WHAT IS SAMAGRA SHIKSHA SCHEME?

 It is an integrated scheme for school education for covering the entire gamut from pre- school to class 12. It aims to deliver inclusive, equitable and affordable school education . It subsumes the three schemes of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) , Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Govt. and Aided schools ( From pre- Primary to senior secondary level. It is being implemented as a centrally sponsored Scheme . It involves  a 60:40 split in funding between the center and most  states . It was launched by ministry of education in 2018.

Features

• Direct Benefit Transfer: In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme , all child - centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT based platform over time. This DBT include RTE entitlements such as textbooks , uniforms and transport allowance.
• On NEP Recommendations; 

1. Encouraging Indian Languages; It has a new component for appointment of new language teachers , which include salaries, and training costs as well as bilingual books and teaching learning material as recommended in NEP.
2. Pre- primary education; It will now include funding to support pre- primary sections at government schools. i.e for teaching and learning materials, indigenous toys and games and play based activities. Master trainers for pre- primary teachers and anganwadi workers will be supported under the scheme..

• NIPUN Bharat Initiative; Under this initiative an annual provision of Rs. 500 per child for learning materials , Rs.150 per teacher for manuals and resources and Rs 10-20  lakh per district will be given for assessment for foundational literacy and numeracy.
• On digital initiatives ;There is a provision for ICT labs and smart classrooms , including support for digital boards , virtual classrooms and DTH channels which have become more important in the wake of the Covid- 19  Pandemic.
• For out- of school children ; It includes a provision to support out of school children from age 16 to 19 with funding of Rs 2000 per grade to complete their education via open schooling. There will also  be a greater focus on skills and vocational education both for students in school and dropouts
• Financial support for state Commission for Protection of child  rights
• Holistic 360 degree , multi dimensional reports showing progress / uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive , affective, and psychomotor domains will be introduced in the form of Holistic progress card
• Support for activities like PARAKH 
• Support for social audit