education through day as well as night schools
- Quality higher and technical education institutions needs to be opened in all major districts with the help of the private sector that would impart vocational and technical courses in such a manner that even at high school level the students become more employable.
- Education system should be redesigned so as to imbibe the values of social living in students.
- The government needs to continuously promote industry institute linkage for the benefit of the students
The future agenda for education should be to empower individuals, assure high quality of life and pave way to a learning society.
DIFFERENT SCHEMES IN EDUCATION PROGRAM OF THE STATE
Establishment of Madarasa Board
- To make Urudu learning effective and to popularize it, the Board has been established. The institution along with their religious development is engaged in school teaching. This has been recognized and is provided a onetime grant.
Establishment of Sanskrit Board
- To make Sanskrit learning effective and to popularize it, this Board has been established. The Board will be entrusted with the development of Sanskrit learning and will be provided grant for infrastructure and meeting its recurring cost.
Chhattisgarhi Bhasha Parishad
- Chhattisgarh Academy has been established for the development of Chhattisgarh dialect and is provided grants.
Award for Teachers
- The teachers with extraordinary calibre in the field of education are recognized and are awarded for this. One teacher from each district is chosen and is rewarded.
Formation of Typing Board
- Typing Board is working in the state and is engaged in conducting examination in Hindi and English typing and short hand in Hindi and English.
National Fitness Core
- School Education department has been concerned with the physical fitness of the students and therefore is providing for gymnasium in the school campus.
European Commission
- The Government of Chhattisgarh under partnership program with EC under the SPP program is providing support to ongoing schemes and in a few schemes for primary and higher secondary level education.
Child Education Centre
- The state has 757 child education centres. There are approximately 9500 children engaged in learning at these centres.
Primary Education
- The state government has always accorded a high priority for the development of education. Primary education forms the base of the educational pyramid.
- Considerable importance has been given for enrolment and retention of children in primary education to achieve 100percent retention by 2012.
- In order to achieve this enrolment drive is carried out every year.
- The expenditure is proposed for quantitative improvement of education, infrastructure and payment of salaries and allowances in the tenth five year plan and annual plan for achieving universal access to primary education.
Grant for Community participation in Schools
- The state has attached importance to community participation in primary education. 178 primary schools and 57 middle schools are being run by Education Committees. The cost of these schools is met by the government.
Supply of Free Text Books in primary schools
- The scheme of providing free text books to students studying in class I to VII has been continued from the tenth plan. This is being done to encourage enrolment and retention.
Uniform to girl students
- In order to reduce the dropout rate of girl children and to increase enrolment of girl students especially in SC/ST/OBC the girl students from this category studying in class I to V are provided free uniform.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, a centrally sponsored scheme, is implemented by the Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission in Chhattisgarh.
- Funds are placed at its disposal directly by the Centre and the State.
- The objectives of SSA are:
- Access to education to all children in the age group of 6-14.
- Enrolment and retention of all children up to class VIII.
- Elimination of gender, social and regional gaps in the access to primary education by 2007 and to upper primary education by 2010.
- Universal retention by 2010.
- The scheme has been under implementation since 2002-03. Contribution made by the Centre is a net addition to the resources of the State; the State’ contribution is already accounted for in the state’s expenditure on school education.
- These funds have been used for opening new primary and upper primary schools, recruitment of teachers and construction of class rooms and schools.