Scheme for promoting education in rural areas

The Government of India launched Samagra Shiksha-an Integrated Scheme for school education, w.e.f. 2018-19, as an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education, across the country including the rural areas. The scheme provides support to States and UTs for strengthening of infrastructure in schools, universal access, bringing gender equality, promoting inclusive education, quality of education, financial support for teachers’ salary, digital initiatives, entitlements under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 including uniforms and textbooks, pre-school education, vocational education, sports and physical education, setting up and running of Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalays and strengthening of teacher education institutions. Also, Mid-Day-Meal is provided to students at the elementary level of education.

Further, under National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme scholarship is awarded to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the RajyaSabha today.