5th joint review mission (jrm)
TRANSCRIPT
A
INDIA
RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA
ABHIYAN (RMSA)
Fifth Joint Review Mission
27 January to 9 February, 2015
Aide Memoire
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Table of Contents
1. Contents
Acronyms .............................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Introduction-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
2. Overview and Key Issues .............................................................................................................. 7
3. Mid-term review // Action Taken Reports ................................................................................. 10
4. Progress towards RMSA Goals .................................................................................................... 13
5. Teacher Management and Development ................................................................................... 20
6. Vocational Education .................................................................................................................. 23
7. Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) ....................................................... 29
8. Programme Management .......................................................................................................... 33
9. Organisation of the Joint Review Missions ................................................................................. 42
Annexes
Terms of Reference (ToRs) & Agenda
Check List
Action Taken Report (ATR)
List of Members
Results Framework Document
State Reports:
Assam
Gujarat
Haryana
Tamil Nadu
Uttarakhand
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Acronyms
AWP&B Annual Work Plan and Budget
ASER Annual Survey of Education Report
ATR Action Taken Report
BE Budget Estimates
BRC Block Resource Centre
CAL Computer Aided Learning
CBSE Central Board of Secondary Education
CCE Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation
COBSE Committee of Boards of Secondary Education
CTE College of Teacher Education
CTET Common Teacher Eligibility Test
CTS Child Tracking Survey
CRC Cluster Resource Centre
CWSN Children with Special Needs
DCF Data Capture Format
DFID Department for International Development
DIET District Institute of Education and Training
DISE District Information System for Education
DP Development Partner
DoSEL Department of School Education & Literacy
Ed.CIL Educational Consultants India Limited
EMIS Educational Management and Information System
EU European Union
EVS Environmental Science
FM&P Financial Management and Procurement
GER Gross Enrolment Ratio
GoI Government of India
GIS Geographic Information System
GPS Global Positioning System
IASE Institute for Advanced Studies in Education
ICT Information Communication Technology
IDA International Development Association
IEDSS Integrated Education of the Disabled at Secondary Stage
IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University
IPAI Institute of Public Auditors of India
IRT Item Response Theory
IT Information Technology
ITPDP In-service Teacher Professional Development Programme
IUFR Interim Unaudited Financial Report
JRM Joint Review Mission
KGBV Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalaya
MCS Model Cluster School
MHRD Ministry of Human Resource Development
MI Monitoring Institutions
MS MahilaSamakhya
NAS National Achievement Survey
NCERT National Council of Educational Research & Training
NCF National Curriculum Framework
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NCFTE National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education
NCTE National Council for Teacher Education
NE North East
NER Net Enrolment Ratio
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NIAR National Institute of Administrative Research
NIC National Informatics Centre
NPE National Policy of Education
NPEGEL National Program for Education of Girls' at Elementary Level
NLAS National Learning Achievement Survey
NUEPA National University of Educational Planning & Administration
OBC Other Backward Caste
OECD
OOSC
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Out of School Children
PAB Project Approval Board
PGT Post Graduate Teacher
PISA Programme for Student Assessment
PMIS Project Management Information System
PRI Panchayati Raj Institutions
PTA Parent Teacher Association
PTR Pupil Teacher Ratio
QMT Quality Monitoring Tool
RCI Rehabilitation Council of India
REMS Research, Evaluation, Monitoring and Supervision
RIE Regional Institute of Education
RMSA RashtriyaMadhyamikShikshaAbhiyan
RMG Repair and Maintenance Grant
RTE Right to Education
SC Scheduled Caste
SCERT State Council for Educational Research and Training
SDP School Development Plan
SEMIS Secondary Education Management Information System
SES Selected Educational Statistics
SFD Special Focus Districts
SFG Special Focus Groups
SIEMAT State Institute for Educational Management and Training
SMC School Management Committee
SMDC School Management and Development Committee
SPO State Project Office
SPD State Project Director
SSA SarvaShikshaAbhiyan
SSHE School Sanitation and Hygiene Education
ST Scheduled Tribe
TCF Technical Cooperation Fund
TE Teacher Education
TET Teacher Eligibility Test
TGT Trained Graduate Teacher
TLE Teacher Learning Equipment
TLM Teaching Learning Material
TOR Terms of Reference
TSC Total Sanitation Campaign
TSG Technical Support Group
UAM Universal Active Mathematics
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UC Utilization Certificate
UEE Universal Elementary Education
UDISE
UPS
Unified District Information System for Education
Upper Primary School
UT Union Territory
VEC Village Education Committee
VER Village Education Register
WSDP Whole School Development Plan
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2. Introduction
1.1. RashtriyaMadhyamikShikshaAbhiyan (RMSA) is a Programme of the Government of
India, implemented in partnership with the State Governments with the main objective to
make secondary education of good quality available, accessible and affordable to all
young persons. The scheme seeks to enhance enrolment in classes IX and X by providing
a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every habitation, to improve quality of
education imparted at secondary level by ensuring all secondary schools conform to
prescribed/ standard norms, to remove gender, socio-economic and disability barriers and
to achieve near universal enrolment in secondary leveleducation with the GER exceeding
90% by 2017, i.e. by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan. The Programme was launched in
2009.
1.2. RMSA is supported by domestic resources, supplemented partially by external funding
from the Development Partners – the World Bank‟s International Development
Association (IDA) and United Kingdom‟s Department for International Development
(DFID). As per the respective Agreements, the GoI and Development Partners (DP) carry
out a Joint Review Mission (JRM) twice a year. The main objective of the JRM is to
review progress in the implementation of the programme with respect to RMSA‟s goals,
with a particular emphasis on a small number of issues, and to discuss follow-up actions in
the light of the Terms of Reference (TOR) agreed upon for each JRM.
1.3. The Mission put special focus on their work on the following aspects of the programme:
Vocational /Skills Education in schools (deliberate on the current Status and
identify themes on Vocational Education / Skills Education in schools for the
subsequent JRMs),
UDISE (UDISE Implementation Structure).
The RMSA JRM would also look at TCA work with regard to teachers‟
management in Secondary Education Sector and teacher training under RMSA.
1.4. This is the Fifth JRM of RMSA and was held from 27
thJanuary to 9
th February 2014. The
Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Mission and details of the Mission composition are
attached at Annex 1. This is a field based review, and five States (Assam, Gujarat,
Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand) were visited.
1.5. The Mission would like to acknowledge the great work done by the teams in MHRD,
TSG, the five states visited (including the teams at district and school levels) and the
detailed information made available to the Mission. The Mission has greatly benefited
from the field visits and interactions with students, community, teachers, and district and
state level teams. The Mission would like to put on record the Mission‟s gratitude to all
the above mentioned.
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3. Overview and Key Issues
2.1. The Abhiyan approach for galvanising school education was perhaps necessary because of
the sheer dimensions and variety of complexities involved. At the elementary level, it had
also to take a statutory shape because of the state policy in this regard being enshrined in
the Constitution of India as a Directive Principle. Significantly, at the secondary level it
has emerged as a national mandate even without a constitutional or statutory prescription.
The impact has been so impressive that even at the higher education level the same mode
has been adopted. Only, the gap at the senior secondary level remains to be bridged.
Although it is not directly an issue of RMSA concern, as a common structural feature of
the Mission mode adopted for galvanizing school education, it will be necessary to address
this issue soon carefully also because +2 is an important terminal point not only for entry
into the labour market but also for launch into the higher (liberal) education system as
equally for vocational and technical education streams.
2.2. It will however, he useful here to recognize the need for better attention to sequential
synchronization between definite stages of education on a holistic basis since inadequacy
of this has been a matter of concern some places in some respects. This overall
coordination apart, provision of appropriate flexibilities for operational smoothness has to
be well appreciated. Strict enforcement of „models‟ tends to sap local initiatives (and
consequently, enthusiastic involvement), and rigid prescription of norms may give rise to
avoidable inconsistencies.
2.3. Any massive Programme like this will encounter operational glitches. But, it has
unhesitatingly to be accepted that RMSA has registered spectacular success in the
realization of its objectives. The Department of School Education and Literacy in the
Ministry of HRD, through its receptive approach and enlightened, soft handed regulation,
also has helped to iron out many problems and make for a harmonious implementation.
Availability of and access to secondary schools, enrolment/attendance/ retention in
classes, removal of hurdles in the way of promoting social equity, all round attention to
promoting quality, introduction of innovative pedagogic initiatives, inclusion of all
categories of schools in the programme and integration of all allied activities with the
Abhiyan have all received appreciative attention.
2.4. There have, of course, been some rumblings about the pattern of funding and the
fluctuating financial support. Going by the kind of attention given to and the level of
progress registered in variegated factors, however, it can be confirmed that these were due
more to inevitable budgetary realities and not any vacillations in basic commitments.
2.5. For any programme of this magnitude to be planned and organized in an orderly manner
there has to be a good database. Happily, UDISE has maintained its steady progress to
provide that support. Appropriately, therefore, it has come to be recognized as the official
educational statistics system. Even as we applaud its sustained progress in terms of
collection, compilation, validation, analysis, dissemination and availability, we wish to
make some suggestions for its better use:
Integration of data relating to SSA and RMSA should pave the way for promoting
sequential synchronization between steps referred to above.
In view of its growing stature and, bearing in mind the significance of preserving,
protecting and, promoting availability of authentic statistics of quality, as was
recommended in the last JRM, UDISE should be elevated in importance and (along with
other related systems) and be given the status of an independent, Autonomous
Educational Statistics Agency.
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In the formats adopted, sufficient space has been provided for States/UTs to add entries
of local relevance. These have continued to remain un- (or, under-) exploited. More
strident steps may have to be taken to help States/UTs to avail of this facility.
Availability of data need not be confined to UDISE analyses. Raw data should be more
conveniently available for direct, easy mining by all.
Compilation on basic parameters, as required by the Government may be done by
UDISE.
The Government may require NUEPA (until any independent agency develops) to
analyse the data with reference to identified parameters and provide Regionwise or
Statewise or stagewise or schoolwise or topicwise projections.
The MHRD should help states/UTs in a more structured way to use UDISE data (in
conjunction where possible with GPS) for planning, programming, monitoring and
reviewing
2.6. We feel all the norms need not be enforced with uniform rigidity. Some norms may need
some flexibility in application. The distance norm for location of schools, for example, can
give rise to unanticipated inconsistencies if enforced rigidly. Various factors like
availability of land, amenability of terrain, availability of students, availability of teachers,
considerations of safety/security, availability of easy access to facilities like water supply
and transportation, etc. have to be reckoned with. The implications of this should be
addressed and appropriate flexibilities will need to be accommodated.
2.7. The advantages of upgrading an existing U.P.S. are obvious:
Students are readily available on the spot.
Probability of total transfer of the cohort can almost be taken for granted.
Basic facilities/ structure exist; only incremental action is required.
Bonding between the school and the community pre-exists. Only, some additionality
will be required.
Assurance of up-gradation of the UPS into a Secondary School may incidentally ensure
retention of students (especially the girls) in the upper primary classes.
2.8. „Inspections‟ (whether administrative or academic) are treated as „management‟ activities
and receive quantitative orientation. It will be necessary to reclassify and bring them
categorically under the „quality‟ umbrella. In order to lean supervisory personnel away
from the quantitative perceptions that govern their performance at present, it will be useful
to draw up „Inspection Manuals and train them in how to conduct inspections and when to
look for. It may also be necessary to prescribe formats of inspection reports so as to
compel them to record descriptive inspection notes.
2.9. In academic inspections (i.e. inspections conducted by DIET faculty) also such formatting
will be necessary because what happens at present is more verbal and quite cursory. If
classroom observation is meant to identify weaknesses of pedagogy and suggest corrective
measures, there should be documentary evidence therefor so that the teacher concerned
can use the inspection note as a reference document and, so that also it can be used to
assess the quality and utility of such inspections.
2.10. The academic inspections by DIET faculty and others should also focus on the best
practices and/ or innovative pedagogic initiatives circulated by the Department/
Directorate. This is not seen to be operating at the ground level in an organised way.
2.11. Likewise, „training‟ tends to get viewed more as an administrative/ management
responsibility and not so much of a quality input. Possibly, this misconception is the result
of only a few peripheral items being listed under head „quality‟ in the budget.
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2.12. Because of its fundamental significance, we wish to reiterate „teacher training‟ as a core
quality factor and also make some related recommendations. Although, these have been
dealt with in detail in the body of this report, they are considered serious enough to be
singled out for specific reference as a key issue.
Training should be need based.
Need assessment should not only be examination results based; it should be classroom
observation based coupled with the need to incorporate best practices and innovative
pedagogic initiatives.
The Master Trainers and Key Resource Persons should be sensitised about these
assessments so that they can keep them in mind while conducting the training classes.
The course content preparation must also reckon with these assessments and address the
related requirements.
The feed backs from trainees and the class room observations on them should be used
also to assess the quality of work of MTs and KRPs.
2.13. Content-updating by school teachers cannot be taken for granted. Training courses for
them, especially at the secondary level and more so at the senior secondary level, need
toaddress not only pedagogic issues but also content enrichment. There will have to be
largescale involvement of college teachers for this purpose. Such an arrangement will
incidentally solve some ego problems about inter-se hierarchical levels of the (school
level) trainers and the trainees.
2.14. On the subject of teacher training, we also wish to highlight a peculiar problem posed by
some teachers in Tamil Nadu. Although this matter has been substantively dealt with later
in this Report, it is considered to be worthy of citation here since it demonstrates our
earlier observation about lack of attention to segmental – synchronization causing
avoidable problems. We feel the Government should identify the synchronization points
and fill up the gaps. In the meanwhile, as regards the problem faced by secondary school
teachers of Tamil Nadu, it will be worthwhile to commission a longitudinal study of the 2
or 3 batches of ABL + ALM students passing through the secondary stage.
2.15. Integration of ICT with RMSA was an excellent initiative. Unfortunately, this has not
gained roots in the programme. In the initial years this remained a rudimentary exposure to
handling computers (not even computer- applications) entrusted to an outsourced agency.
Even when this deficiency has been removed, the activity has not quite picked up. The
fluctuating financial support has held it down in implementation. What with its
overarching potential, this activity should qualify for a higher ranking in the hierarchy of
activities and survive the budgetary excision.
2.16. In our reckoning, in fact, ICT should be expanded to cover ICT applications in subject
teaching also. We realize, this will necessitate investment in additional equipment and
some computer training for the subject teachers. But the advantages to accrue from this
will far outweigh the additional expenditure. May be, the feasibility of this proposition can
be examined through a pilot-project.
2.17. Introduction of Vocational Education in secondary schools has been accepted by all states.
But, their level of understanding of the implications cannot be taken for granted. Also, it is
not clear whether all segmental synchronization requirements have been taken care of. In
the thematic section on this subject later in this Report, this matter has been analyzed in
detail to flag some of the anomalies and inconsistencies. It will be necessary for the
Government to examine these issues and remove the inconsistencies.
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4. Mid-term review // Action Taken Reports
3.1. The Government wanted this JRM to be a Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the RMSA
Programme; and, accordingly, review the overall strategies and achievements against the
objectives of the Scheme. This was also a recommendation of the Second JRM, when the
Ministry commented (in the relevant Action Taken Report) that such an evaluation had
been requested by the Planning Commission. The present JRM supports the idea of a
thorough MTR.
3.2. The time constraints within which we had to operate did not leave us with any scope for
undertaking such an elaborate exercise. Moreover, the documentary support was not
designed to cater to such an exercise. That being so, the Mission completed its basic task of
reviewing the RMSA with reference to the TORs given.
3.3. Nevertheless, the Mission approaches the MTR task preliminarily by reviewing the
„Recommendations‟ from the previous four JRMs, in the backdrop of the action taken
thereon by the Government and state governments, to identify the major gaps in
performance and the significant shortfalls in achievements. Based on this analysis, by
deductive logic, the Mission has identified the objectives and strategies of the RMSA that
are seen to be somewhat weak and that require a re-look. If the intention is to have a
complete mid-term review, then further and deeper analyses of the experience of the RMSA
Programme will be needed. These analyses can be reviewed at the next JRM.
3.4. Flexibility within the Programme: Reports from states and reviews of the AWPB and PAB
documentation indicate that the RMSA Programme is planned and implemented in an input-
and norm-driven way. States tend to propose a list of activities, picking up the various
norms contained in the Programme documents.
3.5. The Programme as it is designed and implemented now necessarily has to apply the fixed
norms. But some flexibility in implementation will make for better operational impact. Such
flexibility, across wider parts of the Programme, would also encourage an outcome-
orientation – states are best placed to decide how to achieve certain goals.
3.6. Previous JRMs have suggested some areas of flexibility: for example, that there should not
be any requirement for all schools to receive the same size grant, since larger schools
generally require larger resources. Similarly, some training programmes cost more than
others and so spending on each individual teacher need not be the same. This flexibility
could meaningfully be extended to other areas of the Programme. To date, however, states
have not taken up these options (perhaps because they are unaware of them).
3.7. There is already one area of clear flexibility in the Programme and that relates to the
Innovation activities, using the Guidelines placed on the RMSA website. To date, however,
the take up of these activities has been extremely low (and the JRM is not aware of any
approved proposals that have used the Guidelines). The MHRD has indicated to the JRM
that states have been encouraged to use up to one percent of their allocation in a flexible
way, not driven by norms. This is welcome, should be limited to academic areas and would
seem a good vehicle for promoting Innovation activities.
3.8. Quality improvement strategies: Such a flexible and outcome-orientation is especially
important in planning for improvements in quality. The MHRD guidelines rightly
emphasize the need for holistic and coherent strategies for quality improvement and this has
been a key part of the discussion with states during the PAB process. However, states needs
to go beyond simple activities such as excursions and science kits for any successful quality
improvement strategy. In this regard, the planning guidance provided to states should be
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reviewed to ensure it helps states think about a coherent strategy rather than simply going
through the norms of the Programme.
3.9. It remains the case that the overwhelming majority of classrooms visited over successive
JRMs evince traditional and uniform pedagogical practice of teachers lecturing from the
front of the class. The heavy investment in teacher training through RMSA appears to have
had very little effect on the learning experiences of Indian secondary school children.
Without changing practices, children will continue to be unable to acquire the higher-order
analytical and thinking skills that they need to be successful in their adult lives. Evidence
from India and other countries suggests that teacher training by itself will not generally
change classroom practice (even assuming the training is well-designed in the first place):
ongoing support at the school level and clear accountability are also required.
3.10. The National Achievement Survey for Class X is a critically important activity under
RMSA. It will provide essential information for the national and state governments to plan
for quality improvement. However, the evidence to date suggests that state governments
will need to do more – for example, it appears that no state has produced its own report for
NAS cycles in elementary education. In secondary education, many states, with
encouragement of the RMSA Programme, are embarking on their own assessments, though
capacity to carry out and more especially utilize high quality assessments remains thin on
the ground.
3.11. Spending on civil works and teacher salaries constitute the vast bulk of spending.
Notwithstanding the fact that part of teachers‟ salaries can be counted towards quality
inputs, given the budgetary processes in force, we still feel that it would be good to
prescribe a minimum percentage for investment in activities considered to be of greater
impact on the quality of education.
3.12. Linkages between different Centrally Sponsored Schemes: A good deal of progress has
been made in this area – and MHRD reports that this year‟s PABs will consider SSA,
RMSA and Teacher Education together. Previous JRMs have also noted some areas of
synergy – such as UDISE and some states with a single Implementation Society. Despite
this, the evidence of visits to states show that very little of the range of possible synergies
are being exploited. Learning across SSA and RMSA teams remains sporadic and joint
planning is rare.
3.13. Identification and dissemination of Good Practice: The JRM is pleased to note the rapid
progress that MHRD has made on the recommendation of the last JRM that a repository of
good practice, with appropriate quality assurance mechanisms, be put in place. To date,
however, this is rudimentary and, for example, there is no explanation on the RMSA
website of how these practices were identified, why they are considered good practice (what
has been their impact), and what seem to be the key factors that make this practice
successful. Only with this kind of information will these practices be useful for others. Of
course, after this, there will need to be a strategy for sharing and disseminating these
practices.
3.14. Use of UDISE and other data sources: Successive JRMs have remarked on the excellent
progress that has been made in collecting data from schools and producing tabular reports;
and the JRM was pleased to learn that UDISE will now be the official source of education
statistics. Much more needs to be done, however, to utilize the available data by states, at
the state, local and school levels.
3.15. Planning for school infrastructure: The JRM commends the RMSA guidance which
identifies the need to develop individual schools fully (making them „complete‟) rather than
small improvements across multiple schools (though the data clearly shows that a lot of
work is needed before even the majority of Indian schools can be considered complete).
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3.16. Moreover, the focus on up-gradation of schools rather than establishing wholly new schools
has been important to provide cost-effective solutions for expansion. Indeed, there appear to
be major missed opportunities to share resources across different schools located on a single
campus: such as common libraries, laboratories, teachers‟ rooms and toilets, for example. In
fact, a major opportunity is for, say, the Hindi teachers across primary, upper primary and
secondary schools on a campus to work together to enhance their professional practice and
ensure stronger and smoother transitions for students.
3.17. However, several issues related to school planning have emerged during the course of
previous JRMs which deserve further attention. Chief amongst these is the 5km „rule‟
(actually, this benchmark is just a way for MHRD to be able to ratio RMSA allocations, but
states are free to adopt any distance, greater or smaller than 5 km). One of the Programme‟s
goals is tied to this rule – with a habitation deemed unserved beyond this distance (though
an important development is that the presence of aided schools is considered when
determining whether a habitation is served).
3.18. However, the new schools that have been established have tended to be small in terms of
the number of pupils. Small schools find harder to offer a full range of curriculum options –
both general and vocational – to students. In the siting of secondary schools, therefore,
consideration should be given to increasing the average size of schools.
3.19. Further, the 5 km rule also affects teacher deployment. States tend to give priority to ensure
there is one teacher for each core subject to a new school. Where such schools have fewer
pupils, this results in lower PTRs – which may be considered good for those pupils, but
these fewer pupils gain at the expense of much larger numbers of pupils in bigger schools
where the PTRs are bigger (in fact, PTR increases with size of school). The TCA is
currently conducting a study in this area which should provide important evidence for
further policy considerations on this issue.
3.20. There is insufficient attention to the quality of the infrastructure being developed under the
Programme. The UDISE data capture format should be enhanced to provide guidance to
schools about how to record their facilities (what does a functioning toilet actually mean,
for example).
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5. Progress Towards RMSA Goals
Goal 1: To improve access to secondary schooling
4.1. The mission takes note of the positive development that the country as a whole has
registered an increase in the total enrolment at secondary level from 346 lakhs in 2012-13 to
372 lakhs in 2013-14. This increase has also come with a notable increase in GER from 67
to 771and in NER from 42 to 46 during the same period. This positive shift in enrolment
indicators have been registered despite a small downward shift in the transition rate, which
indicates that a larger proportion of students from Class VIII is not entering to the
secondary section. This needs to be investigated further and checked.
4.2. Clearly the situation varies from one state to the other: amongst the five states visited,
Assam and Tamil Nadu registered an increase while the remaining three states witnessed a
decline in transition rates during the same period. Gujarat also needs to correct its transition
rate statistics as the reported figure of 200 per cent in 2012-13 cannot be true. Haryana and
Uttarakhand also reported very high transition rates in 2012-13, something that needs to be
verified (Table 1).
4.3. There is a particular concern in relation to quality which is the low number of schools with
a full complement of subject specific teachers. According to the RMSA RFD this is
currently below 25%.The progress on provisioning of core infrastructure facilities is also a
matter of concern, with only 3.4 percent of schools with the expected facilities, this
proportion being less than one per cent for government schools (source: RFD presentation
made to the JRM).
Table 1: Access to Secondary Schooling
Total enrolment at
secondary level (In
Lakhs)
Transition rate
(VIII to IX)
GER NER
2012-13 2013-14 2012-13 2013-14 2012-13 2013-14 2012-13 2013-14
All India 346.40 372.97 92.67 91.95 67.35 76.64 41.93 45.63
Assam 8.65 9.10 77.30 82.74 61.86 71.21 43.80 50.32
Gujarat 15.31 17.19 200.01 87.80 63.22 74.50 41.94 44.88
Haryana 8.15 8.48 99.38 96.73 83.43 86.21 46.24 46.20
Tamil Nadu 22.03 22.60 89.29 92.90 90.17 92.50 59.80 61.59
Uttarakhand 3.90 3.91 100.00 95.99 92.19 88.18 52.25 46.37
Source: UDISE (Flash Statistics 2012-13 & 2013-14)
4.4. This Mission noted good progress on using GIS mapping combined with satellite imagery
to decide on school location in order to ensure optimal size of schools as well as equitable
distribution of schooling facility across geography. Almost all states visited reported the use
of GIS to decide the location of new schools. Assam is also using mobile phones as a means
to reach out to all teachers and using that for verification of data. Gujarat has also vetted
GIS based planning with vetting by Gram sabhas. Tamil Nadu reportedcoupling of DISE
with GIS to be able to analyse specific area wise issues. Uttarakhand has also initiated the
process but faced some terrain related bottlenecks. Since GIS mapping in combination with
UDISE and NAS (National Achievement Survey) data has high potential of use in
1 These figures may need to be verified since this a very large increases in GER in one year without apparently
commensurate increases in total enrollment; moreover, the figures for Uttarakhand in Table 1 below indicate that total enrollment has risen but GER has declined.
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diagnosing the area specific issues and arrive at solutions, a future JRM could go deeper
into this sharing some of the good practices emerging from the states.
Goal 2: To bridge gender and social gaps
4.5. The country has a whole has achieved the goal of reaching one or higher than one if one
takes the gender parity and gender equity indices into account. However, for every 100
boys only about 90 girls are enrolled in secondary sections; this can partially but not
entirely be attributed to adverse sex ratio. In fact the states like Gujarat and Haryana with
highly adverse sex ratios are also worse performers when it comes to the parity and equity
indicators; this means girls are doubly disadvantaged in these states: their number is low in
the elementary school population, but it becomes even lower than that in secondary
education(Table 2).
4.6. It is important that states are encouraged to move beyond use of averages and undertake a
more detailed disaggregated analysis of their gender related indicators and develop
strategies accordingly. For instance, though both Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have built girls‟
hostels that are likely to start in the coming academic session, they still do not have detailed
strategies in place for ensuring how the girls from most needed contexts would be identified
or how these hostels would be developed into giving the students transformational
experiences to enable change in their aspirations and their parents‟ attitudes towards girls‟
education. Greater and better linkages with SSA/KGBV and exposure to possibilities that a
residential living offers could be encouraged by the RMSA Bureau in Delhi.
Table 2: Progress in selected equity related indicators
Ratio of girls to boys in total
enrolment in
secondary education
Gender Parity Index (GPI) of GER in
secondary education
Gender Equity Index (GEI) in
Secondary
Education
Social Equity Index (SEI) in
Secondary
Education (SC)
Social Equity Index (SEI) in
Secondary
Education (ST)
% CWSN in total enrolment
2012-
13
2013-
14
2012-13 2013-
14
2012-
13
2013-
14
2012-
13
2013-
14
2012-
13
2013-
14
2012-
1 3
2013-
14
All India 0.89 0.90 0.96 1.00 0.996 1.002 1.000 1.006 0.988 0.999 0.63 0.61
Assam 1.09 1.10 1.14 1.18 1.08 1.09 1.08 1.06 1.03 1.02 0.48 0.54
Gujarat 0.70 0.69 0.79 0.81 0.89 0.89 0.92 0.92 0.95 0.97 0.73 0.67
Haryana 0.80 0.79 0.90 0.93 0.99 0.99 1.03 1.03 NA NA 0.85 0.07
Tamil Nadu 0.94 0.94 0.99 1.02 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.02 1.02 0.44 0.35
Uttarakhand 0.93 0.91 0.97 0.97 1.00 1.00 0.98 0.99 1.03 1.03 0.40 0.33
Source: UDISE (Flash Statistics-2012-13 for ratio of girls to boys; Enrolment: Flash Statistics 2012-13 & 2013-14;
Population Projected by MHRD 2012-13 & 2013-14}
Notes: (1) GPI of GER at secondary level in year t = (GER of girls, Grades IX-X in year t / GER of boys, Grades IX-X in
year t ); (2) Gender Equity Index at Secondary Level in year t = Share of girls in enrolment to total enrolment in grades IX-X
in year t/ Share of girls in the age group 14-15 in the total 14-15age group population in year t; (3) Social Equity Index at
Secondary Level (SC) in year t= Share of SC enrolment in the total enrolment in grades IX-X in year t / Share of SC
population (age group 14-15) in the total 14-15 age group population in year t; (4) Social Equity Index at Secondary Level
(ST) in year t = Share of ST enrolment in the total enrolment in grades IX-X in year t / Share of ST population (age group
14-15) in the total 14-15 age group population in year t.
4.7. Social equity indices for both SC and ST groups, based on enrolment indicators, have also
registered progress in the country as a whole. Among the states visited, Gujarat presents the
poorest picture (Table 2), something that deserves attention. The enrolment of children with
special needs in secondary education continues to have small share of less than one percent;
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in fact this has slightly gone down between the years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The proportion
is lower than the national average of 0.61 in all the five states visited. Mainstreaming
CWSN at the secondary stage is a huge challenge where the curriculum is both complex
and overloaded even for the general category of students. A greater collaboration with SSA
and a deeper engagement with interim strategies could help the states in improving their
record in this context.
4.8. Table 3 shows that the enrolment in government schools has declined whereas that in
private unaided and aided has increased. This is a cause of concern as the latter are largely
located in urban and semi-urban areas and the representation of the poorest/girls is known
to be lower there. Again, a deeper engagement with possible, contextual, cost-effective
solutions is needed to increase the participation of the poorest. One solution could be in the
form of improved and secure transport services as transport costs and concerns are still
quite high among parents. The consideration of secure transport services as a valid RMSA
expenditure should be seriously considered.
Table 3: Distribution of Enrolment across management of schools at Secondary Level
Enrolment (in Millions)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Government 12.1 12.9 18.2 16.9
Aided 8.8 10.5 7.9 8.5
Unaided 10.5 9.6 8.2 11.6
Central government 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.3
TOTAL 31.6 33.2 34.6 37.3
Source: RFD presentation made to the JRM
Goal 3: All children retained in Education System
4.9. One of the indicators of the retention in the system at secondary level is the graduation rate.
Nearly 81 per cent of those who enroll in grade IX in 2012-13 took grade X examination in
2013-14, and this proportion has been increasing over the years (Table 4). However, the
proportion is the lowest for government schools and highest for aided, closely followed by
unaided schools. Nevertheless, the mission takes note of the fact that all management
schools have reported improvement and the rate of improvement being the highest for
government schools. This is indeed a positive development but it would be important to see
inter-state disparities and identify regions that need greater attention.
Table 4: Graduation rates across school management
Graduation
rate*(percentage) 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Government 46.4 48.6 59.2 72.1
Aided 78.1 71.0 75.4 89.0
Unaided 85.3 74.5 75.6 87.6
Central government 48.6 68.4 70.4 73.4
TOTAL 63.7 67.6 75.3 81.0
*those who enrolled in grade IX in year t appearing for the Board exams in grade X in year
t+1
Source: RFD presentation made to the JRM
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Learning Equity
4.10. India has made impressive gains in access to schooling. For those gains to pay
dividends school attendance must be converted to student learning. This is keenly
understood in MHRD. Initiatives such as the National Achievement Survey, the
development of a school standards framework and attention to the critical area of school
leadership are all in train. However there is a long way to go to transform these welcome
initiatives into practical action which leads to concrete results on the ground.
4.11. A common concern expressed by teachers to all state missions was that the majority of
grade 8 elementary school graduates entered secondary school without the
foundational knowledge to cope with the grade 9 syllabus. This clearly is a major
concern and warrants urgent and targeted remedial action. In some states „bridging camps‟
are being held during the vacation prior to graduation to junior secondary. Other
complementary strategies could include greater coordination and collaboration between
grade 8 and 9 teachers over the course of the year. This could be further strengthened by
school clusters which share resources – i.e. the creation of secondary schools with a defined
set of feeder schools. For this to be institutionalized there would need to be coordinated
guidance from SSA and RMSA in a raft of areas (from GIS mapping to define the
secondary, elementary school feeder clusters) to agreement on funding arrangements for
shared training and resourcing. Already, those elementary and secondary schools which
share a campus can work more closely together. Special funding under SSA and RMSA
could be put aside for joint working.
4.12. Field observations and analysis of NAS data indicates that considerably more than 20
percent of students (the current RMSA funding norm for financing remedial
education) require remedial support to bring them to a level of learning where they
can cope with the secondary school curriculum. There are a range of possible strategies
to address this challenge – none mutually exclusive: (i) review/revise the 2005 curriculum;
(ii) closer elementary/secondary collaboration / better preparation of students during
elementary school; and, (iii) a lifting of the 20% funding cap on remedial training. Of these
the lifting of the 20% cap is in the remit of the RMSA team – devising a funding option that
enabled states to request and deploy remedial funds driven by the needs of children in
schools and classrooms at the local level – rather than a fixed 20% ceiling would be worth
considering.
4.13. State average pass rates are not a reliable indicator of secondary student
performance. State average grade 10 board pass rates which commonly range between 60-
80% are commonly cited as evidence that all is well with secondary schooling. However
further interrogation of data suggests this is an erroneous conclusion for three reasons: First
and most importantly, State averages hide significantly lower pass rates among small, rural
and schools serving the most disadvantaged. As an example in Gujarat state, whilst the pass
mark across the State was reported averaging 60-65%, the schools visited by the JRM
commonly had pass rates around 30-40%; and there were incidences of schools having
an88% failure rate in some years2. Secondly, the practice of schools only entering grade 10
students who are likely to pass thereby ensuring that school pass rates are artificially high.
(It is important to note that this situation is common across India and not specific to
2 In addition, the pass rates are only for those children who actually take the exam – as shown above,
according to UDISE data, in government schools more than 25 percent of children who enroll in Class IX do not take the Class X exam the following year.
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Gujarat. The RMSA RFD reports that less than a quarter of all government schools have a
full complement of specialist teachers). The use of state pass averages is therefore likely to
mask important differentials in performance between subjects, school types and gender and
social groups. A situation where up to 50% of students in any one school are failing their
exams is a serious inefficiency and waste of human talent. To realise equity in learning
greater disaggregated interrogation of state board exams in required and this then to inform
remedial action. Lastly, it should be noted that the nationalaverage pass rate is a
meaningless figure given that state board examinations are not comparable.
4.14. Shortage of subject teachers is a predictor of poor exam performance. Passing of the
grade X board exam is determined by the composite score from all subjects a student takes.
Thus any student attending a school without a full complement of specialist teachers will be
at a distinct disadvantage in the examination. Without a specialist teacher it is predictable
that students would not meet their potential in this subject and therefore under achieve in
the State board exam. Shortfall in specialist teachers (notably science and maths and
languages) is common across India. In many instances this may be further exacerbated by
sub-optimal teacher deployment. In combination this is likely to be contributing to high
levels of exam failure / under performance particularly of the most disadvantaged sections
of the population.
4.15. Improving student performance for the most disadvantaged will require particular
attention to subject specific teacher shortages, teacher preparation and teacher
deployment. It is recognized that addressing these issues is politically challenging and will
not happen overnight – they are however critical for the continuing evolution of India‟s
education system. Important interventions that could be considered would be (i) greater
disaggregated analysis of exam pass rate data by geography, school location/ size, subject,
gender, and disadvantaged group (iii) closer attention to subject specific teacher shortage/
recruitment (iii) exploration of the potential for teacher workforce deployment to provide a
better subject teacher coverage across schools (iv) and improved teacher preparation and
training particularly in Maths, Science and languages.
4.16. MHRD has rightly focused on the potential of ICT and the internet to enhance school
administration, student learning and teacher education. While good progress has been
made in administrative areas such as UDISE and GIS –the potential of ICT is not being
harnessed in schools or for teacher education. This JRM found evidence consistent with the
observations in previous JRMs that ICT use in schools is mainly restricted to use for
administrative purposes and for providing students with basic IT literacy. However, there is
potential for ICT to do much more, especially in integration into all subjects in the
curriculum, in teacher training and support, in enable students‟ self-learning and in
providing education to CWSN. In addition, significant resources have been invested and are
likely to be invested in the future; and yet planning for these costs is at a rudimentary stage.
Accompanying this must be greater attention to the practical challenges of providing,
powering and maintaining ICT equipment as well as ensuring internet connectivity. Overall
it is felt that investing time and money in developing effective ICT use would be a more
productive investment than spending on Science and Maths kits, which, given there are no
practical exams in the grade X exam seem to be largely unused. Given these facts, a
thorough review at a future JRM of the use of ICT is warranted and new directions charted.
In the meantime, the AWPB process can be used to highlight the importance to states of
using ICT in new ways to enhance the quality of education.
4.17. The mission appreciates the work of NCERT and TCA on making NAS both more
scientifically robust and accessible. Further work is needed to (i) ensure its greater use (ii)
to ensure the data is properly archived and available through a public facing website. The
mission looks forward to the results of the NAS Class X – which will give further insights
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on learning at the secondary level. It is hoped that NCERT will make further strides in both
the presentation of data – particularly on the variation of learning performance across
schools and states. It is also hoped that NCERT will rise to the standards set by NUEPA‟s
UDISE web portal and develop a robust system for both archiving the NAS data and
making it available to the public through a public facing website. As NAS uses item
response theory, its data is comparable over time – thus the potential for valid comparison
of learning performance will grow with each successive survey. On this it is worth
repeating the words of the 4th JRM that measurement alone is not enough – remedial action
based on robust evidence is at the heart of effective system change (see fig X). At State
level administrations seem largely unaware of NAS findings further efforts are needed to
both disseminate and help states utilize NAS findings to strengthen education performance.
Fig X Cycle of analysis and remedial action
4.18. School standards, improvement and leadership: NUEPA made a short presentation to
the JRM on ongoing work on school standards and school improvements system and school
leadership. These are two critically important and interconnected areas. Improved school
performance will be driven by a more informed accountable, dynamic and autonomous
school management. The mission was encouraged by NUEPA‟s emphasis that their
approach would not be based on an input based compliance audit but rather engage school
management in defining and working towards its own goals. This is very much the
approach already taken in some states such as Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. NUEPA
may wish to engage and learn from these programs and collaborate with associated work
done in NCERT to accelerate their delivery.
4.19. A National Mandate for School Standards/School Leadership? A fundamental question
associated with both these important NUEPA programmes is what official status they will
have. Will school standards be nationally applied or will they be guidance to be deployed at
the states‟ discretion? Will the school leadership programme involve certification? If so will
this be a requirement for promotion to the position of secondary school principal? (A
common practice when trying to drive up the professionalism of school management.)
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These questions are beyond the remit of the JRM team; however, they will need to be
answered if these important initiatives are to achieve traction and deliver maximum impact.
Recommendations
Rec. 1. Redouble efforts to ensure interrogation of available data including: sense checking of
year on year trends and variances in performance within average figures and use of
analysis to inform action.
Rec. 2. Consider the inclusion of safe transport schemes as an eligible RMSA expenditure.
Rec. 3. Review the 20% special needs funding rule – promote a more needs based approach to
remedial teaching in collaboration with the SSA programme.
Rec. 4. The percentage of schools with the full complement of subject teachers should be a key
performance indicator of the RMSA programme; this indicator should replace PTR.
Rec. 5. Request NCERT to develop a web based portal so that there is wide availability of
NAS data and supporting information on how it can be used to inform remediation
strategies
Rec. 6. NCERT should work more intensively with SCERTs (and other state level bodies as
necessary) to understand the significance and the use of NAS data and to conduct
robust state level assessments.
Rec. 7. A thorough review of the use of ICT at the secondary stage, both for administrative and
learning purposes should be carried out, with a view to identifying cost-effective and
sustainable solutions.
Rec. 8. A study is needed to understand why significant numbers of children are enrolling in
Class IX but not taking the examination in the following year, and whether this is an
artifact of the data (that children are taken the exam at private schools in UDISE) or
some other reasons.
Rec. 9. Monitor the amount of resources allocated for and spent on activities supporting quality
improvement, beyond civil works and teacher and staff salaries. MHRD may consider
whether to prescribe a minimum percentage of spending on these activities.
Rec. 10. Consider commissioning a study of those students in Tamil Nadu who have come
through the ABL and ALM approaches, to learn of their experiences in secondary
education.
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6. Teacher Management and Development
Achievements and Good Practices
5.1. The total strength of teachers in government secondary schools is 476,270 (76.6% of the
sanctioned posts). Till date, 67,451 teachers have been recruited under RMSA (62.89% of
the approved teacher posts). With respect to the approvals for the year 2012-13, no teachers
have been recruited under RMSA; 4722 teacher posts were approved in 2013-14 and 1632
approved in 2014-15. In 19 states more than 75% of the teachers are professionally
qualified and in 11 states, between 50 and 75% of the teachers are qualified. A total of
34.5% of teachers have been covered under in-service training. In 2014-15, 18.8% of the
teachers were covered under in-service training till October 2014. (Source: MHRD Briefing
Presentation of 27th January, 2015)
5.2. Across the world, research points to teacher expectations of their students as a critical
determinant of student performance. It was very striking in field visits that teacher
explanation for student under performance was commonly attributed to lack of
motivation/ability of students and/or parents. At no point did any teacher make any
connection between how they are teaching and how much students are learning. The idea
of tailoring teaching strategies to individual student needs seems wholly absent. What is
commonly seen in the majority of classrooms visited is a chalk, talk and copy the text book
methodology. This encourages a „sink or swim‟ approach, where rather than using
diagnostic tools such as „open questions‟ or simple formative assessments to identify
learning issues – teachers practice „triage‟ focusing on the brightest – those who have the
best chance of passing the exam. This represents a massive waste of India‟s talent. Despite
best efforts with CCE etc. there is an ongoing need to ensure diagnostic feedback and
remedial action is practiced in the classroom. This is a challenge to which teacher education
must respond. Making decisions about instruction is as core a component to teaching as
providing the instruction itself. The students with the greatest needs require the most
accurate and effective decisions. Recent emphasis on teacher accountability requires that
they use assessment data to plan, judge, and modify instruction. Assessment is a core
component of learning but there is little evidence to show that teachers design and
implement methods of assessment that are congruent with the new approaches to teaching
and learning. In-service training has to focus on re-conceptualization of CCE to have
critical understanding and develop knowledge and skills that teachers need to make sound
decisions about using assessment information to improve instruction. Teachers should be
provided with templates of good assessment practices and guided through the process.
5.3. The in-service training component has been revised to an integrated training of 10 days for
teachers – 5 days for subject training and 5 days for ICT, IE or any training module/for
Gender Sensitization/Guidance and Counseling/ Adolescent Education, etc. In-service
training being conducted by the states is perceived to have nolong-term improvement in the
quality of teaching. Teachers have little say about the content of the programs. The content
and practices are often fragmented, lacking in intensity and with no follow-up. There are
limited opportunities for collaborative and cooperative learning among teachers. Even if
teachers learn some ideas related to new pedagogies, the teachers‟ practice in classrooms
has not changed in any significant manner. Besides, some states target their training at
schools to improve Board examination pass percentage, thus undermining the significance
of coordinated program of continuing professional development of teachers. The
mechanisms of quality control in the form of training evaluation, student assessment and
follow-up of trained teachers is weak or absent.In order to make the best use of this
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integrated training, there should be a systematic identification of training needs and teachers
to be covered, and the training content to be delivered should be designed based on this.
5.4. Professional Development of secondary teachers needs to be domain-sensitive focusing on
knowledge of subject matter and the knowledge for teaching it, including appropriate
pedagogical skills, if improvement in classroom practices and student learning is to be
achieved. For realizing this, programs need to emphasize on (i) integration of content,
pedagogy and technology to develop teachers‟ craft/integrated knowledge, (ii) providing
more opportunities to observe, practice and reflect on proven teaching strategies, and (iii)
increasing the amount and quality of mentoring.
5.5. The KRPs and master trainers have a critical role in providing continuing professional
development of teachers. Given that the teaching approaches associated with student-
centred learning is new to majority of the teachers, there is a need to develop the expertise
of master trainers, who may not all have the adequate knowledge and skills.
5.6. The quantum of training that is required, and the need to provide training and support
through the year, means that advanced planning is needed. At present, states appear to be
planning training only once funds are received. This often results in training taking place in
a narrow window of opportunity some way into the school year.
Recommendations:
Rec. 11. States should plan teacher training activities ahead of time so that they can be carried out
in the first quarter of the FY; funding from RMSA for training should be able to be carried
forward so that it is available in the first quarter of the year.
Rec. 12. Improving the process of the selection, preparation, performance and retention of the
KRPs and master trainers needs to be given high priority. The CTEs and IASEs should be
involved to support their professional development. A close engagement between teacher
education institutions and in-service training providers will ensure effective delivery for
quality professional development.
Rec. 13. States should have systems for quality assurance and the supervisory personnel and school
principals should also be trained on the new approaches to teaching, learning and
assessment.
Rec. 14. Training should be needs based; this needs assessment needs to look at a range of data
including disaggregated performance on examinations and learning assessments but also
observations of classroom practice and curriculum revision.
Rec. 15. Distance learning and technology should be utilized to supplement the in-service training
for subject teachers.
Rec. 16. States should be encouraged to use the NROER to develop and make available their state
appropriate open educational resources for teachers, teacher educators and key resource
persons.
5.7. The JRM had an opportunity to review some of the analytical work of the RMSA- TCA in
teacher management and development. The MHRD may consider prioritizing the
recommendations below for implementation that have emerged from the findings of their
analysis.
5.8. States often experience shortages of teachers in core subjects. The shortage of teachers may
be general (for all types of schools and all types of teachers), or focused on certain subjects
(mathematics, sciences, languages, etc.); or locations (rural areas, tribal areas). An analysis
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of the distribution of specialist subject teachers across schools can bring greater policy and
practice convergence. Aligning this analysis with data on the numbers of students in each
class across the state will enable planning to be based on real and projected numbers. For
this, states should consider using the disaggregated state level data from UDISE for
planning. The TCA review report on Teacher Management and Development in Assam has
analyzed the UDISE data of the state and reveals that 72 schools in Assam have zero
student enrolment and 78 schools across 8 districts have no teachers at all.
5.9. Integration and streamlining of data systems in an HRMIS can improve the evidence base
for decision making. In the states visited, Tamil Nadu has developed an EMIS with student
and teacher profiles. Improving information on teacher distribution through HRMIS is a
critical first step to addressing teacher distribution. Findings from the review of the HRMIS
in Karnataka and MP by the TCA.
Rec. 17. States should consider conducting a comprehensive review of their teacher management
and development policies, systems and practices.3 State level reviews are required to
analyse strengths and weaknesses in teacher recruitment, deployment, transfer and
professional development. This will form the basis for system strengthening and
development of a coherent policy framework in the states.
Rec. 18. Teacher Deployment: At the secondary level, it is important to prepare teacher vacancies
based on disaggregation by subject requirements in each district, instead of using just the
PTR norm. In addition, correlating data on teacher qualifications in specialist subjects, if
available, with learning achievement data (NAS) at state level will provide a useful basis
for reform strategies.
Rec. 19. A review of the Tamil Nadu EMIS and other states that have undertaken work in this area
will be useful to develop guidelines to set up robust HRMIS systems in states.
3 NUEPA, in collaboration with the World Bank, has conducted such a review in 9 states, which will be
published shortly. This could provide a valuable resource for consultation with states.
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7. Vocational Education
The Scheme of Vocationalisation
6.1. Vocational options for students can be provided in two broad ways, either by offering
separate vocational courses or by offering the opportunity to learn vocational skills
throughout the curriculum (i.e., in mathematics, science etc.).
6.2. The strategy for the Vocational Education component within the RMSA Programme takes
the first of these options. The JRM has therefore considered whether and if so how the
implementation of vocational education courses as presently conceived could be done more
effectively and the implications of the choice the Programme has made to offer vocational
education courses rather than vocational skills across the curriculum.4
6.3. It can be noted that it is important that the overall rationale and justification for embarking
on this programme are carefully articulated. Only in this way will states understand the
objectives and expected outcomes from the vocational education component.This
articulation will also help in understanding the connections, complementarities and
differences with various other existing schemes or programmes which prepare students for
the world of work as an alternate to higher studies (such as those offered in existing
structures of ITI or Polytechnics).
6.4. Beyond the high level rationale, this JRM has tried to offer some reflections on some
pressing practical matters. Overall success of any VE programme is dependent on the
quality of the offer. VE is known to be both expensive and technically challenging – there
are many critical questions on practicalities: budget, staffing, certification, vertical and
horizontal mobility within the education system etc. These need to be fleshed out between
the centre and participating State governments. Moreover, the learnings from past VE
initiatives particularly their failings need to be taken into account so they are not repeated.
6.5. The present scheme echoes the ideology inherent in the National Skills Qualification
Framework (launched in December 2014) and seeks to integrate general academic
education, vocational education, vocational training and higher education as a
comprehensive system. The comprehensiveness is articulated in the form of international
equivalency, provision for multiple entry and exit between VE, general education and job
markets, transfer between VE and general education; and partnership with
industry/employers. While this is all commendable the extent to which intent is likely to
become reflected in reality given the present context – particularly on qualification
equivalency – needs to be very carefully scrutinized.
6.6. The specific objectives of the scheme are to enhance the employability of youth through
demand driven competency based, modular vocational courses; to maintain their
competitiveness through provisions of multi-entry multi-exit learning opportunities and
vertical mobility/ interchangeability in qualifications; to fill the gap between educated and
employable; and to reduce the dropout rate at the secondary level and decrease the pressure
on academic higher education.
6.7. Studies have attributed the absence of success in earlier experiments in VE to the inability
of the system to provide adequately trained regular teachers, adequately equipped work
spaces, appropriate courses with built in flexibility, linkages with the industry, and vertical
4 It might also be noted that offering vocational skills across the curriculum is typically called ‘vocationalization’
of the curriculum, while offering vocational education courses is typically called ‘vocational education’. Under RMSA, the term ‘vocationalization’ is used to refer to the provision of vocational education courses (the title of the programme is Vocationalisation of Secondary and Senior Secondary Education).
24 | P a g e
mobility within and outside the specific trades and its nurturance within the community of
stakeholders.
6.8. The understanding of the scheme provisions in the light of the framework and the specific
objectives and the evolution of plans in conformity requires much effort in design and
development of every element, involvement of the larger community and academia, and
establishment of linkages among the authorities and institutions involved.
RMSA provisions and scope
6.9. The scheme provides for the creative involvement of the State and its institutions in
articulating need based VE options. Flexibility is built in and one size fits all
implementations are explicitly discouraged. The case of implementation of the scheme in
Haryana is also presented along with the lessons learnt. Enhanced awareness about VE in
the community / stakeholders forms an essential precursor to increasing the demand for the
courses as well as its effective roll out.
6.10. Capacity to identify and map the existing and future skill needs of the local community
(market / industry) has to be built. The scheme encourages communities and schools to
offer diverse skills representing local aspirations and needs. Mandating this provision is
essential to enhance ownership of the scheme at the school and community levels.
6.11. Inconsistencies arising out of parallel educational paths will have to be resolved. A student
in the regular 10+2 system with a VE elective gets a lateral entry into the second year of a
Diploma programme in VE, spending two more years for the Diploma (effectively 14
years), while a student after 10years in the regular system can join the first year of Diploma
completing it in three more years (effectively 13 years).
6.12. The number of available courses to date is few and therefore the choices for the States
limited; but this is expected to grow over time. Also the course content appears to have
been articulated from level 5 to level 1. The spirit of vocationalisation would require greater
accommodation and realisation of the National Curriculum's objectives. Students can take a
maximum of 7 subjects in secondary education. The NCF prescribes certain subjects as
mandatory and some states have mandated additional subjects; the introduction of VE
subjects will therefore need to be considered carefully by states as they determine the
policies and regulations about which courses for students are compulsory and what are the
choices students have for the optional subjects.
6.13. In exploring issues of VE it is important to remember that vocational education courses is
not the only place where workplace skills are imparted; as noted above vocational skills can
be taught across the curriculum. This opportunity can be offered to all students for several
reasons. First, all students need to learn work-related skills. These work-related skills are of
many types, such as team work, IT skills, responsibility, communication skills, etc. But
equally repeated employer surveys in India consistently point to the need for secondary
(and higher education) graduates who are numerate, literate, can apply their knowledge to
new situations, etc. There is therefore considerable scope to improve the general education
offer in these critically important foundation skills. Moreover the opportunity for cross
curricula linkages need to be explored. A good example being in IT which is found in both
vocational and general curricula. Second, many secondary education students will not want
to take vocational courses, because their interests and aptitudes lie elsewhere. Third, for the
short and probably medium term, vocational courses will not be available to most students
because of the limited number of approved schools and classes. Finally, it should be
remembered that students who take vocational courses at the secondary level can only take
one such course – the large majority of their time in secondary education is spent on non-
vocational subjects. They therefore should not be considered „vocational students‟ with the
implication that they will continue taking vocational courses in their future students and
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choose to focus on these types of courses (any more than a student taking mathematics is
labelled a mathematician).
6.14. Moreover, there is an accepted need for knowledge that students learn to be applied in real
life settings. Teaching in schools should include this application of knowledge. This should
happen in all subjects and not just in vocational courses.
6.15. A consultation has been launched to provide resources to aided and unaided schools which
wish to offer vocational courses. The proposal includes a strong performance-based funding
mechanism which would pay schools only when a student is successful. The JRM views
this as a welcome development – both to encourage states to see aided and unaided schools
as able to help them achieve their policy objectives and to introduce performance-based
funding and an outcome orientation under RMSA (which might be applied more generally
within the Programme).
Roll out of VE in the States and the JRM
6.16. The scheme provides for mobility, linkages with a range of institutions and industry /
market interface. The evolution of appropriate regulations to facilitate the smooth
realisation of these provisions would require engagement with the institutions immediately.
6.17. The present year is the first year of implementation in almost all states. Hence some of the
early signals can help immediate corrections. The State reports provide many possible
suggestions spanning the entire programme.To date, States tend to implement VE because
this is available. They will need to give further thought to the details of the scheme, needs
of the students, preparations required, and the creation of an environment primed to make
the scheme succeed are not adequately addressed. In particular, the involvement of
stakeholders particularly at the school level – teachers, parents, students, businesses– needs
to be visible and meaningful.
Implementations in the States visited
6.18. Assam has an established vocational education scheme operating in its secondary schools,
with electives like computer technique and commercial art. In addition,the state offers other
electives like advanced mathematics, classical languages, etc. But the state reports the
decreasing popularity of the vocational subjects vis-a-vis other subjects in the bouquet
among the students. In the roll out under the VE scheme of RMSA, the state covers 59
schools with IT/ITeS and Retail as the only two options. The schools have established work
spaces and placed teachers, and begun enrolment, but equipment and curricular resources
are yet to be supplied. The two schemes coexist and have reportedly caused confusions.
6.19. Gujarat presently offers a vocational stream in 34 schools at class 11 and 12 in agriculture,
commerce, home science and technology related trades. It is in the early stages of
preparation for a pilot in secondary schools. This pilot will take place from the next session
in 100 selected schools from 11 districts. 1 year courses would be offered as an addition to
the optional 6th subject and is likely to include health care, retail, automobile, multi skill
(carpentry, masonry, electrician, plumbing), and by year two of the pilot IT, beauty and
wellness, travel and tourism will be added. There are concerns over who will certificate this
award.
6.20. Haryana has offered two vocational subjects to each school out of a basket of 7, which
includes IT/ITeS, security, automobile, physical education and sports, patient care assistant,
beauty and wellness and retail. All schools visited are found to have the requisite
26 | P a g e
equipment, well qualified teachers with relevant earlier work experience, and highly
committed to their work. The government plans to expand the vocational education
offerings.
6.21. Tamil Nadu has implemented levels 3 and 4 since 2009 and plans the roll out of levels 1
and 2. The state is in the process of conducting a baseline study to gain a more systematic
understanding of the existing opportunities in the districts.
6.22. Uttarakhand is still in the process of roll out of VE. The state plans to introduce the
programme in 44 secondary schools from 2015-16 onwards in 4 sectors namely
Automobile, IT/ITeS, Retail& Patient Care. It has sought technical support from an external
agency – Wadhwani Foundation. Curriculum and syllabus development is supported by
Uttarakhand – ShikshaParishad, a special cell set up at Ramnagar for NSDF.
Achievements and Good Practices
6.23. Haryana is the only candidate for assessing a roll out, though the formal pilot consisted of
one year‟s activities in only 40 schools. The State has been able to generate interest
amongst stakeholders and teachers. It has been able to set up classrooms, establish the
infrastructure, recruit and position teachers and complete two cycles of courses, having had
a head start through NVEQF.Outside agencies have been employed for recruitment and
monitoring of the performance of the teachers and this seems to have worked successfully.
6.24. Haryana has also set up a school in Faridabad with all 7 vocational subjects, which is to be
developed into a resource centre, which would also support research in the field.
Concerns
6.25. The states visited have shown limited understanding of the scheme, its provisions and steps
required to be taken for roll out. Their capacity to make informed choices and roll out need
based courses is limited.
6.26. The linkages with the industry and higher education institutions are yet to be established.
The states are yet to articulate all the details of credits, equivalence, possible options, and
institutions which would offer the desired courses. In states where the +2 course is
organised by a different agency, a linkage will have to be immediately worked out. If not
taken up in right earnest, the first batches of students are likely not to get the benefits of
upper mobility as envisaged in the scheme.
6.27. The work spaces created in Haryana schools are shared spaces within regular classrooms.
The need for exclusive spaces, with possibilities for expanding the activities is desirable.
These spaces are, of course, being created afresh and imply that spaces for other subjects
are not being created (nor are materials and teachers being provided for these other
subjects).
6.28. Very little evidence was found of students learning by doing.
6.29. Schools, communities and industry stakeholders are rarely a part of the implementation.
This has inhibited enrolment, development of local industry / market linkages, and a sense
of ownership of the programme.
6.30. Diversity of courses and its utility to the community / job seeker are not part of the
articulation. There appears to be a tendency to choose from among the options available,
regardless of the utility / feasibility. The supply driven implementation will not help the
popularity of the course.
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6.31. Haryana has reported that placement is not among its responsibility and that NSDC / SSC
would take care of it. This is perhaps a misplaced view and non-sustainable.
Recommendations:
For GOI
Rec. 21. Prior to any decision on the future of VE in secondary education an evidence-driven
debate be undertaken that recognises the financial, social and academic „trade off‟s‟ that
introducing optional vocational education in grades 9 and 10 for all schools would
entail. GOI should treat its current support of vocational education as a large scale pilot.
A rigorous third party review covering analysis of impact, cost effectiveness and
implementation challenges may be conducted to inform any future decision making
before more schools are included. This review might include a number of issues
including:
- Per student cost – what is the cost of VE per student as against general education?
- Beneficiaries – how many students are expected will receive VE, in what locations? What
benefits have they gained in terms of being able more successfully to achieve their
aspirations (either for work or further study)?
- Funding projections for universalising VE with RMSA – particularly given current
documentation indicates aided and private schools will be eligible for VE support. - To what extent may VE targeted to local labour market opportunities exacerbate the
existing rural urban divide / impede social mobility?
- To what extent would adding VE as an additional optional subject – impact on the uptake
of other core subjects e.g. social studies, advanced maths?
- How to ensure VE does not entrench gender norms and career expectations
- Is it a viable alternative to introduce vocational and practical elements (at skills level I
and II in the current framework) within existing subjects and leave more focused and
higher level skills training to higher secondary (as most other countries do)?
Rec. 22. Key aspects of the operationalization of the current pilot be reviewed and where
necessary clarified with additional guidance
- Staffing costs – what additional staff costs will introducing VE entail and what will these
equate to as per student unit costs given that this will be an optional subject and not
available in all schools
- Resourcing – what physical resourcing requirements are necessary for effective delivery
of the different VE courses – what strategies will ensure maximum utilisation of
workshops etc.
- Assessing and certificating bodies – Clarification of who will be the assessing and
certificating bodies (nb it cannot be assumed that state exam boards will be ready to
certificate optional VE subjects – and if they are prepared to do so at what cost?)
- To what extent will VE qualification enable vertical and horizontal mobility within the
education system?
- It is known that VE works best when it responds to local labour market demands. This
requires labour market analysis (guidance on who should do this and how it should be
done) which need to be regularly updated (what is the recommended duration?)
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- When labour market needs change how will VE respond ? (e.g. if a workshop has been
set up to train welders and the market no longer needs welders but mobile phone
technicians – how will the changes in workshop and staffing needs be managed ?)
Rec. 23. A mechanism to encourage, support, catalyse innovations / newer choices for VE trades
in states and even in individual schools so as to make the programme community
owned, community driven and help realise the community's own needs and aspirations.
Rec. 24. Support and guidance to states on how to broker good relationships with the private
sector – e.g. engaging with FICCI or local chamber of commerce branches – could be
considered.
For States:
Rec. 25. The state would do well to think ahead and plan for linkages with industry and local
markets to enable attachment / on the job training opportunities; the range of courses /
trades suitable and feasible in its geographies; establish linkages with other institutions /
authorities to enable affiliation, availability of courses at the next levels, accreditation,
mobility to and between courses, equivalence, etc.
Rec. 26. The scheme suggests that schools offering vocational courses may also serve as
Accredited Vocational Education and Training Centers of National Institute of Open
Schooling (NIOS). States can use this opportunity to map out of school children and
provide VE options to these children, perhaps outside the regular school schedules. The
availability of qualified resource teachers and the infrastructure would be better utilised.
Rec. 27. Placement of the children dropping out of the system at different levels (1-4) would go
a long way in establishing the principles envisaged and the credibility of the scheme. A
suitable mechanism to promote placement and simultaneously track the students would
go a long way in establishing the programme as a desirable option.
Rec. 28. The remoteness of the schools and weaknesses in capacity will lead to uneven
implementations. The establishment of a sound monitoring and resource support
mechanism will help evaluate the implementation and make suitable corrections.
Rec. 29. States may encourage stakeholder participation and need assessment at the local levels
to make informed choices of VE courses. States may also establish a flexible system,
which allows the addition of new options and the discontinuance of existing ones.
Rec. 30. Centrally designed course curricula may need local adaptations. States may create local
capacities and validation mechanisms to make the courses more relevant to their needs.
The involvement of local industry / market in the process is also desirable.
Rec. 31. The achievement of the students in the course, particularly their skills would require
special assessment techniques, beyond normal examination routines. States will have to
identify personnel and mechanisms for the purpose. Involvement of qualified
professionals in the process would also be desirable.
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8. Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE)
7.1. UDISE, an integrated data management system developed by National University for
Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) caters to around 1.5 million schools
covering both elementary and secondary schools across 36 States and UT. While DISE has
been an established management information system for SSA, its extension to RMSA
required appropriate changes in the field in terms of providing for adequate physical,
financial and human resource as well as establishing coordination with the SSA MIS teams.
7.2. From 2014-15, it has been made mandatory for States to submit their Annual Workplan and
Budget (AWP&B) based on UDISE. AWP&B not meeting this requirement are returned
and advised to resubmit for Project Appraisal Board (PAB) approval. It was informed that
UDISE will become the official data from 2015-16. Such a step will address the issues of
data consistency and reliability which so far has been the biggest challenge in using data.
Along with that it will promote a change in orientation towards probing data for analysis
and problem solving.
Management Arrangement
7.3. The first unit of data collection and filling up of Data Capture Format (DCF) is school. In
most cases, from school it goes directly to the district level as separate staff for RMSA do
not exist at block level to carry out data check and validation unlike the BRC/CRC
coordinators available for SSA. From district, it goes to the State level, where the last point
check and verification by MIS staff of RMSA programme management unit conducted
before it is sent to NUEPA. As required, a 5% sample check is made through an external
agency.
7.4. In Gujarat and Uttarakhand, the use of SSA structure and staff in close coordination with
RMSA for data collection and processing is working well and an example of good practice.
On the contrary, sharing of resources between the two programmes was highlighted as a
challenge in Assam where the hardware and manpower for data entry is not available under
RMSA, and with no incentives for SSA staff and their lack of understanding of
complexities of secondary school data ends up causing data errors, transmission loss and
time delays in finalization.
Staff Training and Capacity
7.5. The biggest challenge in implementation of UDISE is the lack of understanding of DCF at
school level, that being the first point of data entry. Training on UDISE for state level staff
is carried out by NUEPA, thereafter this is cascaded through the chain with state level
training district level and district staff training school headmaster/principals. The
orientation and training imparted at the school level needs to be reviewed as a priority with
support through a handbook and clear definitions of fields for aiding consistent
understanding/interpretation of the field and achieving better data quality and reliability.
7.6. With the technical cooperation agency support (TCA) funded by DFID to RMSA
programme, guidelines for filling up DCF and FAQs for UDISE have been developed and
are available on DISE website since August 2014. Many states have translated in regional
languages and used it for training for UDISE 2014-15, however it was not apparent from
the states visited in this JRM if they were aware of this resource. In addition, there are
more resources developed with TCA support such as a promotional media campaign to
increase awareness, coverage and quality of UDISE (it can be found at
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aouwAh51MdM&hd=1) and a technical note on
Educator indicators. In view of resources already existing to support understanding of
UDISE, a more concerted effort is needed for wider dissemination including face to face
forums. Feedback from states could be sought to further refine the support guidance
material. Forums could usefully cover the following issues:
Trend Analysis on the basis of single year and time series data
Use of Educational Indicators for Education Officers and DIET faculty for planning,
monitoring and decision making
Statistical Analysis of UDISE
Education Development Index at District/Block
Use of UDISE in combination with other sources such as Census/NFHS/DLHS/HHS
Understanding of school efficiency
The use of GIS and integration of UDISE data into GIS maps.
Coverage of UDISE and Process Issues
7.7. While UDISE extends to all schools including government, government aided and private
schools, data collection is often delayed on account of late submission from private schools.
When they are submitted, it normally takes three to six months for data to appear on
UDISE. With the result, state often tend to use other sources to collect the more updated
information ending up with variable data and inputting of data multiple times. The other
area of challenge is the availability of final corrected version of UDISE during preparation
of state plans. UDISE data are still undergoing corrections by the time the State planning
cycle starts. The submissions of UDISE to NUEPA goes beyond December, which is the
stipulated deadline and as a result causes delays in PAB appraisal and approval cycle.
7.8. A formal forum such as PAB facilitates in resolving some of the common issues of data
discrepancy identified during the appraisal meetings. For instance, the issues identified in
the 2014-15 included technical problem with one of the fields which resulted in no proposal
for new schools, discrepancy between UDISE data of 2012-13 and 2013-14, different
coding /categorisation (lowest class/ highest class) being followed in different states
resulting in various interpretations of the number of schools, which have been referred to
NUEPA for resolution.
7.9. Not all States have started using supplementary parameters provision that is at their
discretion. This is to enable States to capture variables that are State specific. While they
are aware of this, there appears to be some hesitation in using it. The understanding of this
provision took a long time in the SSA, so learning from their experience, special attention
may be given under RMSA to promote its usage.
Utilization of UDISE data
7.10. Schools fill up DCF in compliance of instructions than seeing any benefit accruing due to
such an exercise. Using UDISE information to compare progress over last academic year
or examining enrolment, transition, retention and other such areas as part of data analysis is
completely lacking right from school to state level. This is the general overall position and
is evident from the school development plans and the (AWP&B) which though are being
prepared on the basis of UDISE, the quality and robustness remains areas of concern.
7.11. Tamil Nadu provided a leading example in use of UDISE data to report progress against
targets of the key performance indicators and the intermediate results set under the State
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results framework. The states also using the RFD to monitor progress of RMSA
implementation against targets set out in the key performance indicators and intermediate
results. They have also used UDISE data in the GIS school mapping exercise.
7.12. If the potential of using UDISE to make inferences on trends, patterns and comparisons can
be demonstrated to users, the appreciation and uptake of its use will certainly increase. One
such initiative is the RMSA TCA collaboration with Assam Secondary Education
Department on analyzing UDISE statistics which has resulted in a comprehensive tracing of
district wise figures of a variety of parameters. The next step would be to involve different
state and district level functionaries in this activity that will result in greater awareness of
the utility of such activities. And also enriching the analysis by making deeper enquiries on
disaggregated basis that would help the authorities in developing a more robust approach to
address the issues.
7.13. In most states, GIS mapping of habitations has been completed. Some states such as Tamil
Nadu have used UDISE along with GIS in identification of schools in yet unserved
habitations and upgradation of existing schools based on eligible student population.
Integration of UDISE data onto the GIS platform presents a huge potential for generating
maps of key data in resourcing and school performance that can be investigated and
remedied.
Recommendations:
For GOI:
Rec. 32. MHRD should facilitate states to use the provision for supplementary fields, and this
should be part of the work NUEPA does in capacity building for planning
Rec. 33. State-level report cards, based on the Results Framework prepared by NUEPA at the
national level, should be used to monitor the progress of RMSA implementation and be
a key input into the AWPB and PAB processes.
Rec. 34. MHRD should move forward in establishing a national agency for education statistics.
In the meantime, NUEPA should work with a small number of states to expand the use
of UDISE by include other datasets (such as HRMIS and student data) so as to
understand the issues if all states were to adopt the UDISE architecture for all their
educational datasets.
Rec. 35. NUEPA should publish analyses of the UDISE data on particular themes each year as
part of its publication of tables on education data drawn from the UDISE system. As
necessary, NUEPA can commission these thematic analyses.
Rec. 36. NUEPA may carry out a review of the year-on-year comparability of the data, including
both use of data from UDISE and future data collection cycles, and publish its findings.
This had been recommended in second JRM as well.
Rec. 37. NUEPA should review the findings of the external agencies which have conducted the
5 percent sample checks in different states to determine if there are systemic issues
which need addressing
Rec. 38. Workshops for capacity building should be organized around key issues (see para. 7.6).
32 | P a g e
For States:
Rec. 39. State must invest on building capacities across the system - beginning at the school
level, to realise the importance of data for decision making.
Rec. 40. The generation of school level, block and district level compilations and report cards is
recommended, so as to increase the use of data for programme implementation. The
formation of community resource groups, consisting of groups of head teachers,
educators and other professionals, will also help in this regard.
Rec. 41. Universal participation of schools in data contribution should be ensured. Legal and
regulatory mechanisms should be invoked to include all schools, gaps systematically
identified and appropriate enablers put in place.
Rec. 42. The differences between UDISE expected fields, its understanding by school
functionaries and the different typology the state uses in some cases has resulted in
erroneous or vague reporting. An expert comparison of the data capture template, an
articulation of an operations manual and orienting school and other functionaries to
enhance data check and quality of reporting.
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9. Programme Management
Activities
8.1. Activity-wise spread of expenditure for the half year ended September 2014 was as follows:
Sr.
No.
Expenditure by Activity Rs. In lakhs
COUNTRY TOTAL
1 2 Half Year Ended Sept 2014
1 Opening of new schools 26955.37
2 Strengthening of existing schools 26026.39
3 Major repair 4.61
4 Teacher quarters 185.33
5 Other non-recurring 81.69
6 Staff for new schools 25806.92
7 Additional staff for existing schools 12826.07
9 Annual school grant 6852.80
10 Minor repair 2589.00
11 Teacher / Staff training 908.25
12 Quality interventions 417.98
13 Equity interventions 290.74
14 Interventions for out of school children 0.00
15 Guidance and counselling 5.42
16 Training of community leaders 28.66
17 Innovative Activities 0.00
18 MMER 3431.24
19 State Components 0.00
Total 106410.47
(Source: MHRD documents provided to JRM)
Notes: 1. Does not include spending on IEDSS, ICT, Vocational education, girls‟ hostel; 2. Includes
central and state expenditure
8.2. State –wise spread of expenditure (Annexure) up to September 2014 shows that expenditure
against Teacher Staff Training, Quality Interventions and Equity Interventions has been
very low. Out of 36 states, only six states have utilized funds for Teacher Staff Training
and four states for Equity Interventions. The position is not very different for FY 13-14
(whole year expenditure). It is a matter of concern that innovative activities did not qualify
for any expenditure, when RMSA does need innovative initiatives from the states and the
JRM members saw encouraging innovative activities undertaken by the states visited by the
mission members. However, the Mission is unable to comment on utilization vis-à-vis
allocation against each of these activities as the data for activity-wise allocation for each
state was not available.
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Good practices in the states visited
Tamil Nadu
8.3. The education leadership in the state (including education minister and Principal Secretary)
conduct regular zonal reviews (covering 3-4 blocks) in one of the blocks including school
visits and monitor progress strictly. Regional review of academic performance is done and
regional level meetings are held for low performing school heads. An innovative motivation
programme called VetriUngalKayil has been undertaken for orientation of school heads and
District Education Officers to drive academic performance.
8.4. The State has launched Education Management Information System (EMIS) that includes
school profile and student profile, teacher profile, academic books and interactive videos,
Smart Card project and SMS based teachers‟ attendance.
8.5. Two monitoring institutions are monitoring implementation of the programme.
Assam
8.6. The Quality Assurance Groups at district level provide expert resource support. One of
these groups has conducted an exhaustive study of about 166 schools using an instrument
called “Drishti”.
8.7. An enterprising team at SIS is emerging, which diligently complies with scheme provisions,
and readies all requirements (data, proposals, supporting documents).
8.8. One monitoring institution is monitoring implementation of the programme.
Gujarat
8.9. The state has recently decided to merge the elementary and sectors in the school education
department, which is likely to facilitate greater synergy
Haryana
8.10. The state is thinking creatively about how to maximise the impact of RMSA funds, and for
the AWBP process, submitted several “innovation proposals”.
8.11. In vocational education, Haryana is a pioneering state and the enthusiastic participation was
palpable at the school level.
8.12. The state has established a common implementing society for RMSA and SSA.
Concerns:
8.13. Poor staffing seems to be a running concern with the states for running the programmes
effectively and efficiently. This concern needs to be addressed though a systematic
manpower auditing by HRD experts.
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Procurement
8.14. All States are required to follow the RMSA Manual on Financial Management and
Procurement issued by MHRD on 24th January 2012 for their procurement of works, goods
and consultancy activities. This is applicable for all procurement done on and after 1st April
2012. As pointed out in last JRM, the officials in most of the states are aware of the FM &P
Manual, but they are still lacking in using/ applying the terms and conditions of the manual
in procurement activity.
Achievements and Good Practices in the states visited
8.15. In the five states JRM visited, mission noted that civil works are entrusted to either PWD or
state corporations for execution of the same. For example, in the state of Tamil Nadu, the
state Government has entrusted strengthening of existing schools, construction of Girl‟s
hostel to the State PWD and construction of model schools to Tamil Nadu Police housing
Board.
Tamil Nadu
8.16. Govt. of Tamil Nadu has translated the Financial Management & Procurement (FM&P)
Manual in Tamil and uploaded in their website for better understanding among staff.
8.17. The State PWD and Tamil Nadu Police Housing Board (TNPHB) have awarded the major
construction works through e-tendering process. The quality of construction of schools
visited appeared to be good.
Haryana
8.18. The state is envisaging e procurement for all procurement irrespective of size of
procurement
Concerns:
8.19. As envisaged in the FM&P Manual, the first step in the procurement activity is preparation
of a realistic procurement plan based on AWP & B. However all states visited have not
prepared any procurement plan at state level except Tamil Nadu who has prepared the plan
but not uploaded the same on their web site.
8.20. It is noted that civil works constitute the major procurement activity in states
(approximately 60 percent) with goods like school furniture as a distant second so far as
volume of procurement is concerned. JRM noted that there is a need for closer monitoring
and supervision of civil works by the District offices as well as SMDCs. This assumes
greater significance in absence of effective internal controls observed in some states.
8.21. Mission noticed that civil works progress is slow in almost all states visited. For example in
Tamil Nadu state, construction of new schools was entrusted to SMDC in the year 200-10
and till date only 62% of schools are completed.
8.22. Funds are now released to State Government directly through treasury. Consequently,
the State Government have more responsibility and they have to work closely with MHRD,
36 | P a g e
and state societies with state education department to ensure that funds are released on time
to State societies so that they are able to use the releases for efficient and effective
procurement.
8.23. It has been observed that the concept of a systematic and scientific procurement planning
for goods and services have not been adopted by the states visited. While some states have
left the procurement activity to be at the discretion of external agencies, there is no
organised and competent procurement unit at state level to monitor the physical and
financial progress of procurement activity. In Assam, for example, procurement of
materials is done on „as is‟ basis by an outsourced agency without any co-relation with the
timeline and objectives of the activity for which the materials are being procured. In the
absence of full-scale e procurement (e tendering to entire value chain up to e contract), the
transparency and monitoring of workflow is not possible. Be that as it may, even under the
existing dispensation, a robust procurement planning and monitoring unit at state level may
be a good support system for procurement activity and programme management.
8.24. If inventory management is considered as an adjunct to procurement, the situation is not
very happy in the states. Proper maintenance and accounting of stores inventory especially
at the school level is absent in many cases.
8.25. The design of RMSA envisages Post Procurement Review (PPR) by both the MHRD and
the World Bank independently on sample basis. In FY 13-14, the first post procurement
review was conducted by Bank in four States viz., Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram
and Maharashtra and the report was shared with MHRD with a request to get it circulated to
respective states for their follow up actions and comments. Regarding independent PPR by
MHRD of sample contracts equivalent to 20% value of total contract per each state; in the
last JRM, it was informed that MHRD may select and put in place an independent agency
by December 2014, who will carry out the procurement post review. However, this
contracting has been a little delayed; it is understood that MHRD is in the process of
finalizing the independent agency for post review activity, which may take some more time.
Financial Management
Budgetary control
8.26. Government of India‟s actual disbursals to RMSA shows a slightly declining trend during
the last three years. This would suggest a decline in the pace of implementation of the
Programme.
Rs. In crore
Year 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
2014-15
(to 15th
Jan’15)
BE 1353.98 1700 2423.9 3124 3983 5000
RE 550 1500 2512.85 3172 3123
GoI Release 549 1481.87 2500 3171 3049.73 2868.08*
*Integrated release
** Above information also includes National component and preparatory fund.
(Source: MHRD)
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Concerns:
8.27. As against the above funds committed to RMSA, the states‟ utilisation of the funds has
been varied. While in Haryana as on 1st January 2015 only 4.3% of cumulative releases
remained unspent, Assam carries a baggage of Rs. 205 crore (approx.) of accumulated
unutilised balance under plan fund (recurring and non-recurring) , including interest of Rs.
5.26 crore. In the absence any age analysis by the SIS or the auditor it is impossible to
determine since when the funds have been accumulated, but, going by the interest amount,
it is safe to presume that it is not a recent accumulation.
8.28. Similar is the position of outstanding advances lying in the hands of different agencies for
considerable time with obvious risk implications. In Assam, the outstanding advances
amount to Rs. 23 crore (approx.) without age analysis. State-wise figures on these two
balances will clarify the status of budgetary control across the country.
8.29. It was observed that the Assam SIS Audit Report for RMSA Plan Fund for FY 13-14
provided by MHRD had a different set of figures as compared with the Audit Report
provided by the SIS during the Mission‟s state visit.
Cash Management
Concerns
8.30. Cash management system in the schools does not reveal a proper internal control
mechanism. Cash books are the primary records of accounting and should be maintained
according to the provisions of FM & P Manual. It was observed that the schools do not
have available any trained accountant to maintain the main and subsidiary cash books,
journals, stock records etc. At present, subject teachers or the head teacher is given this
responsibility. Instead, members of the local community could be trained in bookkeeping
necessary for the needs of schools.
Internal Audit
8.31. Haryana has set a good paradigm for an in-house internal audit system with adequate
number of professional staff to discharge this important internal control function, which is
known as „control of all controls‟. The other states visited by the Mission members
disclosed that either internal audit is non-functional or adding no value to the internal
control system.
Concerns
8.32. Internal audit of the Programme is not happening in most states.
External Audit
8.33. As required by the Financing Agreement between the GoI and the Donor Agencies, Annual
Audit Reports of State Implementing Agencies for FY13-14 were to be submitted to the
Development Partners by December 31, 2014. Out of 36 States and Union Territories,
38 | P a g e
Audit Reports of 23 States have been shared with the Mission. Out of these, auditors of 14
States have given an unmodified opinion, audit reports of 6 States are qualified, 1 report is
incomplete (Gujarat) and 2 reports are of unacceptable quality and therefore may need to be
revised. Some of the major spending States which have not submitted Audit Reports are
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Audit Reports of
States continue to flag issues such as releases to SMDCs/districts being treated as
expenditures, pending UCs, inadequate grant reconciliation systems, inadequate bank
reconciliation systems etc.
8.34. Quality of audit reports continues to be a concern.
8.35. It was recommended by the 4th JRM that the SIS of each State should provide clarification
and/or take remedial actions against the audit observations of FY 12-13 and report back to
MHRD by December 31, 2014. Despite several requests the mission could not review any
responses from the State. The Development partners have expressed concern that they are
not able to get an assurance regarding resolution of audit observations reported by the
auditors in FY 12-13.
Interim Unaudited Financial Reports versus Audited
Expenditure
8.36. It was recommended by the last JRM that States should reconcile the differencesbetween
unaudited and audited expenditure as on March 31, 2013 by December 2014 and going
forward such reconciliation statements need to be prepared and included in the Annual
Financial Statements. None of the 23 audited Annual financial Statements of SIS issued for
FY 13-14 include such reconciliation. An analysis shows a net difference of INR 860 crores
between audited and unaudited expenditures of FY 13-14 for the 23 States which have
submitted audit reports. There are large differences in Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Recommendations:
For GOI:
Rec. 43. MHRD may encourage the states to put a robust procurement planning system in
operation and if necessary, to render professional assistance by hand holding and
involving all procurement agencies like PWD, external agencies (like Amtron in
Assam) etc.
Rec. 44. MHRD may expedite the process of independent post procurement review of contracts
at the earliest.
Rec. 45. The internal control system for monitoring of advances needs to be strengthened.
Rec. 46. RMSA has attained maturity and time has come for a mid-term financial review of the
programme by domain experts from the area of government finance and accounting
systems (such as the IA&AD) under the guidance of MHRD. This will help ensure mid-
course correction for system improvement better utilisation of the scarce resources.
Rec. 47. Conduct intense training of SIS, District units and SMDCs on compliance with the
FM&P Manual.
39 | P a g e
Rec. 48. Conduct internal audit to assess compliance with FM&P Manual and target training
based on audit findings.
Rec. 49. Hold a workshop with external auditors (signing partners of audit firms) before the start
of audit for FY 14-15 to discuss issues pertaining to audit quality observed in prior
years and to explain expectations based on the Audit Terms of Reference.
Rec. 50. Submit reports, by end March 2015, regarding clarification/remedial actions taken to
address audit observations reported in Audit Reports of SIS for FY 12-13 to the
Development partners so that the stakeholders get an assurance that the audit
observations are being attended to.
Rec. 51. Reconcile unaudited expenditures reported in IUFRs with audited expenditure and
include such Reconciliation statements in the Annual Financial Statements.
For States:
Rec. 52. States to ensure effective monitoring mechanisms at all levels. With more delegation of
financial powers to SMDC, it is important that States should strengthen support at the
district level with technical resource person to supervise, monitor and offer hand-
holding technical support to SMDCs for civil works supervision.
Rec. 53. At the State level a good team of financial experts should manage the finance division.
The states may use the services of the officers of state finance and accounts services at
various levels or explore the possibility of engaging retired officers from IA&AD or
Finance Department on contractual terms.
Rec. 54. A professionally managed internal audit system should be in place without further delay
either in-house or outsourced. The internal audit reports should be examined seriously
and corrective actions taken to improve the systems of financial management.
40 | P a g e
Rs. In lakhs
Sr.
No.
Expenditure by
Activity Andaman
& Nicobar
Andra
Pradesh
Arunach
al
Pradesh Assam Bihar
Chand
igarh
Chhattis
garh
Dadar
Nagar
Haveli
Daman
& Diu Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana
Himacha
l
Pradesh
Jammu
&
Kashmir
Jharkhan
d
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1
Opening of new
schools 0.00 0.00
2850.13 0.00
0.00 0.00
2070.39
500.00 0.00
2
Strengthening of
existing schools 0.00 11837.26
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00
343.56 0.00
3 Major repair 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
4 Teacher quarters 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
5 Other non-recurring
6 Staff for new schools 0.00 0.00 1374.45 0.00 0.00 16.91 0.00 770.12 0.00
7
Additional staff for
existing schools 0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00
0.00 0.00
9 Annual school grant 0.00 1390.75 0.00 42.50 0.00 11.50 156.50 547.75 0.00
10 Minor repair 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 519.00 0.00 884.00
11
Teacher / Staff
training 0.00 5.90
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
74.11
41.12 0.00 68.00
12 Quality interventions 10.49 0.00 0.00 1.80 0.60 2.40 34.12 0.00
13 Equity interventions 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 59.25 1.44 0.00
14
Interventions for out
of school children
15
Guidance and
counselling 0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00
0.00 0.00
16
Training of
community leaders 0.31 0.00
0.00 0.00
1.35 0.00
0.00
0.28 0.00
17 Innovative Activities
18 MMER 0.48 256.26 219.67 0.34 2.51 6.94 60.98 90.00 0.00 103.16
19 State Components
Total 11.28 13490.17 0.00 0.00 4444.25 44.64 0.00 4.46 37.75 0.00 0.00 2421.23 0.00 2847.39 0.00 1055.16
41 | P a g e
Rs. In lakhs
Karnata
ka Kerala
Lakshdw
eep
Madhya
Prdesh
Maharstr
a
Manip
ur
Meghayl
a
Mizora
m
Nagalan
d Orissa
Puduch
eery Punjab
Rajasth
an
Tamilnad
u Tripura
Uttar
Pradesh
Uttrakhan
d
West
Beng
al
COUNTRY
TOTAL
Half Year Ended Sept 2014
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
0.00 5915.89 0.00 67.56 0.00 1203.93 0.00 0.00 451.21 12123.79 1772.47 0.00 26955.37
0.00 2670.61 0.00 136.58 0.00 3.17 0.00 2651.62 255.58 4478.82 3649.19 0.00 26026.39
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.61 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.61
0.00 0.00 0.00 55.89 0.00 129.44 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 185.33
81.69 81.69
4366.14 635.72 0.00 0.00
115.47
23.47 853.90 1134.47 0.00 8292.55 396.24 5429.88 2397.60 0.00 25806.92
0.00 5626.31 0.00 0.00 156.85 0.00 6434.46 0.00 0.00 608.45 0.00 12826.07
0.00 3594.50 720.00 21.50 0.00 64.50 10.00 0.00 0.00 293.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 6852.80
0.00 1179.50 0.00 6.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2589.00
225.69 20.90 220.89 0.00 0.00 6.24 0.00 245.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 908.25
0.00 6.03 55.00 0.00 0.00 13.20 0.00 0.00 290.53 3.30 0.51 0.00 417.98
0.00 8.00 218.84 0.00 0.00 3.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 290.74
0.00
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.42 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.42
0.00 0.00 26.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 28.66
0.00
303.17 49.06 405.00 39.00 4.02 94.64 124.14 3.56 104.64 0.00 690.66 68.59 489.82 240.68 73.92 3431.24
0.00
4669.31 910.47 0.00 19426.74 1280.45 457.19 55.49 2451.96 0.00 124.14 90.71 1249.11 0.00 18314.69 1755.45 22525.61 8668.90 73.92 106410.47
42 | P a g e
10. Organisationof the Joint Review Missions
9.1. The Joint Review Mission teams were grateful for the huge efforts of MHRD, state
governments, RMSA Societies and the TSG to organise the visits to the five states and the
briefing session on the first day of the Mission. In reflecting on these visits, the JRM
recommends that certain parameters are used to organize further JRMs, especially those
which involve state visits. These recommendations are intended to provide clearer guidance
so that the process of organising the visits is simpler and the outcomes from the visits
greater.
9.2. The opening session in Delhi should be of two days; departure for the states should be on
Day 2. This will give sufficient time for the Mission members to get-to-know one another,
develop a team-spirit, come to an understanding on allocation of subjects for intensive
study and agree upon a common approach in the JRM and in the field visits. This will no
doubt involve additional expenditure. But, the benefits of enhancement of the quality of
work will far outweigh the extra costs.
9.3. In addition, regarding the field visits:
The schedule of field visit should be formulated, if possible, in consultation with the team
concerned. The proposed states schedule, including schools to be visited, should be
intimated a week before the start of the JRM.
The schedule should not involve long, time consuming tiring road journeys!
Travel should not involve early morning (before 8am) departures. Travel to outstations
should accommodate late evening arrival, overnight halt so that work next day can start
early and in a well-rested condition.
The schedule should incorporate not only visits to institutions but also interactive sessions
with participating groups and institutions e.g. monitoring groups, training bodies,
evaluating agencies, research centres, concerned academic and administrative formations,
etc.
The state material should reach the team members well in advance; it should be handed
over at least immediately upon arrival.
TSG must ensure that only final versions of materials and travel plans are sent or given
and not tentative drafts initially sent by the state government.
Copies of supporting documents should be kept available in the briefing hall so that
additional material as may be required can be collected.
********************
INDIA
RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA
ABHIYAN (RMSA)
Fifth Joint Review Mission January 27 – February 9, 2015)
Annexes
Terms of Reference, Agenda, Check List
Action Taken Report (ATR)
List of Members
State Reports:
Assam
Gujarat
Haryana
Tamil Nadu
Uttarakhand
Results Framework Document
Terms of References (ToRs) for the
5th RMSA JRM
(27th
January – 7th
February, 2015)
1. Introduction
1.1 Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is a Programme of the Government of
India, implemented in partnership with the State Governments with the main objective to
make secondary education of good quality available, accessible and affordable to all
young persons. The scheme seeks to enhance enrolment in classes IX and X by providing
a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every habitation, to improve quality of
education imparted at secondary level by ensuring all secondary schools conform to
prescribed/ standard norms, to remove gender, socio-economic and disability barriers and
to achieve > 90 GER at secondary level education by 2017, i.e. by the end of the 12th
Five
Year Plan.
q
1.2 RMSA was launched in 2009, funded through national resources (central government +
state government). The programme also receives some amount of external funding from
the Development Partners (DP) – World Bank’s International Development Association
(IDA), United Kingdom’s – Department of International Development (DFID) and
European Union (EU). As part of the agreement for external aid from the DPs which
came into effect in November, 2012, the Joint Review Mission (JRM) is to be conducted
every six months in the months of January and July each year. The January Mission
undertakes States visits, while the July mission is a desk review.
The Fifth Joint Review Mission (JRM) of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan is scheduled
to be held from 27th
January 2015 to 7th
Februaty,2015.The Mission members will undertake
field visits to the states for a closer look at the implementation of the programme in the field,
with a focus on the themes identified for the Mission.
The Mission will be led by Government of India (GoI).
2. Mission Plan
2.1 The RMSA Mission will comprise of 14 members, including two specialist members on
financial management and procurement. Members would be chosen in such a way that
expertise would be available for all the major functional areas. Each State Team of two
members was made up of one GoI member and one DP member.
2.2 The agency wise composition of the Mission will be as follows:
Government of India (MHRD nominated memnets) - 8 members including
Mission Leader and Finance and Procurement Team
World Bank and DFID combined – 6 members (including Finance and
Procurement team)
3. Mission Objectives and Guiding Principles
3.1 The main objective of the JRM is to review the status of progress and to also consider
issues related to programme planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation,
including financial management/procurement, capacity of States with respect to
programme objectives.
The guiding principle will be one of a Learning Mission from the experiences so far; identify
gaps and to collaboratively explore and work out options for bridging those gaps. RMSA has
been under implementation since 2009-10 and is still evolving its processes and systems. This
JRM will also be a Mid Term Review of the RMSA scheme. The JRM therefore will include
reviewing overall achievements against the objectives of the scheme as well as overall strategies
being adopted in the planning, implementation , monitoring and evaluation of States / UTs
with respect to programme objectives.
4. Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Mission
4.1 The Mission will carry out a comprehensive review of achievements against targets and
objectives and also examine programme implementation in the following areas:
o Annual progress on agreed indicators included in the Results Framework;
o Status of implementation of the approved Annual Work Plans
o Annual work plan and budget approvals and fund releases to the States/UTs for FY 2013-
14; Progress of civil works particularly new schools, up-gradations additional classrooms,
toilets and drinking water facilities.
o Progress in addressing equity issues; and progress in bridging gaps in enrolment and
retention;
o Progress in strengthening the school system and support structures for the education of
children with special needs;
o Status of quality interventions – in-service teacher training arrangements and strategies,
nature of on-site academic support structures, availability of required number of teachers
and classrooms, progress in teacher recruitment production and distribution of free
textbooks, release and utilization of school grant.
o FMRs for 2012-14, audited accounts for 2012-13 and 2013-14 and GoI budget allocations
for RMSA for 2014-15;
o Review Monitoring Institution reports and other third party evaluation and studies
o Six monthly reports from monitoring agencies which are expected to provide more
qualitative information and Review of the Financial Management and Procurement (FMP)
procedures will also be carried out as part of the JRM. The Mission would review the
extent to which States are complying with the provisions and processes laid down in the
FMP Manual of SSA.
o Identify innovative/ best practices – specific interventions that have been successful and
can be replicated;
o Progress made on TC fund implementation in supporting RMSA implementation.
o Follow up on issues identified during the 4th
JRM (August, 2014)
4.2 The Mission however will also look at the following aspects of the programme:
(i) Vocational /Skills Education in schools (deliberate on the current Status and
identify themes on Vocational Education / Skills Education in schools for the
subsequent JRMs),
(ii) UDISE (UDISE Implementation Structure).
(iii) The RMSA JRM would also look at TCA work with regard to teachers’
management in Secondary Education Sector and teacher training under RMSA.
4.3 The organization of meetings and deliberations in Delhi for the JRM will be the
responsibility of the MHRD.
5. Time Frame
The JRM will take place between 27th
January ,2015 and 7th
February,2015 and the draft
schedule / time -frame is as follows :
Date Day
No.
Activity Participants Responsibility
27th
Jan, 2015
(Tue)
Day
1
Briefing by Government
of India, Internal
discussion on
distribution of tasks and
writing responsibilities
among mission members,
preparation for field
visits and Departure for
States.
JRM members and
MHRD, NUEPA,
NCERT, TCA
MHRD, RMSA
TSG, NUEPA (
RFD and
UDISE),
NCERT (
Teacher
Training and
NAS 10), TCA
28th
Jan, 2015
(Wed)
Day
2
Briefing at the State
Project Office and
discussion with State
level resource,
organizations/
Monitoring Institutes/
Convergent
Departments/ other
districts.
JRM members and
State Education
Departments/RMSA
officials ( States of
Gujarat, Haryana,
Tamil Nadu,
Uttarakhand and
Assam)
State Education
Department /
State SIS
( States of
Gujarat,
Haryana, Tamil
Nadu,
Uttarakhand and
Assam)
29th
to 30th
Jan, 2015
(Thu-Fri)
(Field Visits)
Day 3
to 4
Visit to Districts/
Simultaneous writing of
State report
JRM members and
State Education
Departments/RMSA
officials ( States of
Gujarat, Haryana,
Tamil Nadu,
Uttarakhand and
Assam)
State Education
Department /
State SIS( States
of Gujarat,
Haryana, Tamil
Nadu,
Uttarakhand and
Assam)
31st Jan, 2015
(Sat)
(State
Day
5
Wrap-up meeting at State
level with draft State
Report to be presented to
JRM members and
State Education
Departments/RMSA
State Education
Department /
State SIS
meeting and
return to
Delhi)
the State (An email copy
be sent to Department of
School Education &
Literacy, Government of
India).
officials (States of
Gujarat, Haryana,
Tamil Nadu,
Uttarakhand and
Assam)
(States of
Gujarat,
Haryana, Tamil
Nadu,
Uttarakhand and
Assam)
1st Feb, 2014
(Sun)
Travelling –
Return to
Delhi
Day 6 Departure for Delhi. JRM members JRM
members/TSG
2nd
to 4th
Feb,
2015 (Mon-
Wed)
Day 7
to
Day 9
Internal meeting of the
JRM to share and review
highlights of field visits
and identification of key
issues /Writing of Report
JRM members JRM / TSG
5th
Feb, 2015
(Thu)
Day
10
Pre-wrap up meeting
with MHRD
JRM members /
MHRD
MHRD/ TSG
6th
Feb 2015
(Fri)
Day
11
Finalization of report JRM JRM/ TSG
7th
Feb ,
2015 (Sat)
Day
12
Wrap-up meeting MHRD, JRM
members, EU, All
States/ UTS,
NUEPA, NCERT
MHRD/ TSG
6. Documents and information
6.1 The following documents will be shared with the Mission members one week prior to the
JRM:
a) GOI budget allocation for RMSA for 2012-13 / 2013-14/ 2014-15
b) Financial Management Reports
c) Audit Reports from States/UTs, Amount under National Component for the
period 2011-12/ 2012-13/2013-14
d) UDISE reports – National, State and District Report Cards- 2013-14
e) Updated Results Framework Document, with national and state level progress
f) Overall annual programme implementation reports on States and UTs
g) RMSA PAB Minutes 2014
h) Reports of the Monitoring Institutions for all the states
Annexure I In addition to the review of progress against the goals of RMSA, 3 themes have been
jointly identified by MHRD and the DPs for discussion and review at the 5th
RMSA JRM. These
are:
(i) Vocational /Skills Education in schools (deliberate on the current Status and
identify themes on Vocational Education / Skills Education in schools for the
subsequent JRMs),
(ii) UDISE (UDISE Implementation Structure).
(iii) The RMSA JRM would also look at TCA work with regard to teachers’
management in Secondary Education Sector and teacher training under RMSA.
The following checklist is just an indicative list ( focus points ) on which the JRM would look at
and the States/ UTs have to prepare to share information .
OVERALL PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION REPORT OF STATES
1. State / UT wise outlay and expenditure, 2013-14
2. Provision and Release of State share – 2013-14.
3. Component wise physical and financial progress against AWP&B 2014-15
4. Status of the Programme Implementation:
i. Access
a. Status of served and un-served habitations.
b. Number of habitations where providing a school is considered unviable and strategy to
ensure access for the children/ Class VIII pass-outs of these habitations to school.
c. Number of schools sanctioned and opened under RMSA and total number of government
and private ( Aided and Unaided) schools (recognized and un-recognized) in the state.
d. Quality of access -
Number of States/ districts with GER less than National Average .
Number of States/ districts with NER less than National Average
Number of States/ Districts with UPS: Secondary School Ratio less than 2:1
Number of schools without buildings
Number of schools in need of additional classrooms.
No of States/ Districts with Girls’ GER less than the National Average
No of States/ Districts with GER of SCs/ STs/ Minorities less than National Average.
Number of schools with no Computer Labs
Number of Schools with no Science Labs
Number of schools without separate toilets for boys and girls, drinking water
facilities, ramp with handrails, boundary wall/fencing and playground.
Number of schools in need of major repairs.
Number of Schools not having subject teachers
Number of Schools having vacancies of teachers more than two months
Strategy used by State to ensure admissions of Class VIII passouts in / nearest/
Secondary School
e. Number of Girls’ hostels sanctioned, enrolment strength and present enrolment.
f. Number of government hostels for Secondary School students run by other Departments
( apart from Education department)
ii. Retention
a. Pupil Teacher Ratio & status of teacher recruitment & redeployment.
b. Student Classroom Ratio
c. Provision of additional teachers
d. Training of teachers
e. Context–specific measures including sensitization of teachers, parents and community
and removal of socio-psychological barriers in the education of girls and from
disadvantaged groups.
f. Whether SMDCs and Parent Teacher meetings take place regularly
g. Availability of Guidance and Counselling in Schools
h. Initiatives and interventions to remove discrimination against SC & ST children in the
school environment.
i. Tracking and re-admission of drop-outs.
j. Availability of Text books and TLMs
k. Monitoring of Teacher & Student Attendance.
l. Learning Support programmes / Remedial Teaching
iii. Equity- Inclusion
a. Operationalization and functioning of Girls Hostels.
b. Initiatives -Trends in bridging the gaps in enrolment attendance retention and learning
achievement of girls SC, ST and Muslim students.
Teacher Sensitization towards existing social and gender discrimination
Identification of and interventions for CWSN.
iv. Strategies for Community Mobilization
a. Training of Community Members and Initiatives to mobilize SMDCs
b. Convergence of PRI institutions with VEC/PTA/SDMC
c. Instance of community initiatives / SMDC for the development of school development
plan.
v. Quality Interventions
a. State’s Vision of Quality
b. Status of Curriculum reforms
c. Quality of Textbooks and status of textbook renewal process
d. Availability of Science and Maths teachers
e. Availability of E- - learning resources
f. Availability and use of Science labs
g. Status of Learning Enhancement Programme
h. Analysis of Learning Achievement results
i. Research and Evaluation Studies
j. Degree of involvement of Secondary Education Department with the Government Secondary
School Examination Board and institutions like SCERT, RIE, DIET, CTE, IASE and SIEMAT in
planning and implementing Quality Action Plan/ Interventions in Secondary Education under
RMSA
k. Teacher Effectiveness
Minimum Qualifications for Secondary School teachers
Status of Teacher Training (In-Service, Induction and Untrained teachers)
Teacher Performance Tracking (Pupil assessment systems)
Use of ICT and other innovative technologies in teaching and learning in schools,( Use
of ICT as a teaching aid) . Availability of teachers support programme and capacity building programme (whether
institutionalized or not)?
Comment on classroom practices. Any innovative pedagogies observed?
Are the teachers aware of the levels of skills to be attained by the students for each lesson and for the
year?
Whether the State has any learning assessment programme?
Comment on availability of library, library material, access to library by students and teachers and
library hour in the time table.
Has the State initiated any learning enhancement programme? How is it designed? Who is involved?
Any help from NGO? Has any evaluation at the State level been done?
Any Academic Support & Monitoring Systems
Strengthening of Resource Groups
Mechanisms for analysis of Quality Monitoring Tools
Other quality interventions by the State.
Teacher Training – (how much are States spending on teacher training, priorities for
and content of teacher training)
(i) Amount of funds spent by State on teacher training and on Teacher training Institutes
(ii) Perspective Plan (PP) on teacher Training
(iii) Whether there is any Teacher Training Need Assessment carried out?
(iv) Whether a Teacher Training Calendar has been developed?(Convergence of RMSA, IEDSS and
ICT trainings together to complete in 5 days)
(v) Whether a Panel of Subject-wise Master Resource Persons/Key Resource Persons for teacher
training drawn up?
(vi) Institutional Access & linkages i.e. RIE, SCERT, DIET, CTE, IASE( other teacher training
institutions)
(vii) Whether any Monitoring and Evaluation of Teachers Training done /impact evaluation of
teacher training done?
(viii) What is the percentage of trained teachers in the secondary sector in the State? (B.Ed along with
subject qualification. If any other qualification like D.Ed, Certificate, etc is also taken into
consideration then please elaborate)
(ix) What is the number and capacity of teacher training institutions in the State? How are they
funded?
(x) Is there a system of induction training for teachers in secondary schools in the State? Please
elaborate
(xi) What is the regularity of in-service training of secondary school teachers in the State? Please
elaborate
(xii) Is in-service training compulsory for all teachers? What is the frequency – annual, once in two
years, once in three years, need-based? Elaborate
(xiii) If the State is pursuing in-service teachers training through Institutes/ other agencies, is the
training package designed in consultation with Department/ schools/ Principals/ teachers
themselves? Elaborate
(xiv) How have the training packages under RMSA teacher training programmes been designed?
Please elaborate
(xv) What is the duration of training – days/ hours?
(xvi) How is the State/ Institutions/ agency sourcing resource persons/ master trainers?
(xvii) Does the State have a pool of resource persons/ master trainers in all subject areas?
(xviii) How is the pool of resource persons/ master trainers selected?
(xix) Are the objectives/ outcomes of the particular in-service training programme defined and what is
the achievement?
(xx) Has there been an assessment of the impact of in-service teacher training in improvement in
classroom practices, learning outcomes, etc?
(xxi) To what extent is ICT used in Teacher training? Please elaborate.
(xxii) Is Inclusive Education training for teachers part of the training package/
module?
UDISE
State Level :
(i) Details on the State UDISE management system
(ii) Describe the staff assigned this responsibility and the procedures used for compilation, validation
and finally sending of UDISE data to NUEPA
(iii) Describe the responsibilities and duties of officials at various levels with regard to UDISE
(iv) Whether there are dedicated officials/staff for UDISE for SSA and RMSA.
(v) Whether the officials/ staff have been oriented / trained?
(vi) Whether the officials/ Staff have been oriented to the changes in the DCF every year for state
specific variables?
(vii) Whether a calendar for these activities have been made and ensured that all concerned are aware
of this Calendar along with their responsibilities?
(viii) Whether stationery/computers/equipments are made available for this work?
(ix) Please state the number and level of review / monitoring meetings held for this in a year and
describe the format for these meetings
(x) Please mention the number and level of capacity building workshops and trainings for these
activities and describe the format for these trainings
(xi) What are the problems faced in terms of –
(a) staff
(b) Stationery
(c) Computers / Software
(d) Time
(e) Funds
(f) Lack of understanding of the DCF or other similar issues
(g) Correctness of the data
(h) What were the data discrepancies found? How were the data discrepancies addressed?
(i) Others–Please describe in detail
(xii) Whether officials/staff/ functionaries responsible for Planning and Monitoring are competent to
use the data for planning?
(xiii) Whether Planning and Monitoring officials have been trained / oriented to use this data for their
activities in Planning and Monitoring
(xiv) How was the data utilized for preparation of AWP&B.?
(xv) Whether officials of other wings of the Education Department are aware and oriented with
regard to UDISE?
(xvi) Any other information state thinks relevant to inform.
District Level :
(i) Describe the staff assigned this responsibility and the procedures used to distribute DCF, filling
of DCF, compilation, validation and finally sending of UDISE data to State
(ii) Describe the responsibilities and duties of officials at various levels with regard to UDISE
(iii) Whether there are dedicated officials/staff for UDISE for SSA and RMSA and mention the level
(school/ district/ Block/ Division)
(iv) Whether the officials/ staff have been oriented / trained?
(v) Whether a calendar for these activities have been made and ensured that all concerned are aware
of this Calendar along with their responsibilities?
(vi) Whether stationery/computers/equipments are made available for this work?
(vii) Please state the number and level of review / monitoring meetings held for this in a year and
describe the format for these meetings
(viii) Please mention the number and level of capacity building workshops and trainings for these
activities and describe the format for these trainings
(ix) What are the problems faced in terms of –
(a) staff
(b) Stationery
(c) Computers / Software
(d) Time
(e) Funds
(f) Lack of understanding of the DCF or other similar issues
(g) Correctness of the data
(h) What were the data discrepancies found? How were the data discrepancies addressed?
Others–Please describe in detail
(x) Whether officials/staff/ functionaries responsible for Planning are trained to use the data for
planning?
(xi) Whether Planning and Monitoring officials have been trained / oriented to use this data for their
activities in Monitoring ?
(xii) How was the data utilized for preparation of AWP&B.?
(xiii) Whether officials of other wings of the Education Department are aware and oriented with
regard to UDISE?
(xiv) Any other information state thinks relevant to inform.
vi. Programme Management
a. Management Information System
Collection, collation and dissemination of UDISE, household survey data and its
usage
Degree of Involvement of School Principals, Key District officials and key State
officials in collection and verification of UDISE data
Capacity at State and District level to utilize UDISE data for analytics, planning and
monitoring
b. Functioning of SPO and DPOs
Status of staffing at state and district levels.
Degree of Decentralization, Delegation of powers, Functional autonomy
Monitoring Mechanism
c. Convergence with mainstream education structures
d. Convergence with other Departments/ Ministries resources
e. Financial Management Procedures
Status of implementation of FM&P Manual
Status of audit reports for 2013-14.
Status of accounts staffing/ training
Functioning of internal audit system
Audit:
(i) Give an update on steps taken for external audit for FY 134-15 in the State. Has the
auditor for 2014-15 been appointed? (An update on Calendar for different steps in
auditing as provided in the FMP manual).
(ii) Is there one auditor for the entire State or different auditors for regions/ districts?
What is the fee paid to the auditor?
(iii) Extent of coverage/ number of districts/schools actually visited by the auditors?
(iv) What were the main observations of the auditors and what action has been taken in
response?
(v) What were the observations of the MHRD and what action has been taken on them?
(vi) Whether internal audit mechanism is available/ has been started? Comment.
(vii) How does the SPD/CAO/FC monitor the FM performance in the State? Please obtain
details regarding review meetings held, district school visits/ inspections?
(viii) Has the State staff regularly attended the meeting of the CAO/ Finance Controllers
review meetings called by MHRD ? If so, who had attended the past three meetings?
Procurement
(i) Have the procurement plan of the state been prepared & uploaded on the state
website and a copy sent to MHRD ? .
(ii) What is the procurement status of different items/activities on the date of reporting
vis-à-vis time line in procurement plan ? Indicate the physical and financial progress
of each activity.
(iii) Name the officers/ officials who are entrusted with the responsibility for monitoring /
carrying out procurement activities? Number of procurement staff ( Officers
authorized for procurement work and their assistants ) in State, Division, District
and School implementing units with procurement knowledge. Sanctioned strength, in
place and vacancies.
(iv) Whether Project Monitoring Unit / Monitoring mechanisms are established to
supervise, monitor and offer hand-holding technical support to SMDCs for civil
works supervision. Whether Officers are specifically instructed to help and hand hold
the SMDCs in procurement activities?
(v) Training needs of procurement staff and comments on training received so far.
(vi) Status of e-procurement
(vii) Whether e procurement method is followed for all procurement of works, good and
services above INR 50 lakhs.
.
(viii) Whether Procurement record are filed and maintained for post audit
(ix) Whether Complaint handling mechanism are in place in different implementing units
Annexure – II
Results Monitoring* based on the RMSA RFD
*To be provided by NUEPA ( MHRD has already written to NUEPA)
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1. Overview, Key Issues and Recommendations
1. MHRD should initiate a
rigorous quality assurance
process of initiatives deemed
„good practices‟ before they
are shared across states and
recommended for
replication.
MHRD/TSG
Noted.
A system has been put in place where “Good Practices” which have come to the notice of
MHRD through the appraisal process or in other forum, are being documented after examination
and vetting. Detailed framework for such identification needs to evolve over a period of time.
The State page on the RMSA website (rmsaindia.org), States‟ good practices is being shared
after screening. In addition to this, RMSA face book account has been activated where the
activities undertaken are shared with closed groups after due diligence.
2. States should prepare 3-year
plans for quality
improvement, which are
discussed as part of the one-
year PAB approval process.
State/UT
Guidelines on implementation of Integrated RMSA have been prepared on the same lines and
this will be acted upon during current PABs. States of Jharkhand, Bihar, Tripura, Uttar
Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, M.P., Haryana, Manipur, J & K,
Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttrakhand, West Bengal &
Lakshadweep have taken the issue into consideration while preparing for AWP & B 2015-16.
3. MHRD takes the lead in
setting out a national
research agenda, and
encourages such work by a
wide variety of institutions
and agencies at the national,
state and local levels.
MHRD/NCERT/St
ate/UT
A Research Advisory Committee of the MHRD has been set up to look into the matter and set the
agenda for research in School Education.*
The NCERT, under RMSA has developed comprehensive tools for the analysis of curricular
material at the secondary stage and is in the process of developing Quality Assessment Tools for
Secondary Classes .These tools will also help in carrying out research in the area of quality at the
secondary stage. Curriculum and Classroom Process Studies have also been conducted. State of
Assamhas undertaken Research Study through SCERT & DIET faculties on Attendance and
Drop out issues. The study on the same is designed for targeted areas eg, . Tea Garden
Community dominated areas
4. State-level RFDs, reflecting
the national indicators, need
to be developed and used by
states and MHRD during the
PAB process to assess the
plans.
MHRD/State/UT/N
UEPA
States of Jharkhand, Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Bihar, Delhi, Himachal
Pradesh, J & K, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan & Tripura have
initiated work on their State level RMSA RFD and this will be reviewed in the AWP & B
2015-16 appraisal and by the PAB . National level Result Framework Documents (RFD) has
been updated by NUEPA. (Given as an Annexure A) This is being done along with PAB
appraisal. (TSG should start doing this from UDISE in the current PAB )
5. MHRD and states conduct a
review of the necessary core
MHRD/State/UT
This is being carried out in tandem with the RMSA appraisal. *Implementation structures and
subsuming status details are being reviewed /checked during AWP&B / PABs Appraisal
ACTION TAKEN REPORT (ATR) OF 4th
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staffing structures of RMSA,
and those where more
effective linkages with SSA
would be beneficial.
6. UDISE should build GIS
mapping and map-based
presentation of data into its
functions and enhance its
capability to provide
comprehensive, accurate and
real-time data for decision-
making at all levels from the
MHRD to schools across the
country.
NUEPA
25 States GIS data has been mapped and overlaid on NIC Maps. This has been linked to UDISE
data.
2. Overall progress against RMSA Goals
7. The Mission recommends
sustainability and scaling up
of the school leadership
initiative with adequate
resource and capacity
planning of apex institutions
in the long run.
NUEPA/MHRD
In the first year, School Leadership programme was implemented in10 States. In the year 2014-
15, the programme has expanded to cover 21 States. It is envisaged that this year, the School
Leadership programme will cover all States. 1054 state resource group (SRG) &7336
headmastershave been approved to be trained to the states/UTs . Out of approved 7336
headmasters in 2014-15, training has been successfully imparted to 2733 headmasters till Jan.
2015
Separate allocation has been made to this programme to ensure scale and sustainability.
8. Development of indicators to
assess progression towards
completion of secondary
education.
MHRD/NUEPA/N
CERT/TSG
Indicators developed under the RFD RMSA indicate progression towards secondary education.
Status from the Result Framework Document (RFD) indicates the progress of secondary
education.
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9. The difference between GER
and NER calls for further
investigation, both to
understand what can be
understood from the existing
data, what additional studies
are needed, and how states
can plan appropriate
activities. This investigation
will need to look at the
situation state-wise.
State/UT/TSG
The issue was raised in the last PAB meetings and States were advised to find out the actual
reasons for these discrepancies. Efforts made by the States will be reviewed during current
appraisal. The action taken report has been received from 30 states/UTs so far showsthat.
States/UTs of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, MP, Mizoram and Uttrakhand
have looked into the figures of GER& NER in their states and are taking action.
10. Provision of core
infrastructure facilities in
schools requires immediate
attention. The Mission
strongly recommends that
greater administrative efforts
are deployed in the states to
speed up the completion of
these facilities. Given that
this is an area of obvious
priority, the lack of progress
requires further
understanding.
State/UT
This is the first item reviewed and taken into consideration for approval under the RMSA
AWP&B.
As per ATR received from States, States/UTs of A & N Island, Assam, Daman & Diu, DNH, J
& K, Haryana, H.P. , Kerala, Lakshadweep, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil- Nadu & Gujarat have
established monitoring system through their respective agencies/department etc. These states
have been regularly monitoring of their works and update the same time to time.
Ministry is following up with the States. It is expected that the Online programme management
System will eventually assist in this work too.
11. The gap in monitoring and
supervision system needs to
be addressed online
resources and tools at state,
district, block and school
levels are one option. In
addition, RMSA must
collaborate with SSA staff
resources and teacher
MHRD/State/UT
A RMSA website/Portal has been launched in August 2014 by MHRD through which planning,
management & monitoring of the integrated programme is being made online
In addition, MHRD is also initiating the system of online submission of annual work plan &
budget (AWP&B) from the current year 2015-16.
Review of progress and planning of all items under the integrated RMSA is being carried out
through the online system.
Apart from the above initiative taken by MHRD, States/UTs of Assam, Haryana, M.P, and
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institutions to maximize the
use of limited resources.
Manipur& Uttrakhand have their own web based online monitoring system in addition to their
existing physical monitoring at all level. Other States/UTs follow the system of physical
monitoring only.
3. Learning Equity
12. MHRD lead by example and
use its convening power at
state level to initiate
collaboration, exploit
synergies, achieve
economies of scale and
deliver collective strategic
planning across different
Centrally Sponsored
Schemes, especially related
to teacher education. This
may require a review of the
current implementation
arrangements to ensure they
help support collaborative
activities and shared use of
institutions and other
resources where appropriate.
MHRD
Being done. SSA/ RMSA/ TE and MDM PABs are being held together after area Committees
of the MHRD looking at specific themes/, eg, Research , UDISE, etc look after both
Elementary and Secondary Education.
13. MHRD supports remedial
action programmes that
respond to NAS findings and
other studies which identify
learning needs through the
AWPB process, e.g. by
making State remediation
plan proposals eligible for
RMSA funding.
MHRD/NCERT/St
ate/UT
At present, Remedial Teaching/ learning modules at Class IX are considered under RMSA
AWP&B activities in respond to Class VIII outcomes. Once the NAS 10 output is received,
specific intervention can be drawn up for Class X interventions.
14. MHRD develop an MHRD/NCERT NAS information has been uploaded on the www.rmsaindia.org The Educational Survey
ACTION TAKEN REPORT (ATR) OF 4th
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institutional arrangement
with sufficient recurrent
budget to secure the
necessary human and
material resources to
develop a secure archive and
user friendly retrieval system
for NAS data. This should
be as open access as possible
to enable secondary data
analysis (by suitably
qualified people) thereby
increasing opportunities for
further research to build the
evidence base around
learning performance and
challenges.
Division, NCERT, is engaged in developing a protocol for data mining from the NAS
database. This is an activity of NAS class V (4th Cycle). The activity is expected to be
completed soon. Once prototype is developed, a mechanism for sharing of the data will be in
place for users.
15. All material developed
collaboratively through
RMSA should be released as
an open education resource
available on the web to
enable widespread use and
refinement. A free an open
environment is essential for
the evolution of content and
tools. RMSA should support
and build capacity in
collaborative resource
creation by teachers and
teacher educators e.g. OERs,
podcasts, video, animations,
virtual labs etc.
MHRD/State/UT
A beginning has been made to share all these materials on the Website- both the MHRD as
well as the RMSA website. Links with NUEPA/ NCERT/ CIET/ NROER are also being
made.
Essential documents have been uploaded in the RMSA website www.rmsaindia.org All
details related to such initiatives through NUEPA an NCERT have been made available in the
website: http://www.ncert.nic.in and http://www.nuepa.org
Apart of the above facility made at the national level, States/UTs also having such mechanism
for sharing of materials and others resources available with the States/UTs.
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4. Government aided schools at the secondary level
16. Aided schools should be
considered in the same way
as government schools in
determining whether a
habitation is considered to
be „served‟, as already
required within the RMSA
framework. This is an
approach to planning which
is in line with the view states
take of aided schools for
meeting state objectives;
however some states met
with during the review
considered a habitation
served only if there was a
government school present.
MHRD/State/UT
States have been instructed to include aided schools while undertaking school mapping exercise of
Secondary Schools. Guidelines have also been issued on this.
The State/UTs of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, A & N Island, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh,
Delhi, Daman & Diu, DNH, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra,
Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Puducherry, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Tripura, Telangana, Tamilnadu, West Bengal, have taken into consideration
the aided school while mappingschool and habitations.
17. MHRD may carry out
further consultations with
state governments to
understand their perspectives
on the role of aided schools
in meeting RMSA
objectives. These
consultations, and the further
work identified above, could
take place before the next
JRM.
MHRD/State/UT
All states/UTs have been instructed to include aided schools under the school mapping exercises.
For 2015-16, Guidelines on implementation of RMSA have been issued which details what kind
of support can be provided to aided schools to achieve the objectives.
Discussion with States in the pre-appraisal meetings of their RMSA AWP&B will include
understanding their perspectives on the role of aided schools in meeting RMSA objectives.
.
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5. Procurement and Financial Management
18. MHRD and states may
publish the real time data on
transfer dates and amount of
funds to the State treasury
from MHRD and to the
RMSA society from the
State treasury on RMSA
portal.
MHRD/State/UT
This is being done through Project Monitoring System. Presently through PMS, Sanction Orders
are generated and a mail to States / MHRD/ TSG is auto generated for intimation on release of
funds from MHRD to State Treasury. On receipt of funds at SIS, the information is updated
through Monthly Progress Report. (E.g., online submission of Monthly Physical & Financial
Progress, online generation of sanction orders for grants released and auto generated mails for
sanction orders.)
19. States to ensure effective
monitoring mechanisms at
all levels. With more
delegation of financial
powers to SMDC, it is
important that States should
strengthen support at the
district level with technical
resource person to supervise,
monitor and offer hand-
holding technical support to
SMDCs for civil works
supervision. There is a need
for greater convergence of
staffing at district level
among SSA and RMSA.
State/UT
As per the ATRs received from States, monitoring from the State and District level has been
intensified. In some States, SMDCs monitor the day to day activities of schools.
Delegation of financial powers to SMDC for monitoring of civil works activities had been
more intensified in the states/UTs of Andhra Pradesh, Assam ,DNH, Daman & Diu, Gujarat,
Haryana, Kerala, M.P., Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, U.P., Jharkhand & Uttarakhand
Included in the PMS, module for Online monitoring of Districts/Blocks and School wise
approvals for RMSA, ICT, GH, IEDSS & VE and Model Schools has been developed , In a
phased manner, it is proposed to take the module further down to school level monitoring of
civil works.
District level engineers (mostly of the SSA) have been assigned monitoring on regular basis
and to support the SMDC.
Where the SPDs of SSA and RMSA are the same, there is a convergence of staffing (with
UDISE / MIS work as well as Finance work being carried out mostly by the SSA staff.
Mizoram, Chhatisgarh, Maharastra, DNH, Daman & Diu, H.P, Chandigarh etc.
20. MHRD could commission
the development of some
self-learning materials,
including good practice
examples, FAQs and
templates, on FM&P manual
processes (covering both
MHRD
RMSA website includes content like good practices, FAQs, knowledge hub, discussion forum,
manual on online submitting the reports and AWP&B, guidelines etc.
@ www.rmsaindia.org
ACTION TAKEN REPORT (ATR) OF 4th
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procurement and financial
management aspects), and
place these on the RMSA
portal for access by all staff
of implementing agencies.
This training material should
include self-assessment and
MHRD may consider
offering a certificate for
those who demonstrate
acquisition of the required
knowledge and
understanding.
21. MHRD may follow up with
18 States who have not
submitted the procurement
plans for the FY14-15 to
furnish the same at the
earliest.
MHRD/State/UT
This is being followed up.
22. There is a need to analyze
the data reported by States
and check their
reasonableness vis-à-vis
Releases by the Central and
State Governments, Other
Receipts, Expenditures
Reported and funds under
the non-recurring head
parked with Construction
Agencies. This analysis
should be conducted on a
state-wise basis.
MHRD/TSG/State/
UT
All the States have their own process of checking against parking of funds with construction
agency. Release of funds to the agency is based on the Utilization certificate submitted by the
agency and in many cases the status is monitored on a monthly basis. Also the audit report for the
States certifies the amount for which UC is not received by SIS.
Online Monitoring System has been enabled.
23. The SIS of each State should State/UT States / UTs are providing clarification/ answers to the Queries/ Observations raised by MHRD
ACTION TAKEN REPORT (ATR) OF 4th
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provide clarification and/or
take remedial actions against
the audit observations and
report back to MHRD by
December 31, 2014.
on the audit reports. MHRD/ TSG is following up.
Pending observations are persuaded with the States/UTs on regular basis and funds are released to
the States subject to justified clarification received from the States.
24. States should reconcile the
differences between
unaudited and audit
expenditure by December
2014 and going forward
such reconciliation
statements need to be
prepared and included in the
Annual Financial
Statements.
State/UT
The issue is being raised with the State and IFR V provides details of unaudited and Audited
expenditure. Reconciliation of unaudited Statement is part of Audit process.
25. As provided in the FMP
Manual, SISs need to ensure
that an appropriate of system
of grant reconciliation and
tracking of UCs exists at the
district and state levels.
Rolling out of the Central
Plan Monitoring System
(CPSMS) could be
considered.
MHRD/TSG
From National level 7 States are being undertaken as part of pilot projects in collaboration with
TCA in addition to tis ministry of Finance is pursuing the State on implementation of CPSMS.
Annexure-3
List of FifthJRM members
Government of India
Mr. S. R. Sathyam, (Mission Leader)
Mr. Sunil Verma
Mr. Sharda Prasad
Prof. K. Dorasami
Mr. Samar Ray
Mr. Rajaram Sharma
Mr. Amit Khanna
Ms. JyotsanaJha
DFID India
Colin Bangay
Sandeepa Sahay
World Bank
Toby Linden
SangeetaDey
Satyanarayan Panda
PapiaBhatachaarji
SiddharthKohli
**************
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
1
STATE REPORT: Assam
I. Introduction:
Assam is one of the large North-Eastern states with 27 districts, predominantly rural (86%), a population
of 311.69 lakhs (2011 census) with a gender ratio of 954. It has 81 economically backward blocks and 14
special focus districts (12 minority, 1 ST and 1 ST & minority). The state reports an overall literacy of
73.18% and in terms of numbers a well spread out school system, with only 3.06 % of the habitations, yet
to be covered. It reports 7124 secondary schools of which 3996 are directly run by the Government, while
1140 are provided a grant in aid.
The RMSA intervention in the state has made significant inroads, adding schools, enhancing access,
steady increase in enrolment and initiatives in a variety of quantitative and qualitative parameters
including infrastructure, teacher training, CWSN, and school mapping. The state however, has to make a
concerted effort at overcoming severe policy and legal constraints, severe incapacity and leadership at the
lower levels and availability of quality human resources.
Pockets of individual initiatives, dedicated and passionate functionaries and a growing reflection on the
need to address various issues has resulted in progressive steps, which would in the future enable the state
in making necessary course corrections and redeem the position.
The fifth Joint Review Mission team to Assam visited Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup (Rural), Nalabari
districts, reviewing the general programme management, financial and accounting processes, roll out of
the vocational education programme, new civil works including a model school and girls hostel. The
team also interacted with the State RMSA team, the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA), a
district office of the RMSA, Inspectors of Schools and an Institute of Advanced Study of Education.
II. Overview and Key Issues:
The state has a legacy of a large number of private schools, begun by individuals or groups, which were
taken over by the Government, a process they term as provincialisation. This practice along with the fact
that the schools themselves are a varied mix of primary, upper primary, elementary, secondary,
composite, higher secondary, secondary and higher secondary, with different kinds of management
structures has resulted in a very diverse and complex set of rules and regulations, service conditions,
subjects taught and teacher qualifications.
Badly affected by this complexity is teacher management. A large number of untrained teachers at all
levels have to be addressed. Subject wise teacher deployment is heavily skewed, with only 9.3% of the
schools reporting teachers in all subjects taught.
The GER of 71.21 (2013-14) at the secondary level, following a GER of 97.9 at the upper primary level
itself indicates a big loss in transition. This is compounded by the fact that NER is only 50.32 and overall
pass rates at the 10th boards is only 61.42%. Together the figures indicate a low efficiency.
The State reports a pupil-teacher ratio of 17, indicating a high teacher availability, but a student classroom
ratio of 50, indicating the exact opposite. The figures also mask a very high disparity in terms of teachers
with specific subject qualifications. Most severely affected is Science (16.6%) followed by Social Science
(35.4%). No subjects cross the 50% mark. Existing service rules inhibit transfer of teachers. The state is
yet to develop detailed disaggregated teacher mapping, which could highlight specific areas of challenges,
enabling a plan of action to redress the issue.
The State reports an overall pass rate of over 60%. This again masks the fact that the survival rate till
class 10 is 46.5% and the number of students achieving first classes or higher is abysmally low. The
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
2
results of the 2014 High School Leaving Certificate examinations show Kamrup (Metro) having 20.44
% first classes and Chirang 4.43 % first classes. The state also practices a detention policy, keeping
children at class 9, the numbers of which are also very high. The State will have to urgently address
these efficiency issues.
Despite efforts, the overall progress on various RMSA initiatives is low. Expenditures show severe
shortfalls, cutting across all domains. The state has not been able to meet targets on most parameters both
quantitative and qualitative. Lack of capacities at different levels and a sense of ownership, particularly at
the ground levels, appears to be the major reasons.
III. Theme #1 Data / UDISE / Planning and micro-planning
While the procedure of collection of data for UDISE is being made increasingly robust, making
available data which is consistent, reliable and comprehensive to use at appropriate levels remains an
important challenge for the State. There has been notable progress in terms of cleaning of data,
correcting inconsistencies and offering definitional clarity on calculation of key indicators. The State
conducts a 5% sample check of the DISE data.
A TCA-RMSA initiative to collaborate with the state on analysing UDISE statistics has resulted in a
comprehensive tracing of district wise figures of a variety of parameters. The involvement of different
state and district level functionaries in this activity will result in greater awareness of the import of such
activities. While the analysis has looked at critical parameters of access, quality and equity on the basis of
gender, a further disaggregated analysis by SC/ST, CWSN, etc. will provide complete information set that
would help in developing a more robust approach to address the issues.
Data, data quality, data analysis and use of the data to make informed decisions is significantly weak.
But there is no analysis of this data at the school, district or state levels. Where statistical inferences are
reported, it is more of a compliance to queries and or requirements for RMSA applications. Implications
of these numbers, for instance the gaps between GER and NER, Gender Parity, Teacher Deployment are
rarely sought and explored to draw actions to correct them.
Planning decisions are based on data, which is not systematically verified. This has led, among other
gaps, to an inability to implement approved programmes and activities, leading further to non-utilisation
of funds on the one hand and deprivation of funds for other legitimate needs in the schools. One glaring
example has been the inability to initiate the construction of new classrooms sanctioned.
Recommendations:
State must invest on building capacities across the system - beginning at the school level, to
realise the import of data for decision making; make use of the data collected; and respond to the
inferences drawn from the analysis (for example, the classification: functional / non-functional
toilets do not indicate reasons for the 'non-functional' and hence does not inform actions). The
process of data collection and analysis, as well as planning on its basis can be supported with the
formation of community resource groups consisting of groups of head teachers, educators and
other professionals.
Going beyond compliance to UDISE, the state must encourage identification of gaps in data and
initiate systematic efforts to collect these data, especially at the lower levels; this should include
school achievement, identification of student needs (CWSN, VE for example), transition of
students, mapping of teacher gaps, training, infrastructure and school facilities, etc. The
generation of school level, block and district level compilations and report cards is recommended.
Universal participation of schools in data contribution should be ensured. Legal and regulatory
mechanisms should be invoked to include all schools, gaps systematically identified and
appropriate enablers put in place. Encouraging the active use of data for planning and action will
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
3
also help stakeholders participate.
The differences between UDISE expected fields, its understanding by school functionaries and the
different typology the state uses in some cases, has resulted in erroneous or vague reporting. An
expert comparison of the data capture template, an articulation of an operations manual and
orienting school and other functionaries to enhance data check and quality of reporting.
A range of issues which can get clarified and amenable for actions – the GER-NER differences,
gender disparity, linkages with SSA data,
IV. Theme #2 Planning, Programme management and monitoring
An enterprising team at the SIS is emerging, which diligently complies with scheme provisions, and
readies all requirements (data, proposals, supporting documents). But this is predominantly seen as
programme implementation rather than an enabler of improvements in Secondary Education. Most
provisions are implemented with total absence of creativity. The focus is not on solving the problem at
hand or addressing the needs of students. A typical example is non-repair of computers already existing in
the schools (they are not from this scheme) or distribution of CWSN kits.
There is an absence of general awareness of the scope and role of RMSA as a quality intervention. This is
particularly true at the head teacher level, leading to incapacities to utilise its provisions. School facilities
and infrastructure like libraries, laboratories, instructional resources, furniture, play grounds and art
materials are rarely being improved. Pockets of change emerge out of individual initiatives rather than a
systematic plan for the state.
Programme planning is affected by absence of analysis of data. The state has also not set targets against
the deliverables. However an exercise at developing a Vision Document to inform the overall State
implementation is a positive step. School Development Plan is also not yet a standard feature of the
school's articulation. However, a number of schools have begun articulation of a school vision document
or development plan, which can be showcased and mainstreamed. Some of these also indicate
participation of the School Development and Management Committee. One of the Inspectors of Schools
heading a district office had analysed the results of the board examination at the 10th class level. Taking
note of these innovations and mainstreaming would help.
Monitoring by an independent agency has helped the State obtain an outsider's view on the RMSA
implementation. Exhaustive appraisal of schools with regards to the seven pillars of the RMSA are
carried out by these third party institutions. The pages of the voluminous document stores a lot of
insightful information for action, however to make it more user friendly and action oriented, it would be
advisable to improvise the executive summary such that it presents data that can show progress since the
last reporting period and also notify actions.
Last year has not only been significant for RMSA in terms of changes to the fund flow mechanism, it has
also seen the merger of five separate schemes at the secondary education level under the umbrella of the
RMSA. This should enable a consolidation of plans, however the state proposal still reflects a compilation
of separate sub-plans with no conscious effort to make the linkages between each and maximise the
synergy that can accrue from such an approach. Such thinking prevails down upto the school level, which
is not able to synergise either the funds or the resources. Each programme or activity stands separate.
To make assessments of the school and to provide expert resource support, a three member Quality
Assurance Group has been set up in each district. One of these groups has conducted an exhaustive study
of about 166 schools using an instrument called 'Drishti'. The instrument identifies a variety of school
level activities, infrastructure and facilities. The report from this group has not yet been analysed, nor has
any feedback provided to the school reported on. It would be useful if the instrument itself is examined
improving its capability to report achievements, gaps and enable actions at different levels. The
participation of the stakeholders, particularly school heads in the interpretation of the reports would help
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
4
increase awareness of what can and should be done in schools.
Recommendations:
Sharing of information, guidelines, and scope for creative implementation of the RMSA
provisions should become a universal practice. This should be supported by critical reflection
workshops for head teachers and senior functionaries in the system, specifically focussing on what
can and ought to be addressed and improved.
Training on process management and procedures to ensure timely and cost effective
implementation, with an emphasis on deriving the best benefit for the school is urgently needed.
This should also focus on record keeping and due compliance of rules.
Independent monitoring will be significantly enhanced if the reviewing agency can engage with
the provisions of the scheme, articulating from its expert point of view, the import of the
provision, diagnose the issues and suggest remedies which are specific and actionable.
V. Theme #3 Teacher Availability, Teacher deployment gaps, Teacher Training
The state reports major gaps in availability of teachers of specific subjects across schools. The overall
numbers of teachers available in the system does not justify this gap. The anomaly arises out of absence of
a unified teacher cadre with common recruitment, service and transfer rules. Large scale take over of
private schools by the Government (termed as provincialisation) has provided the numbers of the schools
needed, but redeployment of teachers has not been possible.
The state is aware of the issues involved and is working towards solutions. This include study visits to
other states to draw from those initiatives, the conceiving of a HRMIS, mapping of teacher availability
and scope for redeployment.
Training programmes are conducted in compliance of targets and sanctions under the training head. No
systematic identification of training needs, identification of teachers to be covered, mapping of training
coverage, etc., are done. The effects of training rarely accrue.
The state reports a large number of untrained teachers. It has attempted to systematically address this by
deputing them to B. Ed., courses being organised by the CTE. About 900 seats per year become
available. With the new NCTE norms, these numbers will be halved. The numbers possible would not
bridge the gaps in the near future. Alternatives are not being explored.
Recommendations:
A teacher mapping exercise focussing on qualifications, age, location, redeployability, will have to
be urgently initiated to clarify and inform all decisions regarding teachers.
Initiative to bring all teachers under one unified service with common conditions will have to be
enabled.
NCTE provisions for Open Distance Learning for practising teachers and expanding the offerings
of the IASE and CTE should be explored to bridge the numbers of untrained teachers.
Systematic, need based training plans have to emerge on the strength of a training map so that
existing provisions for training is more effectively utilised.
Teacher educators in the teacher education institutions and other professionals are rarely included
in in-service training. The state should undertake a systematic mapping of such expertise and
enable their involvement, not just teacher training but a variety of other initiatives undertaken
under the RMSA.
VI. Theme #4 Management of Procurement, Finances, Accounts, and Audit
The State RMSA is guided by the provisions of Manual for Financial Management and Procurement
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
5
(F&MP) for RMSA (Govt. of India, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of School
Education and Literacy). The JRM team attempted to ascertain the compliance level of the SIS and the
field formations to the provisions of F&MP Manual and programme objectives.
At the state level, it appears the activity of procurement, planning and monitoring are not captured on
their RMSA website, the reason perhaps being non-capturing of structured data. Annual procurement
plans were not being prepared and materials/services were procured on “as is” basis. Consequently it was
not possible to match actual procurement with a procurement plan and its impact on the activity for which
the procurement was made. E-procurement is not initiated yet, only NITs are put online. The budgeting
process and data marshalling are handicapped at various levels and this perhaps is partially responsible for
the state’s inadequate utilisation of RMSA financial resources. Since 2014-15 central plan funds
(including RMSA) are being transferred to the states in treasury mode but the expenditure is through the
society mode. This necessitates greater internal financial control and robust financial management system
at SIS and sub-state disbursement levels.
The Cash management leaves much to be desired, especially in the schools. The head teacher with no
experience or knowledge of treasury rules, financial rules or any other guidelines on financial
management, maintains the primary records like cash book and stock records erratically. The schools
visited revealed the following: (a) cashbooks are not maintained in the format prescribed and (b)
cashbooks have not been closed for months, resulting in the obvious and implied risk of reporting wrong
cash balance. While subsidiary cash books (project wise) are maintained, there is no general cash book
reflecting the cash position of the school.
At the state level, there is an absence of a comprehensive and full scale financial management system with
a dedicated finance division managed by professionals. The need for a sound financial management
system at the state level cannot be overemphasised, particularly when huge amounts of plan and non-plan
funds are being committed to RMSA every year.
External audit is restricted only to certification of financial statement and no performance audit is
undertaken to have a comprehensive idea of the implementation status of RMSA, which helps
undertaking quality initiatives. Internal audit has been initiated, but no report is submitted yet. It was
observed that the State is not able to spend the non-recurring grant as proposed, approved and released in
the AWP&B and huge amounts are lying unspent and carried over from year to year, impacting the
programme. According to Statutory Auditor’s Report on RMSA Plan Fund for the financial year 2013-14,
Rs. 9.11 crore was lying unutilised for recurring fund, Rs. 1.87 crore from non-recurring fund and the
total amount lying unutilised at the end of the year was Rs. 2,04,86,25,283.24, including interest. No age-
wise analysis of huge advances (Rs. 23 crore approx.) lying with different agencies has been made, which
is a risky proposition. Data discrepancies (different documents declaring different figures) further
complicate matters. It was also observed from the Bank reconciliation statement, that cheques issued, way
back in 2011 is yet to be presented to the Bank for payment. This has obvious risks and no analysis has
been done, resulting in a hugeunadjusted cash balance of Rs. 1.4 crore.
Recommendations:
The state needs to gear up its finance division with dedicated professional staff, pending which
the existing staff should be trained in government finance; the SIS may also consider exploring
the possibility of drafting personnel from the state financial services; or retired officers from
IA&AD or retired personnel from Finance department of the state government.
Strict oversight and ensuring compliance to rules and procedures for managing finances, accounts
and procurement needs to be made.
Training the heads of schools in treasury rules, GFR or any other relevant guidelines on financial
management, maintenance of primary records like cash books and general understanding of audit
processes is urgently needed. A uniform code and necessary documents to support compliance
should also be evolved and head teachers suitably oriented.
Schools need professional support. The services of a suitably qualified and trained Financeand
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
6
Accounts staff will ensure trustworthy transfer of these responsibilities to the schools.
Automation of Financial and Accounting record keeping, store inventory etc. at the school level
should be encouraged to ensure reliable and easy to compile data at higher levels. Suitable
software routines may be developed and training provided.
VII. Theme #5 Vocational Education
The State is in very early stages of the implementation of the VE scheme. It has identified 59 schools
where this is to be rolled out with level 1 courses in IT/ITeS and Retail, beginning January 2015.
Teachers have been recruited and deployed. Equipment and resources, including course materials have
not yet been supplied to the schools; however the team has been informed that this is likely to be realised
in 15 days.
Choices of courses or schools are not being made on the basis of local needs; schools have shown no
awareness about the possibilities, local needs, the scheme itself; lack of understanding of the objectives of
the vocationalisation of education is apparent; the full component of students have not yet been enrolled.
The presence of an existing system of Vocational Education as an elective subject along with other general
subjects like Advanced Mathematics and Languages appears to be creating confusions and will impact roll
out, particularly as the objectives of the current scheme is at drastic variance. The existing vocational
education scheme is considered unviable, with very low enrolment. Absence ofawareness among the
schools of the scope and details of the new scheme does not aid communication and promotion of the new
courses to the parents and students.
There is also a 150 strong permanent staff spread across many schools, who were managing the earlier
scheme. One of the options – Computer Technique appears to clash with the ITeS programme. The
simultaneous roll out of the ICT literacy through the Rajiv Gandhi Computer Literacy Programme as well
as the ICT@Schools scheme complicates the issue further in the minds of the schools, discouraging
enrolment.
Vocational Education will be rolled out in all types of schools, including Madarasas. Currently the
subjects offered in Madarasas are many, Arabic is offered as a compulsory choice among the electives and
therefore there may not be a straight opening for an additional vocational subject.
Recommendations:
There is a need for clarity at the State, District and School heads levels of the Vocational
Education Scheme, particularly its integration into the general academic programme.
Development of promotional materials and orientation programmes for the principals and other
stake holders should be organised to encourage participation.
Critical reflection workshops for Head Teachers followed by similar workshops at the school
levels involving teachers and parents is essential to dispel misgivings and evolve a right
perspective on skilling and enhancing capacities of students. The final roll out and its impact on
the future prospects of students, especially choices for further education should be the focus of
these communications.
Schools should be encouraged to proactively explore the various skill areas and course available,
the potential of these for the prospects of their students, factoring in local needs, local potential,
and student interests. Increasing the capacity of the schools, parents and students to make
informed choices and demand specific courses will be essential to instil confidence in the scheme.
While the new teachers have been diligently selected and deployed, they will need ongoing
support in view of the newness of the programme and the absence of exposure to teaching-
training methodologies. They may be advised to form an egroup to seek support from institutions
like PSSCIVE. The evolution of support groups across the State from amongst champions of
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
7
vocational and skill education from different walks of life would also enable the creation of a
climate to establish this programme and promote future expansion.
The State should begin planning for building Industry / Community linkages for on the job
training, higher education programmes to ensure continuity of particular trades (level 1 to level 5).
Further steps like establishing of credit transfers, student mobility between trades, etc. should also
be planned for and relevant agencies (Universities, Boards, etc.) engaged with.
Other Themes
VIII. Theme #6 ICT in Education in the Schools
The State has many parallel programmes relating to the use of ICT in schools. Computer labs have been
established in schools under the Rajiv Gandhi Computer Literacy Programme from 2004. The State also
has developed a curricula for this programme, which essentially comprises a computer literacy and an
introduction to programming. This curricula is articulated as a textbook supplied to all the students in
schools where this programme is implemented. This programme has been discontinued now and the ICT
infrastructure handed over to the schools.
The State has also implemented the ICT@Schools scheme in 2200 schools since 2010. The State
reports that the schools covered under these two programmes are exclusive.
Alongside the schools implement an older vocational education scheme, which has many elective
subjects including computer technique. Only some of the students take this course.
A fourth option has emerged in the form of the new vocational education scheme, wherein schools have
been offered ICT infrastructure for transacting the IT/ITES course.
Together the parallel running of these programmes has caused avoidable confusions at the school level.
While the Board of Secondary Education has endeavoured to separate the implementations, the
communication does not appear to be complete. With the result, in the schools visited, only some of the
students had access to the ICT facilities (20 in 9th and 20 in 10th), defeating the purpose of the
ICT@Schools scheme. Also they were using the old textbooks of the RGCLP programme, which is over
10 years old.
Each of these programmes appear to have exclusive teachers – the BOOT agency supplied teacher in the
ICT scheme, the permanent teacher in the old vocational education scheme and a new resource person on
contract in the new IT/ITES programme.
The ICT software supplied to the schools under every one of the above programmes is limited to
Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. While a dual boot with a Linux partition is part of the
specifications, and is perhaps available, none of the teachers were aware of this. No internet was available
in the visited schools, they did not have a telephone either. Assamese font was not deployed as the
standard interface, despite the fact that almost all students and barring a few, all teachers spoke only
Assamese. The teachers report the supply of e-content by the BOOT implementing agencies, which is at
best shown to the students. Schools do not have any systematic plan of utilising the facility.
Students typically get access upto two periods a week, with two students sharing a computer.
Recommendations:
There is an urgent need to articulate a curricular programme for the ICT@Schools
schemeimplementation incorporating ICT literacy, ICT infusion into teaching learning of different
subjects, and computing. This should be followed up by a systematic orientation of the schools so
that the programme objectives are effectively realised.
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
8
The State must take urgent measures to dispel the confusion in the minds of the school and district
level authorities arising out of multiple programmes and the objectives and scope of each of them.
This would also help the schools see the infrastructure as a part of the school programme,
enabling access to all students and teachers.
Internet access must be made available (it is feasible, but has not been implemented) in all
schools, so that larger benefits of web access could accrue to the schools.
The range of software applications must be enhanced, particularly emphasising software related to
various subjects taught in schools. Teachers must be made aware of the possibilities and explore
using them in their classrooms.
There is also an urgent need to train teachers and head teachers to use the ICT infrastructure for
different school activities, especially teaching learning.
IX. Theme # 7 Children with Special Needs
The State has systematically mapped children with special needs, recording specific impairments and is in
a position to direct attention to each child. But while the school has helped generate this data, their own
awareness of the import of this data and specific actions to be initiated by them is very weak.
The state reports that teachers specifically selected from schools having such children have been provided
training.
General RMSA provisions at the school level – ramps as a part of new constructions, specific aids to
children were noticed. However these appear to be compliance of programme requirements rather than a
part of a planned intervention to address the needs of such children. No activities addressing academic
needs were reported.
Recommendations:
As is the general case with all data, the disaggregated CWSN data should be made available to
each school and schools expected to process this data, initiating specific actions to address the
physical as well as academic needs of the CWSN.
The data collected encompasses children enrolled in secondary schools. Interpolating the SSA
data at the VIII grade level into this data would help map children who would have dropped out,
perhaps due to their impairments and make efforts to enrol them.
A systematic general health check up at the school level, at least annually, to help identify
children’s' special needs if any. Supporting this with capacity building at the school level in
planning suitable interventions will also be needed.
X. Theme #8 TCA support to RMSA in the State
Technical Cooperation Agency (TCA) support through their team based in the North East RIE, Shillong
became operational from 2013. Of the various themes agreed with the MHRD, specific areas on Results
focused planning, Teacher management and development and Strengthening of Research capacity had
been identified for TCA to support for RMSA implementation in Assam.
The JRM team noted a number of useful exercises carried out by TCA in examination of the status of
secondary schools using UDISE and steps to build capacities on planning and research. The state now has
a situational report, draft vision document, framework for medium term plan and 2015-16 Annual work
plan.
In addition, extensive review of existing teacher management and development and State Education Acts,
policies and rules based on consultations, data and documentary analysis has been completed. It has
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
9
resulted in production of draft report with recommendations for revision to policies and acts for
addressing bottlenecks impeding efficient and quality education delivery and enabling uniformity in
teachers’ rationalisation, recruitment, deployment and development.
For enhancing research capacity, professional development programme for DIET and CTE faculty was
conducted. This resulted in four research activities. A case study on efficiency, effectiveness and equity
in planning for enhanced access from policy and guidelines perspective has been undertaken in Bhaksa
district. It was not clear if these studies were being disseminated and shared. Such an initiative will help
promote use of analysis and evidence which is currently lacking at the various implementation levels of
the secondary sector in Assam.
Recommendations:
While Assam has benefited from technical cooperation support on critical areas forstrengthening
delivery of the RMSA programme, however it has not used the opportunity to develop its own in-
house capacity. As the TCA support ends by March 2016, the State Education Department will
need to strategically identify areas where it would benefit more from this support in the final year
and use different modalities to build capacity of its own team. As an instance, this could be
achieved by deputing personnel from the department to work with TCA team on identified areas
of work.
The various research and analytical studies being undertaken should be widely disseminated and
shared amongst all stakeholders involved with planning and delivery of the programme. The State
RMSA should lead the much needed focus on use of data and analysis and thereby increasing
analytical and research capacities.
Assam State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
10
Annexure #1:
Team Members
Shri Samar Ray, IA & AS (Retd.) (GoI representative),
Prof. Rajaram S. Sharma, Joint Director, Central Institute of Educational Technology
(CIET), NCERT (GoI representative)
Ms Sandeepa Sahay, Senior Deputy Programme Manager, DFID (DP Member)
Prof. Vinay Swarup Mehrotra, Head, CDEC & NSQF Cell, PSS Central Institute of
Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), NCERT (GoI representative)
State personnel interacted with and Schools and institutions visited
Shri. R.C.Jain, Mission Director,
Shri S.S.Meenakshi Sundaram, IAS, Chairman, Board of Secondary Education Assam
Shri Abir Hazarika, ACS, Secretary, SEBA
Shri Paragmoni Mahanta, Senior Administrative Officer, Shri Krishna Baruah, Officer on Special
Duty,
Ms Rituparna Thakuria, OSD,
Shri Romen Das, Consultant, RMSA, Assam,
Ms Hudipta Borgohain, State Programme Associate, Mr. Diganta Barman, State Programmer
Inspectors of Schools from various districts
Representatives from Civil Engineering Department of PWD, implementing partner North Eastern
Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), Shillong,
Dibrugarh University (Monitoring Agency),
State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT), Board of Secondary Education
Assam,
Assam Higher Secondary Education Council,
Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (AMTRON), implementing partnerSelect
principals and resource teachers from CTE, DIET and schools
TC Government High School, Kamrup (Metro)
Cotton Collegiate Government Higher Secondary School, Kamrup (Metro) New Guwahati
Adarsha High School, Kamrup (Metro)
Guwahati Refinery High School, Kamrup (Metro)
Banikanta Kakati Institute of Advanced Study of Education, Kamrup (Metro) Hajo SAB
Madrassa, Kamrup (Rural)
Damdama High School, Kamrup (Rural)
Hajo SBS KR Higher Secondary School, Kamrup (Rural) Pub Barkhetri High School, Nalbari
Chandi Medhi Balika Vidyalaya High School, Nalbari (Girls Hostel) Barkhetri Model School,
Nalbari
Kaldi Gopalthan High School, Nalbari
*******************
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
1
State Report: Gujarat
1. Introduction
The JRM team visiting Gujarat (January 28-31st, 2015) comprised two members: Ms. Jyotsna Jha,
Director Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, Bangalore, for MHRD and Mr. Colin Bangay, Senior
Education Adviser, Department for International Development (DFID), UK Government. The team
visited 9 schools/hostels (3 government, 1 government aided, 1 Model, 1 Hostel, and 3 new RMSA
schools) in Ahmedabad and Khena districts. Meetings were also held with; the Chair and senior staff of
the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Exam Board (GSHEB), senior staff of the State Teacher
Training Institute (STTI), the director and senior staff of Gujarat Centre for Research and Training
(GCERT). A detailed list of persons met is provided at Annex 1. An opening session was held with
Mukesh Kumar, RMSA/SSA/MDM State Project Director and Commissioner of Schools. A wrap up
session was held with Shri Arvind Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat,
Education Department.
The team would like to thank all the state officials, teachers and students for extending cooperation,
support and the warm hospitality at all levels.Particular thanks go to Mr. P. Madan, Mr. M.M. Jani, and
Ms. P. Kumari for their facilitation and attention to detail which made the JRM visit so productive.
2. Overview and Key Issues
Government aided schools provide some 67% of secondary school provision in Gujarat. Government
schools provide some 7% with the remainder being delivered by private and central government
provision. Commonly private secondary schools serve the most wealthy, private aided schools
predominate in urban and peri-urban areas and government schools are providing to the poorer sections
of society particularly in underserved rural areas. Government secondary school provision has increased
from 160 to 644 schools between 2001 and 2012. RMSA is particularly welcomed for its contribution to
reaching the disadvantaged.
A decision to realign the education department by merging the primary and secondary– this will reflect
MHRD organizational structure with school education now falling under one bureau. SSA and RMSA
are currently managed by the same SPD (RMSA as an additional charge). This arrangement has helped
convergence, economies of scale and sharing of scarce resources. There are good examples of
collaborative working e.g. in the management of UDISE. It is hoped that further opportunities will be
exploited – e.g. in the utilization of the network of teacher training institutions, and joint working on
student preparedness as they move from grades 8 to 9.
The approved PAB allocation for SSA of 555 crore means SSA forms the bulk of GoIsupport to the state
government of Gujarat. The SSA contribution dwarfs the 27 crore allocation to RMSA. While the
number of secondary school students only constitute some 25% of primary/ elementary numbers this
proportion is growing. At current rates RMSA allocations are 1/20th of SSA allocations.
The Gujarat government recognizes that issues around civil works procurement and treatment of
expenditure balances have impeded draw down against RMSA. However, the Gujarat RMSA SIS are
determined to make greater use of RMSA funding and expressed a wish to secure greater proportionality
relative to student numbers between SSA and RMSA spend in future.
Gujarat State Government has recently re-aligned its schooling structure to the national 8+2+2 norm.
This has not been without its challenges not least the re-deployment of grade 8 teachers (categorized as
secondary teachers under the old system but now as elementary teachers).
The Key issuesidentified during the mission were:
For State
Strengthen the capacity for and culture of data use to inform remedial action and needs based
budgeting - specifically in (i) Learning outcome performance addresslarge variance in pass rates
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
2
in grade 10 state board exams; (ii) Use of National Achievement Survey data (identify specific
areas of learning underperformance and remediate); (iii) UDISE data – address geographic /
gender / social / CWSN inequities.
Build on strong GIS foundations by merging UDISE data into GIS maps and presenting this
cartographically (to make geographic resourcing and performance issues more evident).
Address specialist teacher availability/competence – in order to address low grade 10 pass rates
in rural areas and small schools.
Review and strengthen use of the internet and ICT for student and teacher learning and system
administration.
Better coordinate elementary and secondary teacher training and utilize Gujarat’s impressive
training infrastructure to the fullest, e.g. use DIET / BRCs for secondary school training
Address gender dynamics and CWSN equity issues in a more comprehensive and holistic manner
– with a focus that move beyond numbers to behavior change
In order to deliver the above the project management unit and staff will require institutional and
human capacity development.
For Centre
Review of how RMSA norms are being interpreted at State level – discussion and issuing of
further guidance (if necessary) to ensure norms are not interpreted in ways that may distort/
impede local needs based decision making.
Consideration of the expansion of RMSA to include higher secondary – thereby enabling greater
opportunities for joint junior secondary / higher secondary schools (providing opportunities for
optimal utilization of specialist teachers and rooms) and ensuring a complete educational offer
(particularly important for girls).
Review of the treatment of states with large numbers of grant aided schools – salary and
contingency expenditure associated with student expansion.
Provide guidance and support on use of NAS to inform effective remediation strategies –
incentivize NAS use through the PAB process (following the good experience of using UDISE).
Provide guidance and support on effective use of ICT in both teacher and student education.
Provide additional and detailed guidance on the implementation and funding of vocational
education.
Provide additional guidance beyond equity as access numbers to promotion of behavior change.
Encourage greater synergy between SSA and RMSA programmes both at centre and states.
Provide clarity on whether states can utilize RMSA funds for safe transport for girls / children
residing beyond the 5 km guidance.
A third party review of the impact and cost effectiveness of the kit based approach could be
considered.
3. Focus issues for this JRM
The Mission was tasked to carry out a comprehensive review of achievements against targets and
objectives and also examine State programme implementation in the following areas:
Financial: Annual work plan and budgets, funds flow, accounts audit, procurement, release and
utilization of school grant and inventory control.
Programme Management: Progress in strengthening the school system and support structures;
UDISE, NAS, Student tracking etc.
Progress in improving learning outcomes – in-service teacher education, academic, teachers and
classroom availability.
Progress in addressing equity issues; enrolment, retention and learning performance for, girls,
ST, SC, and CWSN children
Review Monitoring Institution reports and other third party evaluation and studies
Identification of innovation – i.e. interventions that have been successful and can be replicated.
Gujarat State Report (5th
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3
The Mission also looked at the following aspects in relation to State Level Planning:
Vocational /Skills Education in schools
UDISE Implementation -data collection, entry and aggregation from secondary schools
TCA work with regard to teachers’ management in Secondary Education Sector and teacher
training under RMSA.
3.1. Focus issue #1 –Financial Management
Achievements and Good Practices
There is no shortfall in terms of providing the state share of the release to SIS Society. The state
has been able to spend a major share of the available balance (95 per cent) under girls’ hostel
component. Forty nine out of 85 approved hostels are likely to be ready and the state intends to
start admitting girls this June, the beginning of the new academic session. The state has been able
to successfully complete 27 new school buildings and another 168 are in progress (out of total
327 sanctioned). Therefore, the state has been able to reduce its unspent balance substantially.
Gujarat state government reports that GoI had not released any fund this financial year1. The
reason being because of the high unspent balance available with the SIS. Since no release was
reported, it is not possible to gauge how the new budget route of fund transfer works (GoI to
State to SIS) and if the SIS would face any delay in fund release by the state treasury.
The state has decided that SSA would be the agency for construction of schools in future; this is
likely to expedite the process and other civil work arms of the state government that have been
the construction agency so far are over burdened with other kinds of work.
The state is about to complete the recruitment process of teachers for new schools that had so far
been functioning through: (i) use of teachers who were declared surplus in aided schools due to
relocation of class 8th from Secondary to Upper Primary schools, this number being large as the
aided schools are large (more than half of all secondary schools); (ii) use of teachers from upper
primary schools where the new secondary schools were located temporarily, and (iii) use of
teachers hired on a temporary basis using the funds available for remedial teaching under RMSA.
Once the new teachers are in place, the funds meant for their salaries will start getting used
pushing the spending rate upwards.
The SMDC has been given the mandate to undertake civil works up to Rs. 30 lakhs. It will help
the state overcome the constraint of its major agencies refusing to take up small constructions
such as building a computer lab or a crafts room (coming under strengthening of schools
component) and therefore expedite the spending rate.
Gujarat has completed GIS based planning which is also backed by meetings with Gram Sabha
approvals to identify the areas that fulfil the distance and population norms but do not have a
secondary school. This is being used for the next year’s proposal for 408 new schools and is
indeed a good practice. The state has already got sanction for 1500 guest (visitor) teachers so that
the new schools could be opened with their support without waiting for the recruitment of new
teachers.
Concerns
Gujarat has not been able to spend anything approved under strengthening of schools so far. The
spending has also been low in general for several heads. Due to delay in starting the construction
of new schools, the unit costs went up, and therefore the size of the school building had to be
reduced from the planned nine rooms to barely five rooms. This limits the scope for further
expansion of the school intake capacity (more sections) and also restricts the scope for building
more facilities (labs, library). The designs of the new buildings (school, girls’ hostel) leave a lot
of scope for better use of space and make it more suitable for children’s learning needs.
Serious discrepancies exist in the financial figures reported at various places. While some of
these can be attributed to the slow process of reconciliation due to delay in getting the utilisation
certificates, some are more serious in nature. The figures reported by the state and MHRD for
unspent balance for IEDSS are very different from each other: the state claims that there is no
1 According to GoI records shown on the return to Delhi a release of 71 crore was made on Dec 24
th 2014.
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
4
unspent balance whereas MHRD claims more than 6669 lakh rupees is lying with the state.
These need to be sorted out soon.
The AWP&B process is driven by the central guidelines and input-driven process, which is not
unique for the state. The nature of the guidelines is such that it does not encourage creative and
informed planning process.
Both the signatories for the SMDC account are from the school: principal, who also happens to
be the chair of the SMDC, and another senior teacher; no one from the community has been
included. This raises the issue of accountability, as the presence of both elected and official
members could act as checks for each other. It is also not in line with the suggested guideline for
SMDC formation and assumed greater importance in view of the recent decision to allow the
SMDC to undertake small construction works for RMSA.
The state has outlined the procurement process for various levels of expenditure but does not
follow the practice of putting all these on the web. This raises issues relating to transparency for
procurement below the 5 lakhs limit as the purchases above this limit are through an online
process. .
Recommendations
For State
o Streamlining of the process for reconciliation to make it faster and to be able to
remove the discrepancies. Gujarat also needs to sort out the issue of IEDSS, which is
also linked with the takeover of the scheme by RMSA.
o The future construction of school buildings, hostels and other additions coming
under strengthening of schools component should give greater emphasis on the
design element from the perspective of more diverse and creative use of space. For
instance, the girls’ hostel building currently does not have any common space where
the girls could sit together and have a discussion forum or watch a film to be used for
life-skill or social learning purposes. The same is true for the new school buildings.
Also, the existing RMSA civil work team should be closely associated with the SSA
team for sharing of knowledge and monitoring of construction activities.
o Capacity building of RMSA staff and other stakeholders to promote more informed
and creative planning process; better and more intensive use of available information
through diverse sources (UDISE, NAS, Monitoring agency’s reports) would
facilitate the process. Improved project management structure and processes will
also strengthen the financial management.
o The state must make necessary changes in the guidelines to include one community
representative as signatory for the SMDC bank account.
o The state also should start uploading all the procurement and other major decisions
on its website to enhance the transparency.
For GOI
o Review and rationalization of RMSA guidelines to promote greater need-based,
planning and discourages input-driven, uniform planning across all districts (and
states). For example, the Gujarat commissioner of education suggested that the
States receive a single allocation which they deploy as they see fit. This would
entail: (i) An enhanced allocation formula to determine States share based on both
student population and need; (ii) A one off lump sum State allocation (iii) a negative
list of non-eligible expenditure (iv) financial ceilings for different admissible
components to ensure a more balanced spend.
o Inclusion of senior secondary grades under RMSA should be given serious
consideration. This would help in gaining greater efficiencies by enabling better use
of existing resources (e.g., space, teachers. Labs and library) and also facilitate in
retaining a larger number of students, especially girls in school (with its potential
impact on child marriage, women’s health, etc.). The presence of four classes and a
larger pool of teachers and students usually results in enhancement of quality and
better performance of results, as evidenced by research across several contexts. .
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
5
3.2. Focus issue #2 – Programme Management
Achievements and Good Practices
Elementary and secondary school managements have largely been separate and the secondary
sector is highly dominated by the presence of a large number of aided and unaided private
schools. The separation of the elementary and secondary sectors has been a major issue that
prevents more efficient use of resources and coordinated planning. The state has recently decided
to merge the two departments, which is likely to facilitate greater coordination and synergy.
The RMSA office is now well staffed with about 22 technical staff in place. District RMSA
project officers are also in place to support the DEOs. The state project office has hired a mix of
experienced and young, well-qualified people who are energetic and eager to learn from each
other. This is a good sign and again shows potential for improved management in future.
Concerns
Despite new recruitment, the project is short-staffed because of the limitation of funds posed by
the fact that the management cost is dependent on overall spending. The new staff, though
energetic and enthusiastic, need more exposure and capacity building support, e.g. data use, out-
of-box thinking and capacity to implement those at the ground level.
The primary and secondary sectors are still separate and function independently of each other in
the field. It is not clear what the implications are of the merger of the two departments and how it
would enhance the effectiveness of both. It also has implications for other components such as
teacher training and development. Though GCERT manages a number secondary school related
tasks as well (such as controlling CTEs and IASEs), it is largely seen as being responsible for
only the elementary sector. The presence of Gujarat School examination Board as agency
responsible for training of teachers at secondary level creates another layer; there is also another
institution named State Teacher Training Institute that organizes residential training for
secondary teachers on a centralized basis. The multiplicity of agencies and duplicity of
responsibilities create problems of coordination.
SMDCs have been constituted and trained. But it appeared that their meetings are perfunctory
and participation thin – something not unique to this state yet a cause of concern.
Recommendations
For State
o Capacity building of state project management personnel through technical support
would strengthen the project as well as financial management in the state.
o A more detailed strategy for making SMDCs more involved and vibrant bodies.
Better linkages with SMCs in the catchment schools would be critical to ensure
transition of students passing out of grade VIII to grade IX. It would also help in
identification of girls who definitely need to be in hostels for continuing at the
secondary level.
o A roadmap with clear milestones and markers for coordination between elementary
and secondary sectors for the administration as well as for the academic institutions
could be prepared after clear discussions with all stakeholders; greater clarity in the
role of Commissioner of Schools, GCERT, STTI and the State Examination Board is
also needed.
For GOI
o Capacity building of state project management personnel through technical support
would strengthen the project as well as financial management in the state. This could
be arranged through various means including sharing exercises amongst the states,
coupling of states and strengthening the SSA-RMSA ties.
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
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3.3. Focus issue #3 – Learning Outcomes
Gujarat’s results in the grade VIII National Achievement Survey (2014) indicate that learning
performance in reading comprehension, mathematics, science and social science is below the national
average and is significantly below in mathematics, science and social science. A common refrain of
teachers in secondary schools was that grade VIII students entering grade IX did not have the
foundational knowledge to tackle the grade IX curriculum.
In discussion with the State exam board, SITT and school principals it was clear there was a substantial
variance in student performance in Grade 10 board exams. Whilst the pass mark across the State was
reported as averaging 60-65% school visited by the JRM commonly had pass ratesaround 30-40%; and
while one school visited reported consistently getting pass rates of over 80% there were incidences of
schools having a 88% failure rate in some years. Explanation for this under performance commonly
began with failure in motivation/ability of students and/or parents. However further questioning revealed
systemic weaknesses which also explain student under performance. The most serious of these was
deployment of specialist subject teachers. Passing of the grade X board exam is determined by the
composite score from all subjects. Thus any student attending a school without a full complement of
specialist teachers will be at a distinct disadvantage in the examination. Without a specialist teacher it is
predictable that students would not meet their potential in such subjects and therefore under achieve in
the exam. It is important to note that this situation is common across India and not specific to Gujarat.
The opening presentation provided by the RMSA SIS talked of a shortage of Math’s, Science and
English teachers (50% deficit in Math’s and Science) – these are also the areas where (i) there is weak
performance in student exams2 (ii) where STTI staff report the greatest weaknesses in teaching.
The shortfall in specialist teachers (notably science and math’s) numberspossibly exacerbated by sub-
optimal teacher deployment is likely to be contributing to high levels of exam failure / under performance
particularly of the most disadvantaged sections of the population. This represents a waste of the
considerable human talent of Gujarat. Strengthening performance particularly for the less advantaged
students will require: (i) greater disaggregated analysis of exam pass rate data by geography, subject,
gender, and disadvantaged group (iii) closer attention to subject specific teacher shortage/ recruitment
(iii) exploration of the potential for teacher workforce deployment to provide a better subject teacher
coverage between schools (iv) improved teacher preparation and training particularly in Math’s, Science
and English. It is recognized that (i) such measures are politically challenging (ii) may not deliver quick
results. However if Gujarat is to maximize the potential of all its students then these issues must be
addressed. Having said this in Kheda district it was encouraging to note that there were systems in place
to provide emergency replacement teachers for subject specific shortages by deploying from government
aided schools / retired teachers to ensure that students were given the best chance possible.
The performance of an education system cannot exceed the composition and competence of its teachers.
While some good teaching was observed the general impression given was of a deficit in both subject
specific teacher numbers and overall competence. RMSA funding is currently being used to finance
residential training at STTI Gandhinagar and school based residential in-service training organized
through a cascade model by the State examination board. While it was re-assuring to note the STTI
targeted their training at schools with State board exam pass rates below 30% overall there was little
sense of a coordinated programme of continuous improvement. This was not helped by the rigid
application of the RMSA funding norm3 which appeared to be literally applied without recourse to need.
Visit to the GCERT revealed that within Gujarat there is an impressive infrastructure of DIETs, BRCs,
CRCs etc the majority of which are resourced and internet connected. These however only serve
elementary education. In discussion GCERT suggested that there were opportunities to use this
infrastructure to also serve secondary teachers. While DIETS are not currently staffed with secondary
2Though Gujarati recorded the highest level of failure in last years exam this was likely down to changes in the
nature of the examination paper. The long term trends are for poor performance in maths and science – again it was
reported that changes in the examination format has made the English paper easier and therefore the pass mark had
improved. 35 days at 300rps per day for each teacher
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
7
specialists – greater use could be made of the space, libraries, computers and particularly internet and
computer resources for decentralized training as well as cluster resource groups and communities of
practice.
While much was made of ICT based learning we saw little evidence of effective use in any school
visitedand no evidence of its use in supporting teacher education. Given the significant challenges faced
in Gujarat (as elsewhere in India) ICT as a tool to support both student and teacher education offers
massive potential. There is an urgent need for substantive work in this area which captures national and
international best practice in approaches to harnessing the power of ICT. Accompanying this must be
greater attention to the practical challenges of providing, powering and maintaining ICT equipment as
well as ensuring internet connectivity.
It was noted that the State was investing heavily in Science and Math’s kits (7,438,200 rps and
9,988,330). We saw no evidence of any practical math’s or science activity during school visits.
Similarly, where science equipment was available in schools it was evidently unused. (This is perhaps
not surprising given there is no requirement for sciencepractical’s in the board exam). The members were
also shown a standard math’s kit. This consisted of a series of protractors andbasic equipment that is
easily available (or can be made from materials available) in any medium size town market place.
Moreover, the kit contained no instructions on how the material could be imaginatively used in a
classroom context. Overall the mission members remain to be convinced of the cost effectiveness of the
‘kit approach’ to resourcing. Alternative options such as raising the school grants to enable schools to
resource according to felt need could be considered. For GoI, a third party review of the impact and cost
effectiveness of the kit based approach could be considered.
During the JRM we were privileged to meet with a number of dynamic and committed education staff.
The future health of the education system is dependent on harnessing their energy and partnering it with
more experienced staff. In vibrant Gujarat the task of making teaching and attractive career option in the
face of other and often more lucrative career options is a hard one. However, international experience
shows developing a clear career path for teachers in which wage progression and promotion is linked to
satisfactory completion of mandatory training programmes is a good way to retain and motivate staff
while strengthening the perception of teaching as a profession rather than an occupation.
Achievements and Good Practices
Kheda district system of providing substitute teachers in areas where no specialist teacher is
present.
Remedial funding to support weaker sections
Concerns
That average state board exam pass rates are leading to complacency that all is well when review
of these averages show that RMSA and government schools have pass rates well below the state
average.
Explanation that under performance as solely due to the attributes of students and parents – no
official acknowledgement of the role systemic failures such as lack of specialist teachers is
having on student performance.
Under developed teacher education provision including lack of coordination both across
secondary providers and between elementary and secondary providers.
Weakly developed use of ICT for teacher training and in schools
Recommendations
For State
o Interrogate and use available learning data (NAS, Gunnotsav, Board Exam data) to
inform remediation strategies – act on under performance
Gujarat State Report (5th
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8
o Develop teacher training and additional support materials around areas identified as
weak in (NAS, Gunnotsav, Board Exam data) to ensure students entering secondary
are better prepared.
o Consider joint workshops/bridge camps for grade 8 and 9 teachers during the long
holiday – to enable better preparation and coordination of students moving from
elementary to junior secondary.
o Coordinate and make full use of available teacher training facilities (DIETs, GCERT
etc) to maximize teacher education impact
o Better use ICT – STTI’s to provide on-line courses/ follow up support to ensure
greater and more sustained reach
o Review teaching career progression and pay structures - link promotion to
professional training (e.g. leadership training)
For GOI
o Raise awareness of how averages can hide sub-group failure rates and encourage
greater analysis (e.g. with NAS) as well as guidance on possible strategies for
remedial action
o Draw from international experience to provide guidance on cost effective strategies
in using ICT for both teacher and student learning improvement
o Review procurement guidelines and norms on ICT equipment including how to
manage replacement when IT equipment completes its functional live (say 3-5 years)
i.e. how to manage depreciation and replacement.
3.4. Issue #4: Equity Issues
Achievements and Good Practices
The opening of new secondary schools in areas where the existing ones were located at major
distances has facilitated greater participation of both boys and girls, and from all social groups.
But it has apparently impacted girls more as they would have otherwise not allowed to travel far
to attend schools, and since majority of areas that did not have ready access to secondary school
also belonged to poorer and/or rural areas, boys and girls coming from lower income groups have
benefitted more. This is especially significant in view of the fact that an overwhelming majority
of the secondary schools are in aided schools and are therefore located in urban and semi-urban
areas, making access a major issue for those who live in remote locations.
The state has a scheme for providing bicycles to girls admitted in grade IXth and that has helped
in promoting the access. The state has also extended midday meal scheme to grade IX children
using its own resources. It is likely to be extended to grade X children now.
Concerns
Gender emerges as a major issue in the state. For every 100 boys enrolled, only 69 girls are
enrolled at secondary level in Gujarat. The gaps exist for all social groups but are higher for
OBCs and Muslims; this is a cause of concern as OBCs form a substantial proportion of the
state’s population. This ratio is much worse than the existing sex ratio of 918 in the total
population in the state. The gap further widens if one takes the number of boys and girls
appearing for the grade X Board examinations. Though the pass percentages are higher for girls
than for boys, the number of girls taking the examination is lower for all social groups, the gap
being the widest for the OBC (UDISE, 2013-14). Several reasons were cited during our
interactions: distance, lack of transport, parental lack of interest and child marriage being more
important than others. The Monitoring institution report has also highlighted child marriage and
lack of women teachers as reasons.
What is more worrying is the prevalent belief among many teachers and officials that nothing
much can be done about prevailing social practices (such as child marriage or keeping girls from
school). This appeared to be reflective of two trends: (i) fatigue as they feel that they have tried
and not succeeded, and now do not know what more can be done, (ii) amongst some they may be
accepting of these practices. Some reluctance was sensed in taking up this issue as an education
Gujarat State Report (5th
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9
issue (it being thought of rather of an issue for Social Affairs). As a result, till now, RMSA has
yet to develop a comprehensive gender strategy that takes both parity (enrolment, participation)
and substantive issues of girls’ empowerment.
Although opening of new schools has enabled greater participation of students, transport costs
still acts as an impediment. A number of students, especially girls reported spending about 10
rupees per trip (works out to 20 rupees per day and 500 rupees for 25 days a month) to attend the
school. This makes them vulnerable and they are likely to be withdrawn from school as soon as
the family faces any cash crisis.
At present, CWSN constitute less than one percent of total enrolment at secondary stage. The
state needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to increase their participation and address their
specific needs; this has to go beyond building ramps in all schools.
Women’s representation in SDMC is low and the present training does not cover equity issues in
great detail. No engagement with men on gender issues has been attempted so far. Similarly, no
attempt of a deeper engagement with community regarding inclusion of CWSN was evident.
The state intends putting one coordinator for guidance and counselling of students in every
district (they are in place in some districts, not in those where we visited). However, it is not
clear how this component would be used for various aspects that can be addressed through this
component: gender norms and identity, being part of a diverse classroom with CWSN, being able
to take examinations without fear, knowledge about possibilities and potential for next level of
education, etc.
Recommendations
For State
o The hostel component needs to be planned properly with (i) well-designed strategy
for identification of the most-needy girls to avoid cornering by those who are better-
resourced, (ii) safety and security norms and protocols, (iii) nutritional standards for
adolescent girls, and (iv) use of residential opportunity / space for girls’
empowerment. Existing research on KGBV and other residential initiatives should
inform this strategy.
o The state could consider making provisions for transport of students (especially girls
but also boys) to schools to address both the safety concern as well as the issue of
high costs of multiple small schools. It would also help in bringing in more students
to existing / newly created schools and is indeed a more cost-effective solution to
address the issue of cost. The state has already taken this initiative in the context of
state-funded model schools that are being opened in EBB taluks.
o The state needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to address gender concerns.
One strategy could be to have a clear plan of using the hostel scheme for
empowerment of girls in a manner that they become change agents for their families
and surroundings. This would mean that hostels do not remain only a living place but
is also instrumental in giving those girls wider exposure and learning experiences in
a manner that they evolve into more informed, sensitive and independent individuals
with skills for negotiation and social responsibility. One simple way could be to start
a weekly discussion forum with participation from women achievers, viewing of
relevant films, etc. where students are exposed to new ideas and are also able to
discuss issues around those. Creating overt linkages with KGBV, especially those
where thy have received support from other NGOs would help in developing this
perspective.
o Life skill /social learning approach with strong focus on equity issues (e.g., why
women have greater incidence of poor nutrition, how this results into poor health of
all – girls and boys, how CWSN learn more if they spend time with children who do
have any special needs, etc.) could inform the design of the guidance and counselling
component; some of these could also be integrated with science and social studies if
teachers receive appropriate training and support. Boys should also be part of such
initiatives as they too need to question the prevalent norms for masculinity and
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
10
understand how they are also going to be benefit is girls get more opportunities and
better treatment.
o The engagement with SMDC members could be made more intensive at least in
certain areas where gender emerges as an important issue. Members of the Panchyati
Raj institutions could also be mobilised and work in a campaign mode to declare the
village free from out of school children and also free from child marriage; separate
men and women groups could be formed (e.g., elected women representatives,
grassroots women workers like anganwadi and ASHA workers, lady teachers and
women SMDC members as women’s group) for such campaigns.
o While keeping the goal of making every school inclusive alive and active, few
schools could be to be developed more actively as inclusive schools to act as pace
setters. This is not to suggest that some schools should be converted into special
schools; this is to recognize that it is very difficult to develop every school into an
inclusive school in a very short period of time and therefore at least one fourth or
one fifth of those to be developed with greater engagement with teachers, parents
and students (all of them have to be more capable and/or sensitive) coupled with the
required provisions for additional support. The option of using teachers working
under SSA for additional support to CWSN should also be considered.
For GOI
o GOI should facilitate sharing of experiences among states and also going beyond the
secondary sector by pulling good examples from upper primary or senior secondary
sectors as well, NGOs with proven track record could also be helpful in providing
technical support.
o At all levels, it is important to ensure better SSA – KGBV – RMSA linkages not
only to ensure the sharing of good practices but also to make sure that the same
mistakes are not repeated. This could include work in shared teacher education,
succession and care for CWSN children as they pass from elementary to secondary,
ensuring learning on hostel management and particularly admissions policy are
applied across all areas.
3.5. Issue #5: Monitoring Institution Reports
Achievements and Good Practices
Six monthly reports based on visits to a number of selected districts have been completed and
shared with the SIS. The reports provide useful information. We did not have any opportunity to
meet the researchers during the mission.
Concerns
The monitoring process seems to be an isolated activity and though share with SIS, it has perhaps
not informed the planning of implementation process in any significant manner.
Recommendations
For State
o The monitoring process can be made more beneficial to the state if the details are
planned together and the exercise goes deeper into the aspects that state is looking
for feedback.
4. Special Focus Issues
4.1. Issue #1: Vocational Education
Gujarat is in the early stages of preparation for a pilot introduction of vocational education in junior
secondary schools. Presently vocational streams are being taught in 34 schools at class 11 and 12 in
agriculture, commerce, home science and technology related trades.
Gujarat State Report (5th
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11
It is planned the junior secondary pilot will take place as of next session in 100 selected schools from 11
districts. It is envisaged that 1 year courses would be offered as an addition to the optional 6th subject.
Content areas have been selected as per NSQF recommendations and would follow NSQA performance
requirements. In year one it is anticipated: health care, retail, automobile, multi skill (carpentry,
masonry, electrician, plumbing), will be offered by year two of the pilot IT, beauty and wellness, and
travel and tourism will be added. A request has been sent to the Gujarat Board of Secondary and Higher
Secondary Education for assessing vocational subjects – a response is awaited. The State team have
suggested that the management and delivery of the vocational pilot will be outsourced to an expert NGO
provider called ‘Lend a Hand’ in the first instance.
While enthusiastic, the State team appears to have received limited GoI guidance on the practicalities
around RMSA support to vocational education. While some work has been done at State level, many key
questions on practicalities remain un-answered. These include (i) Financing – will additional funds be
made available for the cost of labs, consumable resources and staffing? (ii) certification – who will be the
certification issuing body – the state board or NSQA ? (iii) It was emphasized that VE works best when it
responds to local labour market demands which need to be regularly updated – who will do this labour
market analysis? and how will changes in courses be managed ? (e.g. if a workshop has been set up to
train welders and the market no longer needs welders but mobile phone technicians – how will the
changes in workshop and staffing needs be managed ?) While it the importance of including businesses
was recognized it was felt unrealistic that the businesses would freely provide trained expertise to come
and teach courses on a weekly basis for free.
During field visits to schools other questions emerged around the potential impact of the introduction of
VE courses. In some schools it was felt that there would be little appetite for vocational courses –
particularly in agriculture as this was something that was learnt at home. The process of selecting
vocational courses to local markets also has the potential to be socially divisive exacerbating an existing
rural-urban divide. For urban and peri-urban areas4 employment opportunities and therefore the
vocational offer are likely to be more diverse than in rural areas which are likely to focus on agriculture /
manual trades. A further concern is the potential for an additional optional subject to displace other
important subjects – such as social studies (geography/history). Theoretically if many students opt for
vocational subjects they may completely miss out on important areas such as the history and geography
of India.
Concerns: There are many important practical questions that remain unanswered about the
organization, certification and resourcing of vocational education. There are also important questions
that need to be considered around the equity as well as impact on traditional academic coverage.
Recommendations
For State
o Continue pilot, seek further clarification on resourcing and certification issues
o Carefully document and evaluate the pilot
For GOI
o Provide greater guidance on the practical and logistical issues associated with VE
introduction
o Commission an impact study to review roll out of VE in a number of states –
including equity and impact of VE on traditional academic coverage.
4.2. Issue #2: UDISE
Achievements and Good Practices
Use of SSA structure and personnel in close coordination with RMSA staff for data collection
and processing for UDISE is a good practice.
4Peri-urban – refers to areas which are partially urbanised and partially rural – neither one nor the other.
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
12
Use of UDISE data for planning, especially for facilities, is in practice and most teachers and
RMSA personnel are comfortable in that.
Concerns
The use of outcome indicators (enrolment ratios, gender and social gaps, pass percentages) for
planning is either limited or almost absent.
The use of UDISE in combination with other sources (Census, NFHS, DLHS) for better
understanding of the issues and/or preparation of RFD is also absent and the capacities are
limited in that regard.
Recommendations
For State
o The state needs to create more opportunities for sharing and use of data at all levels.
Since the RMSA state office uses data largely only for input planning, the districts
are also comfortable in that alone. If the state starts undertaking analysis of all kinds
of data including outcome ones and map those, the districts would take greater
interest and be able to identify the issues that need greater attention in their contexts.
Slowly, the analysis could also start covering other aspects by using data from other
sources and correlating those with UDISE data.
o Integrate UDISE date onto the excellent GIS platform that Gujarat has developed to
enable map based expression of key data – thereby showing variances in resourcing
and school performance that can be investigated / remediated.
For GOI
o Capacity building in the use of data through training, illustrations, examples,
technical support would be helpful.
4.3. Issue #3: TCA Work
The DFID funded TCA is working with the Gujarat State Exam Board to assess the effectiveness of its
teacher education programmes. It also supports the administration, processing, analysis and presentation
of the NCERT NAS which is delivered in Gujarat with the assistance of the GCERT and State Exam
Board.
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
13
Annex 1: Itinerary followed and Persons met
Schedule for Date: 28/01/2015 of JRM Visit
Activity Starting
Time
Finishing
Time
Responsibility
Briefing with SIS Officials 11:30AM 12:30 AM Bharat Nakum,
Mr. P. Madan
and ASPD Mr.
Solanki
Schedule for Date: 29/01/2015 of JRM Field Visit
to Ahmedabad (Rural) District
Activity Starting
Time
Finishing
Time
Responsibility
Visit to RMSA School, Sanathal 08:00AM 09:30 AM M.M. Jani,
Mr. P. Madan,
Ms. Priya
Kumari
Visit to Model School, Sanand 09:30AM 10:50 AM
Visit to Primary School, Madhavnagar (Virtual Class
Observation)
10:50AM 11:40AM
Visit to Primary School, Telav(Virtual Class
Observation)
11:40AM 12:00 AM
Visit to Grant in Aid School, Bavla 12:00AM 01:00PM
M.C. Amin Girls Hostel, Bavla 01:00PM 02:00 PM
Visit to RMSA School, Devdholera 03:00 PM 04:30 PM
Schedule for Date: 30/01/2015 of JRM Field Visit
to Kheda District
Activity Starting
Time
Finishing
Time
Responsibility
Visit to Government School, Palaj,Taluka & District:
Gandhinagar
8:30AM 10:00AM M.M. Jani,
Mr. P. Madan,
Ms. Priya
Kumari
Visit to RMSA School, Chappra 10:00AM 11:30AM
Visit to RMSA School, Lilvaa 11:30AM 01:30 PM
Visit to Government Secondary Education Board and Higher
Secondary Board,Gandhinagar
02:30PM 3:30 PM
State Teacher Training Institute 03:40
PM
04:10 PM
Gujarat Centre for Education Research and Training 04:15
PM
05:00
OM
Schedule for Date: 31/01/2015 of JRM Field Visit
Activity Starting
Time
Finishing
Time
Responsibility
Wrap up Meeting 1:30AM 3:00PM M.M. Jani,
Mr. P. Madan,
Ms. Priya
Kumari
Gujarat State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
14
Persons Met During the JRM Visit
Date: 29.01.15
District Taluka
Village/Locat
ion
Name of the
School
Name of the
Principal
Name of
District
Education
Officer
(DEO)
Name of
District
Coordina
tor (DC)
Ahmedab
ad Sanand Sanathal
RMSA School
Sanathal
Bhadreshbhai Patel
(I/C)
Mr. M.I.
Joshi
Ms.
Bindu
Ahmedab
ad Sanand Sanand
Model School,
Sananad
Rakeshbhai
Thakkar (I/C)
Ahmedab
ad Sanand Madhavnagar
Govt. Primary
School Binaben Rabari
Ahmedab
ad Bavla Bavla
R.K.Vidyaman
dir, (Grant in
Aid)
Kiran Patel
(In.Cha.)
Ahmedab
ad Bavla Devdholera
RMSA School
Devdholera
Rameshbhai
Vankar
(In.Cha.)
Date: 30.01.15
Gandhina
gar
Gandhina
gar Palaj
Govt.
Secondary
School N.R. Damor
Mr. S.N.
Barot
30.1.2015 Name of the office Name of the Officer Designation
Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secodary Education Board
(G.S.H.S.E.B.), Gandhinagar
Mr. R.R.Varsani Chairman
Mr. B.K.Patel OSD
Secondary Teachers Training Institute (S.T.T.I.), Gandhinagar
Mr. Bharat Solanki Coordinator
Mr. Parikshit Dave Assistant
Coordinator
Mr. Nitin Patel Assistant
Coordinator
Mr. Hemant Agarwal Assistant
Coordinator
Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training
(G.C.E.R.T.), Gandhinagar
Mr. B.N.Rajgor Reader &
I/C Director
Mr. Vijay Patel Reader
Mr. Harish Chaudhary Reader
Date: 31.01.15
Wrap up was held in the Presence of:
Name of the Officer Designation
Shri Arvind Agarwal Additional Chief Secretary (Education Department) Govt. of Gujarat
Mr. R.S.Ninama Joint Director (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan) Gujarat
Mr. Prakash Madan Joint C.E.O.
Mr. Bharat Nakum Project Coordinator (M&E)
Haryana State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
1
State Report: Haryana
I. Achievements and good practice
1. Overall the state is making reasonably good progress against the RMSA goals, with it matching
or surpassing the national averages on all indicators (see Table).
Sl. No. Indicator Indian average Haryana
1. % of professionally qualified teachers 84.62 98.86
2. Transition rate (elementary to secondary) 91.95 96.73
3. Average repetition rate 3.42 1.08
4. Average annual drop-out rate 14.54 8.98
5. Gross enrolment ratio 76.64 86.21
6. GER – boys 76.80 88.83
7. GER – girls 76.47 82.92
8. Net enrolment ratio 45.63 46.20
9. NER – boys 45.53 46.40
10. NER – girls 45.74 45.95
Source: Flash Statistics, UDISE 2013-14
2. The JRM team was impressed by the physical infrastructure of the schools, which were visited. In
both urban and rural areas, the campuses of the schools were in good condition (and mostly neat
and well-maintained) in a well-organised campus. It was also observed that physical
infrastructure, maintenance and cleanliness was better in schools in rural areas; it was also felt
that schools leadership was better, more enterprising and committed in these schools. Mostly the
campuses, even in the urban areas, had sufficient space for expansion. The team also found that
all schools had computer labs (in fact most schools had more than one) and, to the team’s pleasant
surprise, mostly very good Internet connections even in rural areas. The state government
reported that it was planning to provide high-speed Internet connectivity to 3000 secondary
schools. Pupil attendance at schools visited was high, even in those schools, which were visited
on short notice (the JRM team did not have a chance to investigate teacher attendance). The state
reported that it has recently completed recruitment of about 3000 teachers (as per its commitment
during the AWPB process).
3. The JRM team was also pleased to note that the state is thinking creatively about how to
maximize the impact of RMSA funds, and, for the 2014-15 AWPB process, submitted several
‘innovation proposals’. The flexible funding under this component offers the opportunity for
states to craft specific initiatives – and can be a powerful tool, especially if the application
process is structured as per the Innovation Guidelines to focus on outcomes and strong
monitoring and evaluation.
4. In vocational education, the JRM team saw why Haryana is seen as a pioneering state in this
regard. There was a palpable sense of excitement within the RMSA Mission and, more
importantly, at the school level with this initiative. State Government has offered two vocational
subjects to each school out of a basket of 7 – IT/ITES (IT and IT-enabled services), Security,
Automobile, Physical Education and Sports, Patient Care Assistant, Beauty and Wellness and
Retail. The government reported that the courses had been selected based on market requirement
in that area. All the schools visited now had the requisite equipment (though this had been
delayed in some cases because, according to the state government, of the timing of releases from
Haryana State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
2
MHRD – this seems to be a problem with the cycle of the PAB process relative to the start of the
school year). All the teachers the JRM team met with had impressive academic and professional
qualifications and relevant work experience to teach the courses, and were highly committed to
the work: the use of agencies to recruit and monitoring the performance of these teachers seems
to have been highly effective. The Government also has plans to rapidly expand the vocational
education offerings available.
5. While not directly relevant to RMSA, the State has embarked on an ambitious and well-
considered reform of elementary education, focused on improving the quality thereof. This is
important since the NAS Class VIII results show Haryana at the national average, but with
significantly worse (i.e., large) distribution of performance across pupils. This reform should have
a positive impact on the achievement of students before they enter secondary education. Given
the observations below, it may be that the state should consider a similarly wide-ranging
improvement strategy for secondary education.
6. It will be seen from the status relating to expenditure of funds made available, that Haryana’s
performance is very good. Out of a total of Rs554 crore actually released to RMSA by the GOI
and the State Government, an expenditure of Rs 530 crore has been incurred. As on 1st January
2015, only 24 crore or 4.3% of the total cumulative releases remain unspent. The state’s
performance vis-à-vis expenditure is in line with its performance vis-à-vis RMSA expectations.
7. As regards procurement, during the last two financial years, e tendering has been followed in all
cases involving procurement actions of value Rs 30 lakh or more. The latest orders of the State
Government envisage e tendering for all procurement actions regardless of size. This is a very
salutary move.
8. Haryana’s internal audit arrangements for RMSA constitute a good practice that can be
recommended for adoption by all other States, viz.,
Post Sanctioned strength Persons in position
Accounts Officers * 23 23
Accountants 23 19
* Sanctioned for SSA but utilised for RMSA as well – a case of synergy between the two
9. The State has established a common implementation society for both SSA and RMSA and
reported that this had been valuable to enhance effective linkages between the two programmes.
The state had for some time in any case had a combined implementation structure of inclusive
education. In addition, with releases from GOI now going through the State Treasury, the state
government suggested that a major reason for the creation of Societies was obviated; therefore the
society could be abolished and the Department take over clear responsibility for managing the
programmes (including taking over the contracts for any RMSA project staff).
II. Concerns
10. The JRM was forcibly struck by the very traditional nature of the pedagogy observed in almost all
the classes visited at all schools. Only occasionally were students working together (this was only
observed in one or two science classes and one or two vocational classes); in the remaining
classes, the teachers were giving lectures from the front of the class and the students writing
down in their notebooks. The student workbooks that were reviewed, even in the vocational
courses, indicated that the students were simply copying answers from the textbook. There were
no examples found of conceptual or analytical thinking. Mostly, especially in vocational courses,
Haryana State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
3
the textbooks were in English but the JRM team found the English language capacity of the
students weak – raising the question whether they are able to understand the textbooks (and so are
able to do more than simply copy down answers).
11. While penetration of ICT equipment was high (as noted above), everywhere students were
observed to be engaged in low-level tasks, exclusively learning IT literacy skills; and, indeed,
these skills generally of a very basic kind. The JRM team was also informed that the IT specialist
teachers were in strike over employment terms and conditions.
12. Libraries everywhere, with one or two exceptions, were in very poor condition. The JRM team
typically found a room – very often also being used as a teachers’ staff room – with books
haphazardly arranged on shelves or hidden away in cupboards. There was rarely anywhere
comfortable and inviting for students to sit and read. The selection of books was miserable and
typically old. The State Government said that it had tried to organize book fairs this year, but
these had to be cancelled at the last minute because the selection offered by publishers was
inadequate and, in many cases, inappropriate. The government had therefore decided to conduct a
centralized procurement of books and newspapers for this year.
13. The science laboratories observed by the JRM team were of poor quality; most were integrated
laboratories. Moreover, every school visited indicated that results in Class X were lower than in
Class XII because Class X students were required to take science subjects which were harder. The
number of students taking science in higher secondary was low – and in several schools visited
this stream was not offered.
14. The principals met with need considerable support to improve the schools in which they are
working. While all the principals reported that they had received training, they described this
training as purely about administrative and financial matters. And this training can perhaps be
seen in the orderliness of the campuses visited.However, in order for teaching in schools to be
transformed, principals will need to provide academic leadership and guidance, setting
expectations about the type of classroom teaching to be practiced and creating a professional
culture of discussion and mutual support amongst the teachers. This then needs to be linked to
clear accountability for teacher performance. The JRM team noted that the state government had
provided a potentially useful teacher diary for recording student grades and lesson plans.
However, this was being done in a perfunctory fashion – and the state government reported even
this was only happening because they had made maintenance of the diary a requirement for
teachers to receive their salaries. Given also that most secondary schools in Haryana are part of a
school campus with other phases of education, there is also an opportunity for schools to work
together on student progression (for example, by all Hindi teachers discussing grade level
expectations).
15. In vocational education, the JRM team found that schools had no link to local companies, even
where suitable businesses were very close by, though all schools reported that they had guest
lecturers once a month (as per the state guidance).
16. Almost all students expressed wish to continue in schooling beyond Class X and the majority
beyond Class XII. The experience of the pilot phase also shows that very few students wish to or
are able to get placements at the end of their courses. There is no clarity about who is responsible
for placement. Normally, it should be the responsibility of the institutions imparting skills. It was
informed to the JRM team that this responsibility has been given to the National Skill
Haryana State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
4
Development Corporation and the Sector Skills Councils. However, it may not be possible for
these small bodies located only in the capital.
17. As yet, there is no clear articulated strategy as to medium or long term goals for the number of
schools offering vocational education and the number of courses at each school. These policy
choices have major planning, financial and human resource implications. The JRM team is
concerned that vocational education is crowding out other choices in secondary schools (and
perhaps preventing introduction of other streams especially science at upper secondary).
18. The changeover, in the current financial year, from release of funds directly to the Society to
routing them through the State Government, this is expected to lead to a delay of one to two
months.
19. Haryana has no systems in place vis-à-vis procurement planning.
III. Financial management and procurement
20. It will be seen from the status relating to expenditure of funds made available, that Haryana’s
performance is very good. Out of a total of Rs 554 crore actually released to RMSA by the GOI
and the State Government, an expenditure of Rs 530 crore has been incurred. As on 1st January
2015, only 24 crore or 4.3% of the total cumulative releases remain unspent. The state’s
performance vis-à-vis expenditure is in line with its performance vis-à-vis RMSA expectations.
21. The changeover, in the current financial year, from release of funds directly to the Society to
routing them through the State Government, is expected to lead to a delay of one to two months
as regards the release of funds to the Society.
22. As regards procurement, e tendering has been followed in all cases involving procurement actions
of value Rs 30 lakh or more. The latest orders of the State Government envisage e tendering for
all procurement actions regardless of size. This is a very salutary move.
23. The Haryana RMSA uses Tally ERP version 9 for the purpose of maintaining its accounts.
24. The internal audit arrangements for RMSA are as follows
Post Sanctioned strength Persons in position
Accounts Officers * 23 23
Accountants 23 19
* Sanctioned for SSA but utilised for RMSA as well – a case of synergy between the two
23. Haryana has no systems in place vis-à-vis procurement planning.
Recommendations
For GOI
- Encourage states to make greater use of Innovation proposals.
- Allow states to decide whether they still need a society or whether implementation of RMSA
would be more effective through the Department (with appropriate levels of staffing).
- Haryana’s internal audit arrangements for RMSA constitute a good practice that can be
recommended for adoption by all other States, viz.,
Post Sanctioned strength Persons in position
Accounts Officers * 23 23
Accountants 23 19
Haryana State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
5
* Sanctioned for SSA but utilised for RMSA as well – a case of synergy between the two
For the state government
- Re-oriented the training for school principals around issues of academic leadership and
transformation of classroom practices
- Review the teacher training being provided to understand whether it encourages active student
participation in the learning process and identify good practices which can be spread more widely
- Monitor teacher performance in the classroom on a sample basis
- Support teachers to integrate ICT into all curriculum subjects, and to ensure tasks conducted
during ICT classes have a link to the work being done in other subjects.
- Monitor the centralized book and periodical purchase this year, and invite feedback from
students. Plan a multi-year intervention to improve the provisioning and use of libraries
- Ensure good curriculum choices at secondary (and upper secondary) so that, in particular, core
subjects like science and mathematics are available to all students; and that the introduction of
vocational education does not reduce these choices.
- Clear responsibility needs to be fixed for placement. System of tracking of placed students
introduced at least for a year and learning acquired from it should be used to apply corrective
measures in the vocational education system.
Haryana State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
6
Annex: List of JRM members and schools visited
JRM members
Mr. Sharda Prasad
Mr. Sunil Verma
Mr. Toby Linden
Schools visited
28th January 2015
- Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary School, Sector 20, SushantLok, Gurgaon
- Government Model Girls Senior Secondary School, Jacobpura, Sector 15, Gurgaon
- Government Model Senior Secondary Schools in Applied Skills, Sector 28, Faridabad
29th January 2015
- Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary School, Sector 20, Panchkula
- Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 15, Panchkula
- Government Senior Secondary School, Sukreti, Panchkula district
30th January 2015
- Government Senior Secondary School, Ugala, Ambala district
- Government Senior Secondary School, Adhoya, Ambala district
- Government Senior Secondary School, Durana, Ambala district
***************
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
1
STATE REPORT: Tamil Nadu
1. Introduction
The JRM team visiting Tamil Nadu (January 27-31st, 2015) comprised of four JRM members, Mr.S.R.
Statham (Mission Team Leader, GoI), Prof. K. Dora Sami (GoI), Ms. SangeetaDey, (World Bank) and
Mr. Satyanarayan Panda (World Bank). The team met and interacted with Ms. Sabitha, Principal
Secretary of School Education, the Directors of Elementary and Secondary School Education, the RMSA
and SSA State Project Directors, the state RMSA team, the SCERT faculty, State School Textbook
Corporation, the representatives of Monitoring Institutions (IIT Madras and Mother Theresa Women’s
University), andthe district education officials of Krishnagiri and Salem districts. The team visited
secondary schools and model schools, girls’ hostels in the two districts and a Community College
Polytechnic in Salem.
The team thanks the Principal Secretary for an excellent state briefing on the status of RMSA
implementation, and the state, district, school staff and the SMDC members for the informative
discussions. The team is grateful to the state government for extending cooperation, support and the
warm hospitality at all levels from the state, district to school level.
2. Overview and Key Issues
The RMSA program implementation began in 2009-10 in the state and this year/review mission marks
the mid-term of the RMSA program.Tamil Nadu has made steady progress towards achievement of the
RMSA objectives, especially on filling the access, enrolment and equity gaps and this year (2014-15) has
exceeded some of the targets set for 2016-17. On the quality component, the state administration has set
a sharp focus on improving learning outcomes and has undertaken a number of initiatives directed
towards this.Two developments are outstanding in Tamil Nadu- first, a coordinated approach at the state
level by the Directorates of Elementary and Secondary Education, RMSA and SSA Implementation
Societies to planning, managing implementation and monitoring of the program, and second, an
increasing effortto improve learning outcomes at both the elementary and secondary level. The
contribution of the state financial resources to the program which amounts to almost 50% (in the current
year) of the total funds has accelerated the program implementation on a number of fronts.These
developments are reflective of the able, dynamic and committed leadership of the Principal Secretary of
School Education and the state towards fulfilling their vision for quality education in the state. The total
state allocation to the Department of School Education from 2011-12 to 2014-15 is Rs. 64,485.97 crores-
the highest compared to any other Department. On the Educational Development Index of 2012-13
published by NUEPA, Tamil Nadu is ranked first among the large and medium states and third among
all states and UTs(following the UTs of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry).
The JRM’s observations on achievements, challenges and recommendations are laid down below under
the objectives of RMSA:
Access and enrolment:
1. Provision of secondary schools:The state has completed the entire GIS mapping exercise, including use
of UDISE and identified sites for secondary schools in the yet unserved habitations, and up-gradation of
existing schools based on eligible student population. Completion of construction of some schools is
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
2
pending. (This issue has been discussed in detail under the Section on Procurement). Once these schools
are completed, the state will achieve near universal access.
During the school visits, the JRM members also found that due to lack of a senior secondary school in
the vicinity of 8kms, there is a gap in transition from some secondary to senior secondary schools
causing discontinuity of education for students in these schools to the next level. (theZuzuwadi
Secondary School in Krishnagiri district faces this issue).The JRM noted the feedback from SMDC
members at the schools that preferably upper primary schools should be upgraded to secondary schools
and senior secondary schools, within the RMSA school ratio norm- this will ensure retention of students
at the upper primary and secondary levels.
2. Model Schools: Out of the 44 sanctioned model schools, 14 have been completed and 30 are under
various stages of completion.
3. Girls’ hostels: Civil works for 44 Girls’ Hostels is in progress.
o The team visited two girls’ hostels that are near completion. This project is progressing smoothly.
Sanctions have been issued, agency for construction has been identified, works orders have been issued,
construction has even been completed at many places and the possession is being handed over.
o One notable feature is that the active involvement of and generous help from the SMDC members in
particular and Community members in general. Help has been extended from securing land to
development of the land to supply of quality construction material to even provision of financial support
to construction.
o On the point of external assistance help from MPs/ MLAs under the MPLADs should be actively
sourced. This does not seem to be happening. Even where it is happening the assistance offered is of
small sums in the range of Rs.15,000 to 20,000. In one of the model schools visited the MLA has
contributed Rs. 15 lakhs for construction of the school boundary wall which however, does not cover the
full cost.
o The girls’ hostels include girls attending the model school in the same premises and neighboring
schools.Once the hostel is filled to capacity, andgirls ‘enrolment in the model school schools goes up,
how will they be accommodated in the hostel? This aspect needs to be planned in advance.The
government may consider setting up a committee to scrutinize the admission process to ensure that the
most needy girls are given preference in allotment of seats in the hostelsand admission process is not
interfered by political influence.
The hostels are reasonably well provided but the plan may have to be somewhat modified.
o With the existing dimensions, the rooms can just about accommodate four cots, four tables and four
chairs leaving very little space for movement of the girls. The dimensions may have to be increased by 4
feet (length) and two feet (width).
o Likewise, the kitchen area should be increased by six feet (length) to accommodate the utility area.
On enrolment, the state has already exceeded the GER target of RMSA for 2016-17(set at 90%) which is
91.17% for secondary in 2014-15. The total student enrolment at secondary level is 22,28,431 (2014-15
UDISE).
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
3
Equity (bridging gender and social gaps, and provision for CWSN): The state has made significant
achievement in this area and exceeded many of the targets. The GPI and GEI are in favour of girls at
1.04 and 1.018 respectively.The Social Equity index for SC children is 1.09 and for ST is 0.96. Based on
the data shared with the JRM at the state briefing, the state has set up a State Resource Centre for IEDSS
and made steady progress on the coverage of CWSN(6,328 CWSN are enrolled in government and aided
secondary classes) under the IEDSS component, although the JRM members did not find any CWSN
children in the secondary schools visited. The state department shared that they have developed special
curriculum package with teaching learning materials for CWSN.
Retention and Completion:The state has made remarkable achievement under this component. Against
the national goal to reduce drop-out rate to less than 25% by 2017, the state has already achieved a low
drop-out rate at 3.98% in 2014. The transition rate for class 8 to 9 is 98.3% in 2014-15.The graduation
rate at secondary level stands at 94.57% in 2014-15. Further, the state government has launched a
number of initiatives to reduce drop outs and ensure completion of education upto senior secondary level
- (i) in the form of cash incentives to children of classes 10 and 12 – to be given to students who
complete education till class 12(but need not pass the board exams) and maintain the compulsory
attendance of 75%; (ii) all children from classes 1 to 12 have been provided a set of uniforms, shoes,
textbooks and notebooks (for each trimester), atlas, etc. These measures have also attracted children
from private schools to government schools. In addition, an EMIS has been developed with unique
records of all children (~1.17 crores) in classes 1 to 12, with ~10.4 lakh children whose IDs are mapped
with their Adhaar ID. This is also being used to track mobility of students and their academic
performance. Similarly an EMIS has been created for teachers with 312,000 unique teacher records.
As stated earlier under the goal of Access,based on feedback fromthe SMDC to the JRM, the state
government may considerupgrading elementary schools to secondary schools wherever feasible to
ensure retention of students and continuity to the next level of school education.
Quality: The state has launched a number of initiatives to improve quality. The curriculum and
textbooks are reviewed regularly and textbooks are revised if required on an annual basis. Two textbooks
(one for languages and one for Science, mathematics and Social Science) are provided up to Class IX for
each trimester to reduce the weight of the school bags. In Class 10, however, there are separate
textbooks for each subject for the entire academic year.
The JRM suggests that the State Education Department may review this arrangement from the point of
ensuring a seamless continuation for students when they move from class 9 to 10.
o Improvement of learning outcomes:This is the real challenge for the state and has been made a priority
by the Education Department to address.The Education Department has done a rigorous analysis of the
State Level Achievement Surveys conducted for grades 3, 5 and8 and also of the Class 10 board
examination results (both pass percentage and subject achievement scores) for each school. This analysis
is being used to drive performance and improve learning outcomes.
The JRM made the following observations and recommendations based also on the interactions during
the school visits:
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
4
i. Transition from ABL to ALM to conventional textbook based teaching at secondary: The Education
Department has conducted state level student assessments at classes 3, 5 and 8. And not surprisingly, the
findings are similar to that of the NAS for classes 3, 5 and 8. While students have performed well and at
expected levels in class 3 (with an average of 80%), the levels have dipped in class 5 (average of 70%)
and then further down in class 8 (average of 60%). This dipping performance at successive levels shows
that the quality foundation developed for children under the ABL at primary and ALM at upper primary
is not sustained by the time they reach class 8. And this is resulting in inadequate secondary school
readiness of students entering class 9. The challenge of poor conceptual understanding of students was
expressed by the secondary school teachers in schools visited. There was a mixed response from teachers
on the benefit of CCE at secondary level (currently up to class 9).The various views expressed were:
a. to reduce CCE at the class 9 level(make it 20-80 for formative-summative distribution) to prepare
students for better change over at the class 10 level.
b. Start this ‘preparatory process at the upper primary level by reducing CCE to 40-60 ratio
c. It was argued that the very introduction of simplified ABL was indicative of an acknowledgement of this
requirement
d. Student capability for conceptualization was limited to the topics/experiments explained in the class;
they were not available for generalized application. Consequently, at the secondary level, students face
serious learning problems.
e. CCE may be interfering with quality teaching and learning and realizing desired levels of performance in
the Board exams and so the weightage given to FA should be reduced. Perhaps there is a gap in
understanding of the concept of CCE by teachers - this is a concern that should be addressed and a
tangible strategy should be evolved for effective implementation.
f. While there is a lot of focus on preparing students well for the class 10 board exams through special
classes, revision classes, etc. and this is resulting in improving the pass percentage as well as the subject
achievement scores, there is concern that conceptual clarity and application skills are lacking in most
children.
Though ABL and ALM are not within the mandate of the JRM, the JRM is of the view that this issue is
serious enough to be taken up for expert analysis - a longitudinal study of the academic track record ofa
group of students going through the ABL and ALM and reaching the secondary level (the first two-three
batches of students who went through the ABL are now at secondary stage) may be undertaken. This will
provide informed conclusions about the implications of the ABL and ALM for adjustment (and student
readiness) at the secondary level. The Secondary School Board Examination results can also be
analysed to understand the implications for secondary education.(The NCERT is reported to be ready to
commission such a study).In the meanwhile, teachers can be given some counselling and training to
cope with this transition.
ii. ‘Model Schools’ that are expected to develop best practices and emerge as models for other secondary
schools in the block or (even) in the whole district should be singled out for special attention. Interaction
between neighboring cluster of secondary schools and model schools should be encouraged for cross-
learning, exposure to innovative pedagogical practicesand academicsupport.
iii. Use of laboratories: One of the Monitoring Institutions reported from their monitoring visit that in some
schools there was an over-supply of science laboratory equipment and under-utilization of the same by
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
5
the staff and students. This aspect needs to be addressed.Laboratory facilities and equipment should be
optimally used by secondary school teachers and students.
iv. School Leadership: This lies at the heart of school improvement and the variation in the leadership skills
was evident during the visit to the model schools. The School Leadership training should be followed up
with school based support to the Head masters so they can bring in innovative strategies to improve
school functioning and performance and inculcate the same spirit in the teachers. In addition, the state
may follow a more rigorous process for selection of headmasters based on their potential and
capabilities and not just on seniority alone.
v. Some other innovative practices that have been launched to promote quality- (i)Mobile counselling
services have been introduced to address emotional and adolescent issues of girls at the secondary and
senior secondary level. This is a welcome initiative and should be upscale.(ii) introduction of an English
medium section in each school – this has attracted students from the private schools to the government
schools. The State Government offers 6 mediums of teaching in secondary schools. (iii) ‘Connecting
Classrooms’ initiative to connect teachers between UK and India for cross-learning.
Based on interactions with the CEOs and DEOs during the field visits, the JRM makes the following
recommendations on Inspections:
o Supervisory personnel should be trained on how to inspect and what to inspect. They should be required
to drop a proper inspection note so that points requiring attention/action can be easily accessed. This
does not seem to be happening. Inspecting officers only check register entries and attest them. The
argument that the load of work does not leave enough time to write reports is not acceptable; if necessary
they can always resort to proper inspections on a sample basis
o Implementation of important circulars issued by the Government, Directorate, etc. should be checked in
particular. This does not seem to be happening. There was a glaring example of an important publication
like the ‘Compendium of Innovative Pedagogic Initiatives’ has not even been seen by the supervisory
staff or the faculty/ teachers concerned.
o CEOs should organize meetings of DEOs, DDEOs, Headmasters of Model Schools, Secondary and
Higher Secondary Schools, Coordinators and Assistant Headmasters to drive home the point about
importance of inspections and the significance of adopting the innovative practices.
3. Focus themes for this JRM:
This JRM has focused in particular on the following three themes:
1. Vocational Education: The RMSA component of Vocationalization of Secondary Education(levels 1
and 2) has not yet been adopted in Tamil Nadu, although it is under implementation at the senior
secondary stage (levels 3 and 4) since 2009-10. In April-May 2014, the State Government took a formal
decision and issued a GO to the effect to adopt this component for secondary classes. The state is
conducting a baseline study in collaboration with UNICEF to gain a more systematic understanding of
the existing opportunities in the districts(industry, entrepreneurship, etc.) and the skill gaps in addition to
the NSDC Skill Gap study conducted in the state. The study is expected to be completed in this quarter,
following which the Department will design and undertake the initiative for secondary classes.
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
6
Implementation of the project at the Senior Secondary stage appears tom have stabilized. But at the
secondary stage, it is still at an introductory level. The operational experience and the entry and exit
problems will be known only after a few years.
It will be useful to look at the different objectives possible to gain a better understanding of what is
envisaged. In our understanding, introduction of vocational education at the secondary and senior
secondary levels can have three different objectives:
i. Cause attitudinal changes
ii. Develop specific skills to meet market requirements
iii. Provide scope for shift to a full-fledged vocational system for sustained skill development along with
acquisition of technical knowledge
Objective (i.) above has to be a common feature in all such initiatives. But Objective (ii) preponderates
over Objective (iii). In other words, the whole idea is to develop identified skill and promote market
entry at Class 10 level or at the Class 12 level.
At the secondary stage, Haryana has reportedly better organized these arrangements. Information
presented by the MHRD indicated the skill development at the secondary stage in Haryana has been
quite rudimentary, confined to the service sector, limited to a very small number of students and leading
to low level placements(e.g. sales persons in shops). If the project has to become popular and achieve the
objective of diverting 25% of students from general to vocational education, then it must aim higher for
which they have to reckon with Objective(iii) also. It is in this connection that entry into full-fledged
vocational education (Diploma) courses become relevant. And it is in this perspective that recognition of
AICTE also as a stakeholder becomes relevant. The course content for the school courses is prescribed
by the school system without coordination with the AICT. This has implications for synchronization
with the AICTE prescription for the Diploma courses. And, this lack of coordination will have some
major adverse implications.
In the given system, the 3-year diploma course recognizes 5 levels of competence as depicted in the
Table below:
School stages Vocational Education
Levels
Diploma Courses
Class 9 1 1st Year Diploma
Class 10 2
Class 11 3
Class 12 4 2nd
Year Diploma
5 3rd
year Diploma
Consequently, students opting to move into VE after class 10 are taken in the 1st year, and students
coming out of class 12 are taken in the 2nd
year. This means that a senior secondary school student gets a
dip in VE after 14 (10+2+2) years whereas the secondary student gets a Diploma in VE after 13 (10+3)
years. There is an anomaly in this set-up that helps a Class 10 student save one year more.
If we look at the issue from the perspective of students coming out of the VE streams, we find that the
students suffer because of not getting any advantage from the VE inputs at the secondary and senior
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
7
secondary stages- they are still required to get into 1st year and 2
ndyear respectively(of the 3 year
Diploma course)along with others who did not come out of the VE stream at all. The only benefit
available is a partial reduction in the number of hours in the 1st year. This does not appear to be
reasonable. The reason for this anomaly is, perhaps, attributable to lack of synchronization with the
AICTE guidelines. If this issue can be addressed and resolved in consultation with AICTE, the VE
initiative at the school level can become more attractive because there may be scope for the class 12
completers to get into the 3rd
year and the class 10 students to get into the2nd year of the 3 year course.
Even if that does not happen, students who come out of the VE stream can have a grouse that they are
being treated on par with others notwithstanding their loss of an opportunity to learn more of general
education in classes 9-10 and 11-12. This problem of mismatch is possibly attributable to the emphasis
on skill development to the neglect of the ‘knowledge’ component. In our opinion, this issue needs to be
analyzed more in the backdrop of vertical mobility issues. The Haryana experience seems to indicate
similar problems for vertical mobility in general education also. There was some mention of difficulties
in admission into undergraduate courses in the University of Delhi for the Haryana VE students. In our
understanding, these are avoidable difficulties caused by rigidly segmented consideration to VE in
schools.
2. Teacher management and training:
o Recruitment and Deployment:At the secondary level, it is important to prepare teacher vacancies based
on disaggregation by subject requirements in each district, instead of using just the PTR norm. The state
has evolved a transparent policy for recruitment of teachers. Subject wise vacancies are obtained by the
Directorate of School Education and notified by the Teacher Recruitment Board (TRB). The TRB
conducts the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The state has conducted 3 rounds of TET so far. The merit
list is prepared based on the academic scores, TET scores, date of birth and criteria under the reservation
policy. Teacher qualifications for recruitment at secondary level are graduation and B.Ed., though
teachers with higher academic and professional qualifications are also considered for appointment.
Successful candidates are appointed by the Directorate of School Education through counseling and
deployment is done using an on-line system.
o Teacher availability:85.5% of government and 99.6% of government aided schools have core subject
teachers based on the RMSA norms. The status of recruitment of teachers in new schools is 5,869
against target of 6,568 and additional teachers in existing schools are 5,877 out of target of 6,752.
Teachers required beyond the RMSA norms like physical education, music, art, additional language
teachers, etc. are provided by the state on a contractual basis.
o Transfer: The practice for deployment and transfer is another good practice in the state. At the
beginning of every academic year (usually during May-June), the Government issues a GO with the
criteria for effecting transfer through a transparent counselling process. A list of vacancies of all
categories is prepared on 1st of June every year. Applications for transfer aresubmitted in a prescribed
format to the CEO concerned for transfer within / outside the district. The list of teachers seeking
transfer is displayed on the notice Board. A minimum of one year of service in the existing position is
mandatory for a request transfer. Teachers who are blind, physically handicapped with >40% disability,
spouse of service personnel, widows and spinsters above 40 years of age, etc. are exempted from the
mandatory one year requirement for transfer. Teachers of these categories are also given priority over
others, in case of more than one person seeking transfer to the same place. Transfers are done online
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
8
enabling teachers to attend the sessions at the District Headquarters itself and receive transfer orders
from the Inspecting Officer concerned immediately. Transfers are also made during the academic year,
in exceptional circumstances.
o In-service Training: The state provides 5 day in-service training to all secondary school teachers in
government and aided schools. Since 2009-10, 69.4% of approved teachers have been trained. In 2014-
15, 39,196 teachers (100% of the approved number for the year) were given in-service training in
Science, mathematics and Social Sciences at the district level by 450 Master Trainers who in turn were
trained by 180 Key Resource Persons.The focal pedagogical themes included: SOLO (Structure of
Observed learning Outcomes), CIR (Connections Investigating Reality) for teaching Science and CPA
(Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract) approach for teaching Mathematics. However, the JRM is of the view that
these themes need to be integrated with the overall State’s perspective on pedagogy of secondary
education. Training for the Social Science teachers focused on Geography. The JRM’s interaction with
the teachers revealed that they have not clearly conceptualized the pedagogical perspectives. This could
be a reason for them not practicing the same as expected in the classroom. Schools are not yet
demonstrating adequate break-through in pedagogical practices, including use of ICT. There is a need to
develop a deeper understanding about use of diverse pedagogical approaches for sustained learner
engagement and learning. The integration of subject knowledge, pedagogy and use of technology is
desirable in today’s world to drive quality teaching and learning.
Training Needs Assessment: In the prevailing circumstances ‘training’ is possibly the best available tool
for improving quality. Attention to training should therefore increase. Training, particularly the 5-day
annual subject training courses, should be need based. Of the options available, results-based
assessment of needs is perhaps the most reliable if an analysis of the exam results on specific content
areaswithin each subject is undertaken.
In our interactions with the teachers, we were surprised to hear one math teacher frankly admit that she is
weak in Arithmetic and would like to have some help in that area. The areas of difficulty and the related
topics can then be addressed during the training program. Both content and pedagogic aspects must be
addressed.
DIET faculty can also be advised to engage in such interactive discussions with teachers to supplement
identification of ‘training needs’. DIETs should be advised to focus more on classroom performance of
teachers. Their faculty should spend sufficient time sitting in the class to be able to observe weaknesses
for rectification. They should discuss their observations with the teacher outside the classroom. And they
should use the opportunity to explain how innovative pedagogic practices can be introduced to better
explain the points in reference.
Formulation of the course content for training should carefully reckon with aggregations of such
assessments of ‘needs’of individual teachers attending the training course.It will be useful to associate
the KRPs in this exercise so that they can duly sensitize the Master Trainers in this regard even as they
are identified.
Scheduling of in-service training: There is a strong demand from teachers that training courses should be
organized at the beginning of the academic year so that benefits are available throughout the year. This is
not accepted because of priority given to admissions and consultations relating to annual transfers of
teachers in the early part of the academic year.We feel the Department has to wait till admissions are
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
9
indeed completed. But there is no need to wait for all transfers are over. A teacher trained will benefit
from the training and will carry the benefit with him/her even if he/she is transferred to the new school
as he/she will be within the system. That is to say the benefits of the training will help the students in the
school, they will never be wasted.
Follow-up from training:Teachers returning from training should be asked to file a report giving the
specific benefits flowing from the training. The teacher must also incorporate the new innovative
practices in classroom teaching. And the changed classroom performance should be monitored to check
adoption of new practices advocated.
Engagement of Teacher Education Institutions: One of the major responsibilities of the CTEs and IASEs
is to support capacity building of secondary teachers. Their involvement may be converged with the
capacity building activities of RMSA. In-service programs may be designed and organized with the
combined expertise of the RIE, SCERT, DIETs, CTEs, IASEs and Secondary Board of Examination. Like
the NROER, the state may also develop a State Repository of Open Educational Resources for teachers,
key resource persons and teacher educators.
3. UDISE – Use in Planning and Monitoring
The state has developed the Statelevel Results Framework Document (RFD) based on the national RFD
template. The state results framework was shared with the JRM for which the state has used the UDISE
data to report progress against targets of the key performance indicators and the intermediate results. The
latest UDISE data and the RFD have been used to prepare the next year Annual Work Plan and Budget
(AWP&B) and Tamil Nadu was the first state to submit the AWP&B online to the MHRD for the PAB.
The state officials also shared that in the very first submission there was no mismatch in the data
presented by the State and the Centre, which is a notable achievement. The UDISE data has also been
used in the GIS school mapping exercise. The states also using the RFD to monitor progress of RMSA
implementation against targets set out in the key performance indicators and intermediate results.
Program Management: The Education leadership in the state (including the Education Minister and
Principal Secretary) conduct regular zonal reviews (covering 3-4 blocks) in one of the blocks including
school visits and monitor progress strictly. Regional review of academic performance is done and
regional level meetings are held for low performing school heads. VetriUngalKayil – an innovative
motivation program has been undertaken for orientation of school heads and District Education Officers
to drive academic performance. Each Joint Director is entrusted with 1-2 districts for periodical
monitoring visits to review welfare schemes, project development goals and result performance.
The state has launched an Educational management information System (EMIS) that includes School
profile and Student profile, teacher profile, Academic books and Interactive Videos, Smart Card project
and SMS based Teachers’ Attendance. This EMIS will help the state administration to track students and
teachers from classes 1 to 12 and monitor attendance in classrooms.
(Inspections by supervisory personnel particularly by academic personal have been discussed in the
earlier section on Quality).
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
10
External Monitoring: The two Monitoring Institutions nominated by MHRD: IIT, Madras and Mother
Theresa Women’s University, Kodaikannal are monitoring the implementation of the program in 13 and
17 districts respectively. The JRM had an opportunity to hear their presentations.
Role of SMDCs: Besides their critical role in managing the civil works at the school level, the SMDCs
represent the partnership between the community and the school to monitor school development and
functioning. The SMDC composition is set out as 1 headmaster, 1 teacher representative and 3
community representatives(including female representatives). There are places where this pattern is not
adhered to. At every school that the JRM visited, the community members in the SMDC were all male,
with the explanation that they are very enterprising and helpful. While this is indeed an important factor
to reckon with, representation of women has far more substantive social significance to be ignored.The
JRM recommends thatat least one of the three community members in the SMDC should be a woman (for
e.g. mother of one of the students); there can be provision for co-opting(not more than) two others where
considered useful– this will not only bring in equity in the composition but also help in resolving issues
of adolescent girls in the schools.
4. Financial Management and Procurement:
Financial management
Achievements and Good Practices
The total approved outlay under RMSA to Tamil Nadu till date in NR(non recurring) category is Rs
1301.36 crores including the Central share of Rs 976.01 crores. So far, Centre has released Rs399.00
crores. Till date, state has spent only Rs. 259 crores
In the state and district offices, there is adequate number of finance officials available.
For the FY 15-16 AWP&B was submitted on line through Project monitoring system, which was
accepted by MHRD without any correction .
The State Project Unit maintains an independent bank account for RMSA.
The audit report for the FY 13-14 was submitted to MHRD in time.
There is no major observation in audit report. The minor discrepancies pointed out in the audit report are
already complied with.
Concerns
There is no internal audit mechanism for RMSA. SIS is taking necessary steps for doing internal audit on
a regular basis.
There is no Vigilance Cell in the State RMSA office.
Recommendation
For state
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
11
The State may take steps for engaging Internal Auditors so that the internal audit can be carried out on
regular basis.
5. Procurement
Achievements and Good Practices
The JRM team reviewed the State’s procurement activities. As per the legal agreement with the
Developmental Partners, all States are required to follow the Manual on Financial Management and
Procurement for RMSA issued by MHRD on 24th January 2012. The manual is followed in the state of
Tamil Nadu. In fact the state government has translated the FM&P manual in Tamil and uploaded in
their website for better understanding among staff.
The state has prepared the procurement plan but yet to upload in their website. The state officials are
advised to upload the procurement plan in their website at the earliest.
The Tamil Nadu Government has entrusted the construction of model schools to the Tamil Nadu Police
Housing Board (TNPHB) and construction of Girls Hostel as well as strengthening of schools to PWD
department of Tamil Nadu.
The quality of construction of schools visited appears to be good.
The State PWD as well as TNPHB have awarded all the major works i.e. construction of model schools
and girls hostels through an e-tendering process as the tender value is more than Rs 50 lakh as per
MHRD guidelines.
At School level, there is not much procurement activity except 200 new schools entrusted to SMDC in
the year 2009-10 and small procurements under Annual school grant of Rs 50000/- out of which Rs.
10000/- for books for library , Rs. 25000/- for lab equipment and balance for minor civil works.
Even there is no major procurement undertaken directly by SPD office at state level or by CEO office at
district level. The works are carried out either by PWD or TNPHB.
Civil consultants are posted at district level to extend technical support to SMDCs for civil works.
There are no consulting activities undertaken by the State.
Concerns
One of the major concerns is slow progress of civil works. It is observed that out of 1096 new schools
sanctioned by MHRD for the state of Tamil Nadu under RMSA, the construction work was taken up for
only 200 schools through SMDC which are sanctioned and taken up in the year 2009-10, out of which
125 schools are completed till date and rest are at various stages of construction. It is noted that as per
FM&P manual, SMDCs were initially delegated with financial power to take up work worth Rs. 10 lakh,
which was later increased to Rs. 30 lakh in July 2014. However these works are entrusted to the SMDCs
before FM&P manual came into existence. It is confirmed that now FM&P manual is followed in letter
and spirit.
For balance 896 schools which are sanctioned in the year 2010-11 & 2011-12, the work is not taken up
yet. It was reported that the sanctioned amount for these was arrived at on normative costs as per norms
during 2011-12. Rise in prices in the meantime led to the existing sanctioned costs not being workable.
The State PWD is unable to take these up at the approved cost. However state officials confirmed that
they have initiated the proposal for getting additional fund from state government and they are hopeful to
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
12
take up all the pending civil works in the next financial year. The consolidated position is given in the
table below.
Year Sanctioned
buildings
Completed In progress
2009-10 200 125 75
2010-11 344 Nil Nil
2011-12 552 Nil Nil
Total 1096 125 75
Similarly, for strengthening of existing schools, except two activities like construction of additional
classrooms and science laboratories, no other work is taken up for construction. Even for these two
activities, only sanctioned works for the year 2010-11 are taken up for construction. The reasons for not
taking up balance strengthening works, is same as that of the new school works. The works which are
taken up for construction, the additional fund requirement is made up by state govt. The consolidated
position is in the following table:
Year Sanctioned ACR
& Sc. Lab
Completed In progress
2010-11 1851+ 698=2549 486 1752
2011-12 1795+ 919=2714 Nil Nil
Total 3646+1617=5263 486 1752
Recommendations:
For the state:
It is recommended that the State follows the procedures of FM& P manual for procurement of civil
works as well as goods in letter and spirit
For GOI:
MHRD may consider upward revision of sanctioned costs both for construction of new schools and
strengthening of existing schools for the financial year 2010-11 & 2011-12 as per the current SOR of the
state at the earliest so that implementing agencies (PWD) may take up the same. This was earlier
recommended by the 3rd JRM.
6. General Issues:
1. Duration of state visit should be expanded and particularly, the field visit should be expanded
2. (i)Departure for state should not be on Day1. There should be time for the Mission to discuss
internally on who should work in detail on which TOR
(ii)Also, there should be time for the Mission to discuss and formulate a common approach
Tamil Nadu State report (5th
RMSA JRM)
13
3. (i)The schedule of field visit should be formulated, if possible, in consultation with the team
concerned.
(ii)The schedule should not involve long, time consuming tiring road journeys!
(iii)Travel should not involve early morning (before 8am)departures. Travel to outstations should
accommodate late evening arrival, overnight halt so that work next day can start early and in a well-
rested condition.
(iv) The schedule should incorporate not only visits to institutions but also interactive sessions with
participating groups and institutions e.g. monitoring groups, training bodies, evaluating agencies,
research center’s, concerned academic and administrative formations, etc.
4. The state material should reach the team members well in advance; it should be handed over at
least immediately upon arrival.
5. TSG must ensure that only final versions of materials and travel plans are sent or given and
nottentative drafts initially sent by the state government.
6. Copies of supporting documents should be kept available in the briefing hall so that additional
material as may be required can be collected.
************
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
1
State Report: Uttarakhand
1. Introduction
The JRM team visited Uttarakhand during January 28-31st2015. The team comprised of two members,
Dr. Amit Khanna, HOD, SIEMAT, Uttar Pradesh and Siddharth Kohli, Financial Management
Consultant, from the World Bank. The team met the Chief Secretary, the RMSA State Project Director
(who is also Director General, Education) the state RMSA team, and the district officials of Dehradun
and Nainital districts, including CDO and DEO, Nainital. During discussions with the CS, stress was laid
on strengthening the role of information technology in imparting education, working system and
activities directed towards integration of SSA with RMSA and plan of vocational training in such a
manner that they should result in employment and income generation opportunities. The team also
visited numerous schools in both Dehradun and Nainital districts and had fruitful and healthy discussions
with the officials and functionaries concerned. The team thanks the state officials for sharing information
and activities of RMSA, SIEMAT, SCERT& NIOS. The team is grateful to the state government for
extending cooperation, support and the warm hospitality at all levels from the state, district to school
level.
2. Overview
Uttarakhand formerly known as Uttaranchal, was carved out of the Himalayan and adjoining north-
western districts of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 2000, becoming the 27th State of the Republic of
India. Census of 2011 places its population at 101.17 lakh spread over an area of 53,483 sq.km. The
Government of Uttarakhand has initiated many steps for the upliftment of the secondary education,
including up-gradation of upper primary schools, strengthening of existing schools, third party
evaluation of civil works, self-defense training for girls and special teaching under equity, collaboration
with KGBVs to run the 19 girls hostels located in EBBs, training for community leaders, science
exhibition, book fair, learning level assessment for class IX & X students, innovative programme
"UNNATI" for enhancing competencies of English language and soft skill in students , teachers training,
guidance and counseling and interventions for quality education to students associated with Government
& Aided Schools.
The RMSA program implementation in the state began in 2009-10. Uttarakhand has academic
institutions and enthusiastic and supportive staff and officials that support the activities of RMSA. There
exists a huge potential and under RMSA collaboration with different agencies to pool in the collective
effort and resources is viewed as a guiding force for further strengthening and enhancing the quality of
secondary education in the state. The JRM also noticed community participation in school monitoring
and the position of maintenance is also very encouraging. Schools visited showed a presence and voice
of the SMCs/ SMDCs.
An overview of the Secondary Education in the state may be seen below:
Number of Schools by Management/Funding wise
Total No. of
Secondary
Schools
State Govt.
Secondary
Schools
Local
Body
Central Govt. Sec
schools or PSUs
(KVS/NVS etc.)
Pvt. Aided
(Contributes to the
major share of the
school's budget)
Pvt.
Unaided
3260 2087 4 60 352 757
Source: U-DISE 2013-14
3. Best Practices
a) Learning Level Assessment Programme (LLA)
The Government of Uttarakhand has initiated a programme known as Learning Level Assessment
Programme to find out the learning gaps of those students who join the class IX. All the students of class
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
2
IX in Government and Government-aided schools were covered under the programme. The pre and post
assessment tools for identifying learning gaps in four core subjects namely Hindi, English, Maths and
Science are beyond the traditional marking system, a new three-tier achievement level system was
introduced, namely, (1) Not Achieved: NA (2) Partially Achieved: PA and (3) Achieved: A. On the basis
of LLA remedial measures are taken at school level to dilute the pressure mounted upon the students.
Further, the need is to develop a monitoring mechanism by the State Government. It is highly
appreciated that a few schools are keen to know the learning levels of their inputs conducted under LLA
even in class VI and VIII.
A pictorial representation of the results achieved through the LLA is presented below:
Pre & Post Achievement 2014-15
b) ‘UNNATI’
GOI has sanctioned an innovative programme „Unnati‟ focused on developing competencies of spoken
English and Soft Skill for 76000 students of class 9th and 10th studying in 750 Govt. Secondary Schools
in 2014-15 as on pilot base. The State Govt. has launched the programme with the help of an expert
agency (IL&FS Education) that is selected through national bid and it is providing study material and
instructors for the programme. The agency has deputed facilitators in the schools after the scrutiny. Pre
assessment of students has been conducted. A work book has been provided to students. The
programme is being conducted before and after before school hours. The results of the programme are
really remarkable. During the next academic year the state govt. is planning to extend the programme at
Hr. secondary level.
c) Promotion of KGBV’s Girls to Secondary Education
There are 28 KGBVs running in Uttarakhand. State Government took decision to continue the hostel and
free boarding lodging facilities to all class VIII passed girls in all KGBVs upto class XII, As per the
census 2001, only 19 KGBVs are eligible for Girl Hostel scheme. State Government has sanctioned 100
bedded girls hostel buildings in all the rest 09 KGBVs and is also bearing the recurring cost of all girls
residing in these hostels.
d) SIP – School Improvement Plan
A good exercise for developing a “School Development Plan” is observed in every school using UDISE
data and the activities held in the school are very well documented. All the school level plans are
consolidated at the district level. The best part is that all the schools are conducting LLA in their
institutions and have highlighted SIP. As stated above, of few schools have taken the initiative of
conducting LLA even in classes VI and VIII.
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
3
e) Child Tracking – A mandatory activity of every school
For Universalization of Secondary Education it is important to know the number of students studying in
class VIII of feeding schools. It is observed that each serving school has a record of all the children of
that habitation studying in class VIII. During the next academic year it can be easily monitored as how
many children have transited from upper primary to secondary. Further, those not enrolled at sec. level
may be monitored and brought in the fold of education.
4. Focus issues/ Key Concerns for this JRM
This JRM has focused in particular on the following issues:
4.1 Focus issue #1: Civil Works–Needs Momentum
Achievements:
The laggard growth of the civil work is due to over head costs and finally state govt. has taken the
initiative to bear the additional cost of Rs. 67 crore for civil work under state budget. Irrigation
Department and Rural Engineering Service Department are the nodal construction agencies for RMSA.
The teams of Construction agencies visited the construction sites and prepared site specific design and
estimates. Local community provided the land for construction work free of cost. Civil work monitoring
committee at school level is constituted which monitors the day to day progress of civil work. Third
party evaluation of civil work through Planning Department and PWD is one of the agenda of the state.
Concerns/Key Issues:
Since 2009, under RMSA opening of 271 new schools, strengthening of 548 schools and 241 major
repairs are sanctioned. The slow pace of construction is due to the fact that the site development cost
varies from site to site. Timely provision of human and physical resources needs attention for upgraded
schools and schools approved for strengthening. Earlier the fund was directly transferred to RMSA
society and now it is routed through the State govt. which causes delay. The table below shows the
progress of construction work on yearly basis:
Year-wise Progress of Construction Work
(As on 31st December, 2014)
Year
Upgradation Strengthening
Sanc. Complete In
Progress
Un
Started Sanc. Complete
In
Progress
Un
Started
2009-10 23 17 4 2 381 356 16 9
2010-11 58 23 26 9 134 73 34 27
2011-12 147 28 80 39 0 0 0 0
2012-13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013-14 43 0 19 24 33 0 25 8
2014-15 0 0 0 0 179 0 0 179
Total 271 68 129 74 727 429 75 223
Releasing of funds need to be needs acceleration at GOI and state level. Since the state govt. is ready to
bear the additional cost, the state will start the work by 15th Mar.
4.2 Focus issue #2: School, Staff and Teacher Management
Achievement:
Annual grant for 2066 schools was sanctioned in 2014-15, out of which 113 schools has received the
grant till Nov. 2014. Staff sanctioned under RMSA is put in place except teachers in few a schools. The
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
4
State provides five days training to School Heads through SIEMAT. The Leadership training programme
developed by NUEPA is in initial stage though the SRG has been constituted and trained in SIEMAT in
collaboration with NUEPA. Resource Institutions like SCERT, SIEMAT, DIETs, BRCs and some
secondary schools are identified for training of SRG and KRP. RMSA has made it convenient for
teachers in the „Integrated Labs‟ to be assisted by Lab assistants. It was brought to the knowledge of the
JRM that the cabinet has approved the quantum of the difference between the amount of initial salary, as
approved by GoI and that to be paid to the teachers
Issues/Concerns:
As per the PAB figures the Annual grant was sanctioned for 2066 schools, till Nov. 2014, only
113 have received the grant.
26% of Heads of Schools and 55% of teachers are yet to be recruited for the schools sanctioned
under RMSA. The State is committed to recruit teachers very soon. The recruitment requires
acceleration.
There is a shortage of science and math teachers. Out of 2439 govt. and pvt. Aided schools, only
1667 science teachers are in position.
Though, during the field visit it is observed that the training for English teachers on “PALLAV”
module is going on at one resource centre, yet as per the figures quoted by the state there is no
expenditure either on Induction training or on In-service training. The state committed to finish
all the training by Feb. 2015.
To make the school functional, teachers are being shifted from different areas to those schools
which are being upgraded under RMSA.
There were instances of teachers not getting salary for a considerable period of time in the
schools being upgraded under RMSA.
Resource Institutions need to be strengthened.
Recommendations:
Payment of Salary should be made timely and without any delay
Though there are three methods of selection at the state level like –
30% promotion from elementary teachers to sec. teachers
10% through departmental test from elementary to secondary level.
60% direct recruitment from those who are TET pass candidates of Technical Education
Board by June
The state need to take few initiatives to recruit teachers.
Leadership programme for school heads needs momentum.
Subject specific teachers should be in adequate number so as to maintain quality of teaching and
training to students especially in science subjects.
The quantum of salary to be paid under RMSA may be reviewed
The amount sanctioned for payments to be made to trainees at various levels should be
reconsidered.
School grant may be sanctioned as per the load on a school in terms of physical infrastructure,
enrolment, etc.
4.3 Focus issue #3: UDISE& GIS
Achievement:
Uttarakhand has a large number of residential public schools. At secondary level U-DISE is being
implemented with the help of SSA. These schools are not very keen to fill up the U-DISE Data Capture
Format at secondary level but efforts were made for 100% coverage. All the schools including Govt./Pvt.
aided/Pvt. Unaided schools of the state have been covered under U-DISE. The data is analyzed at the
state level and capacity building is done for those involved in the process. The mission is happy to note
that all the schools visited have their school report cards and they are displayed on a board. Every
training programme includes one day orientation on U-DISE for filling the DCF, formation of indicators
and use of U-DISE data in school planning. While developing a School Improvement Plan, UDISE data
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
5
is used for planning. The GIS mapping exercise is a bit difficult but the state govt. has taken the initiative
of going ahead with the school mapping with the support of USEC.
Issues/Concerns:
Strengthening of U-DISE under RMSA at state and district level needs attention. Presently only one staff
at State Level and a District Resource Person are in position that are looking after district planning and
construction and are also responsible for U-DISE activities. Issue of unavailability of dedicated
machines is raised by the state functionaries. Orientation of SMDC on UDISE is still an issue. District
Education Officer who is responsible for all the activities has not much orientation on planning,
monitoring and decision making using UDISE data. Further, GIS mapping is a bit difficult as
Uttarakhand is situated mostly in the hilly terrain.
Recommendations:
o Dedicated staff and machines need to be provided at the state, district and block level.
o Orientation programme for Education functionaries must be organized for Data
analysis and use of Educational Indicators in Planning, Monitoring and Decision
making.
5. Other highlights/ issues:
5.1 IEDSS:
The GOI has released Rs. 1.39 crore on 28th March 2011. This amount has been utilized in the activities
sanctioned for year 2010-11 & 2011-12. 95, resource rooms have been approved for the year 2010-11
and among these 95 resource rooms 88 resource rooms have been completed by the constructing
agencies namely Rural Engineering Service Department and Irrigation Department, Uttarakhand. Till
now the amount of Rs. 157.30 lakhs for construction of resource rooms has been released to the
construction agencies. The construction work of remaining 07 resource rooms could not be started due to
lack of sufficient funds. Since 2010-11, there is steep hike in State Schedule of Rate (SOR), under these
circumstances, it's not possible to construct the un-started 07 resource rooms @ Rs. 2.00 lakhs per
resource room in 2014-15. So the amount is not being required for these 07 resource rooms. The net
amount Rs. 18.7 lakhs is still awaited from GOI. Resource teachers are in place who support all the
schools coming under IEDSS within the block and visit schools as per the schedule. Proper training and
education needs to be imparted to the differently abled children and activities should be integrated with
regular teaching as far as possible. As per the UDISE data, it is good to see the transition of CWSN as
almost 70%.
6. Equity:
Self-Defense Training for Girls-Though imparting of self-defense training was observed in
certain schools, it is imperative that the same be continued with focus on inculcating self-
respect and self-confidence, overcoming fear and being physically and mentally strong. GoI
has sanctioned the activity for 142 schools for year 2014-15. The activity at the school level
needs to be closely monitored.
Percentage of female teachers is only 28.5%.
High Gender Parity index of 0.91 and a good sign of gender equity.
7. Dropout Rate and Repetition Rate:
Dropout rate remains to be high. It is 2.91 % in class IX and goes up to 16.37 % in class X. Similarly,
the repetition rate is bit high being 3.7% in class IX which is 7.6% in class X.
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
6
7.1 ICT
The state has implemented ICT scheme in 125 schools sanctioned in the year 2005-06 and 2007-08
under „Arohi’ scheme of the State Govt. However, the ICT scheme in 500 schools which were
sanctioned under BOOT Model in RMSA is yet to be implemented.
Concerns:
o ICT is yet to be implemented in the schools covered under RMSA
o State invited bids twice; however no bidders came forward for the same under BOOT model
Recommendations:
o Changes to the specifications in the RFP that are to be made should be expedited, so that the
bids are once again called from the bidders
o Alternatively, the state may explore the possibility of continuing ICT under the existing
scheme – ‘Arohi’, with support from GoI
o If there are feasibility concerns with the present BOOT model across other states as well, GoI
may consider redesigning the same
7.2 Vocational Education:
One of the major concerns in the state is that Vocational education is yet to be initiated.
Actions being taken/ proposed to be taken:
The state has sought Technical Support from an external agency – Wadhwani Foundation.
School principals have been identified to conduct an orientation programme for two days and
the programme will start from April, 2015. The task of curriculum and syllabus development
is also getting support from Special cell in Uttarakhand – Shiksha Parishad set up at
Ramnagar for N.S.D.F.
Vocational Education shall be introduced in 44 secondary schools from 2015-16 onwards in 4
sectors namely Automobile, IT/ITeS, Retail & Patient Care.
Uttarakhand Examination Board has integrated vocational education as one of the main core
subjects at secondary level. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) survey has
been adopted by the state in respect of the vocational education programme.
The state proposes to start the programme during the next academic year.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the entire vocational education exercise be performed after careful planning and
ensuring that the intended benefits reach the children. There should be proper synchronization between
the curriculum imparted and the needs of the industries. Meanwhile, it is imperative to conduct a need-
based assessment/ survey to gather the necessary knowledge on the opportunities and the resources
available to tap them
7.3 Financial Management and fund releases:
Audit Reports have been timely received
The State Project Offices and Districts maintain an independent bank account for RMSA.
The state is yet to appoint an internal auditor. It was suggested that the state either recruit or
appoint on contractual basis an internal auditor at the earliest
Maintenance of books of account on a computerized system yet to be implemented in full. It
was suggested that accounting be done on computerized systems and manual book keeping
be done away with.
Finance staff is inadequate. Dedicated finance staff for the project is present only in 6 out of
the 13 districts. Further, the internal auditor has also not been appointed till date. It was
suggested that an internal auditor be either appointed or hired contractually so that the
process of internal audit can commence at the earliest.
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
7
The total capital expenditure outlay for the financial year 2014-15 (as per AWP) was Rs
70.06, including the GoI share of Rs 52.55 crores and that for recurring expenditure was Rs
86.17 crores including Rs 64.63 crores towards GoI share. The State has not received any
amount towards capital expenditure from GoI. Expenditure incurred towards Civil Works is
Rs 105.02 crores(which was spent from the opening balance available with the SPO). Total
amount expended during the year towards recurring activities is Rs 45.83 crores.
Funds released by Govt. of India have been applied towards payment of salary in entirety due
to shortage of funds. There exists a gap between the salary proposed by the state and that
approved by the GoI, causing the additional burden to be borne by the state.
Availability of timely funds is a major concern. It should be ensured that committed
expenditure like salary etc. is paid timely.
The state has non recurring funds available for a particular task. Earlier to this year the funds
are available with the society since 2009-10. Some understanding need to be evolved so that
funds may be utilized for the activity on priority.
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
8
Annexure 1: Persons met and Itinerary followed
Persons Met:
1. Mr. N. Ravi Shankar, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttarakhand.
2. Mr. S. Raju, Additional Secretary, School Education.
3. Mr. M.C. Joshi, Secretary, School Education.
4. Mr. D. Senthil Pandiyan, State Project Director, RMSA.
5. Mr. R.K. Kunwar, Director, Secondary Education.
6. Mrs. Seema Jaunsari, Director, Elementary Education.
7. Mrs. Kusum Pant, Director, Academic Research and Training.
8. Mr. N.K. Bahuguna, Additional Director, Secondary Education.
9. Mrs. Amita Joshi, Finance Controller, RMSA.
10. Mr. Mahaveer Singh Bisht, Joint State Project Director, RMSA.
11. Mr. R.P. Dandriyal, Joint State Project Director, RMSA.
12. Mr. V.P. Pant, Finance Officer, RMSA.
13. Mr. ShailendraAmoli, Assistant State Project Director, RMSA.
14. Mr. Avanindra Barthwal, Assistant State Project Director,
15. Dr. Mohan Singh Bisht, Assistant State Project Director, RMSA.
16. Dr. Sohan Singh Majila, Assistant State Project Director, RMSA.
17. Mr. S.P. Khali, Chief Education Officer, Dehradun.
18. Mr. Vishwakarma, District Project Officer, RMSA, Nainital.
19. Mr. C.N. Kala, District Project Officer, RMSA, Dehradun.
20. Mr. S.B. Joshi, Additional Director, SIEMAT.
21. Mr. Pradeep Rawat, Regional Director, NIOS, Uttarakhand.
Itinerary:
28th January, 20151:30 p.m.– Arrival at Dehradun
28th January, 20154:00 p.m.– Presentation by SPO, Dehradun
29thJanuary, 2015 – Visit to Dehradun District and Schools
30thJanuary, 2015 – Visit to Nainital District and Schools
31st January, 2015 – Wrap-up meeting with Chief Secretary
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
9
Reflections on Field Visit
1. GGICS Ajabpurkala, Rajpur Block
The Learning Level Assessment programme (LLA) provides the best opportunity for practice of learning
for class IX in Hindi, English, Maths and science. Pre and post tests are conducted at SRG which had
identified the competences at class IX and tools are developed for testing. These tests are followed by
remedial teaching and achievements in details are provided in graphs. UNNATI is the programme for
developing soft and professional skills. Confidence level was found high in English in classes IX and X.
Yog and SUPW are also in practice. The programme is funded by RMSA. The involvement of SMC is
clearly visible in schools where regular meetings are held and decisions are taken and documented.
2. G.I.C. Dobhalwala, Sahaspur Block
The functioning and performance of the institution are exceedingly good. The principal is providing
quality leadership. Every activity of the school is well documented, since the school imparts education
from class VI to VIII, Principal has initiated LLA in class which is a good practice to identify the
weaknesses that may be overcome in inter classes. The cultural and co-curricular activities are regularly
organised well in the school. The ICT Lab could not be established due to unavailability of land, hence
science Lab needs to be established. Alternate arrangements like fabricated construction should be made
available to such schools. School Report Cards are displayed on a flex board. Another remarkable
feature is keeping student profile and child tracking. Integrated Lab is a demand of the school. Since the
enrolment has increased, TLE of 1 lakh has been released under RMSA. The Principal has explored all
possibilities for SMC and many resources have been donated by the community and also through
Vidhayak Nidhi.
3. G.I.C. Khurbura, Raipur Block
The school has a good infrastructure. The principal is very enthuastic. Lab in the school is good. The
children are found involved in developing science experiments and science models. School report cards
are displayed and clarity regarding performance indicators is clearly visible in the school. Centre for
CCRT training was given to the teacher in school and he has implemented it using the students to
enhance skills. The principal has made all possible efforts to enrich library and take donation of books
from DDTS. UNNATI is successfully implemented in the state. Under RMSA TLE of I lakh is released,
the amount of 50000 is released, 25000 is also released and the school has utilized those funds.
4. G.I.C. Harbertpur, Vikas Nagar Block:
The school is located in rural area and it has a strength of almost 1300 children. Undert IEDSS scheme a
resource room was constructed in the school and a resource teacher was deputed. The teacher is deputed
to look after all the 31 CWSN children in the Block. The teacher visits all the schools of the block
regularly to support these CWSN children. Beautiful premesis are seen in the school. The school is
identified for vocational education. The school is supported with ICT scheme since 2006 by the state
govt. under „AROHI‟ programme. This scheme is implemented in all govt. sec. schools since 2005.
Minimum five systems are given and maximum ten. Intel and Microsoft have trained the teachers in
these schools. Ten days package was there for training treated as MT. Mostly a teacher who is in service
is trained under this scheme. The students were well versed with the technology. The team also reviewed
the in-service training of English teachers which was conducted on teaching methodology. The objective
of the training was LLA. The name of the module was „PALLAV‟ DEVELOPED BY SCERT.
5. Govt. Sec. School, Kaichiwal–Upgraded Under RMSA
The school was constructed recently under the sanction of RMSA in 2011-12. Five teachers were in
position of working including principal and one teacher was found on leave. The teachers who were put
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
10
in position were from some other schools. Newly recruited teachers have not been posted in school.
During the year 2013-14, the GOI agreed to bear the full burden of salary in principle. From 2014-15,
the GOI is bearing only the initial part of the salary which is for newly recruited teacher. The teachers in
such schools have received salary only for 3 to 4 months. The state has taken the issue to the Cabinet and
the decision has been taken to bear the additional amount of teachers salary from state govt. fund. The
activities are not accelerated in these schools because under RMSA since 2009-10 to 2013-14, 271 posts
were sanctioned for upgradation and all are functional and the posts of principals have been filled in all
the schools. Construction of school is still another issue of concern where only % schools are
constructed. Only 40% teachers positions are filled in these schools. Govt. of UK has taken initiative to
fill the vacant posts. The following is the strategy of the state to fill 40% of the vacant posts by Apr
2015.
6. GGIC Bheemtal
Like every school the Learning Level Assessment programme (LLA) provides the best opportunity for
practice of learning for class IX in Hindi, English, Maths and science. Pre and post tests are conducted at
SRG which had identified the competences at class IX and tools are developed for testing. These tests
are followed by 50 hours remedial teaching and achievements in details are provided. UNNATI is the
programme for developing soft and professional skills. Confidence level of students is found high in
English in classes IX and X. The involvement of SMC/SMDC is clearly visible in schools where regular
meetings are held and decisions are taken and documented. The records in the school are well
documented.
7. G.I.C. Bheemtal
Every activity of the school is well documented since the school imparts education from class VI to VIII,
Principal has initiated LLA in class which is a good practice to identify the weaknesses that may be
overcome in inter classes. The functioning and performance of the institution are exceedingly good. The
principal is providing quality leadership. The cultural and co-curricular activities are regularly organised
well in the school. School Report Cards are displayed on a flex board. Another remarkable feature is
keeping student profile and child tracking.
8. G.I.C. Amiya
The principal is very enthusiastic lab in the school is good and had pursued five days school leadership
programme. The children are found involved in developing science experiments and science models.
School report cards are displayed and clarify regarding performance indicators is clearly visible in the
school. The principal has made all possible efforts to enrich library and take donation of books.
UNNATI is successfully implemented in the school.
9. G.I.C. Nawarkhera
The school is located in rural area a very good example of social audit is seen in the school. Under
IEDSS scheme a resource room was constructed in the school and a resource teacher was deputed. The
school is identified for vocational education. The school is supported with ICT scheme since 2006 by the
state govt. under „AROHI‟ programme.
10. GGIC Bunbhoolpura
Like every school the Learning Level Assessment programme (LLA) provides the best opportunity for
practice of learning for class IX in Hindi, English, Maths and science. Library is maintained and the
students were using the Library. The school has a Guidance and Counselling cell for students. The
school head is a lady principal and put all her efforts to make it an academic institution. The social audit
is observed in school. Since the school is located in minority area even though the enrolment is good and
the community has a very good relation with the school. The demand of the school is to raise the school
grant as the enrolment is high.
Uttarakhand State Report (5th
RMSA JRM)
11
11. GIC Dholakhera
The school is versed with the UDISE data and the teacher planning is done on the basis of it. A very
good example of TLM in Hindi is seen developed by the school. Like other schools child tracking is
observed in the school. The school has a very good computer lab. The school head, teachers and students
has a very good relation. A teacher in the school is awarded at international level under ICT programme.
********************
Sl.
No.
PD
O L
evel
Resu
lts
Ind
icato
rs*
Core
U
nit
of
Mea
sure
men
t
Ba
seli
ne
20
09
/10
(Act
ua
l)
Cumulative Target Values
2 (Actual and Projected)
Rep
ort
in
g
Fre
qu
enc
Data
Sou
rce3
Resp
on
si
bil
ity f
or
Data
Coll
ecti
o
n (
at
the
nati
on
al
level
)
Description (indicator definition, target setting/projection method,
other remarks, etc.)4
20
10-1
1
(Act
ua
l)
20
11/1
2
(Act
ua
l)
20
12/1
3
(Act
ua
l)
20
13/1
4
(Act
ua
l)
20
14/1
5
(Pro
ject
ed)
20
15/1
6
(Pro
ject
ed)
20
16/1
7
(Pro
ject
ed)
Key Performance Indicators 1. Total enrolment in Secondary Education
(Grades IX & X) Number
(in Millions) 28.3 31.6 33.2 34.6 37.3 38.8 40.6 42.5 Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE TSG and NUEPA Includes schools in all
management with enrolment in grades IX-X and IX (in
secondary schools
established/upgraded in a
given year having enrolment
only in grade IX)
Projection/target setting
method
y
Final
Results Framework and Monitoring Document (RFD)1 (Last Revised on 24th Jan 2015)
Project Development Objective (PDO): To assess the outcomes of RMSA in making secondary education available, affordable and
relevant, and accordingly, plan for achieving the target of 90% GER by the end of 12th
Five- Year Plan (i.e. 2016/17)
1 This document has been revised on 24
th January 2015 on the basis of decisions (with regard to the number of indicators that should go in the RFD and their estimation methods) jointly taken by the MHRD and DPs in several
rounds of meetings during the last one year.
2
In this RFD, the figures reported against various indicators are actual for 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013-14 and for the remaining years, i.e, from 2014-15 to 2016-17, the cumulative target values are projected
figures.
3 The major sources of data on secondary education used in this RFD are SEMIS for 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12, and thereafter, DISE/UDISE and Census of India/MHRD/NUEPA (for population data). Further, it may be
noted that the coverage of SEMIS, DISE and UDISE has improved in every successive year primarily because of two reasons: one, due to establishment of new schools/institutions, and two, because of improved response of the
private un-aided sector. Coverage of schools/institutions in government and private aided sectors in SEMIS, DISE and UDISE is almost universal every year beginning from the base year, i.e. 2009/10.
4
For details, see the Technical Note given in Annex 2.
1
Projection from 2014/15 to 2016-17 is based on past
trend (Linear) in the growth
of enrolment from 2010-11
to 2013-14.
2. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for M+F in
Secondary Education (Grades IX & X) % 57.9 60.6 65.0 68.3 74.2 77.9 82.3 86.8 Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and
Census of
India /MHRD
TSG and NUEPA All schools
Projection/target setting method
Estimated using actual and
projected enrolment and the
projected child population (14-15 age group) by the
MHRD
3. Gender Parity Index (GPI) of GER in secondary education
5 Ratio 0.95 0.98 0.98 0.99 1.00 1.02 1.03 1.04 Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and
Census of
India
TSG and NUEPA Estimated based on actual
and projected GER values of
boys and girls.
4. Gender Equity Index (GEI) in Secondary
Education6 Ratio 0.97 0.99 0.99 1.00 1.00 1.01 1.01 1.02 Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and
Census of
India
TSG and NUEPA Estimated based on actual
and projected enrolment and
girls’ share in total 14-15 age group population
5. Social Equity Index (SEI) in Secondary Education (SC)
7 Ratio 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and
Census of
India
TSG and NUEPA Estimated based on actual
and projected SC enrolment
and SCs’ share in total 14-
15 age group population
6. Social Equity Index (SEI) in Secondary Education (ST)
8 Ratio 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and
Census of
India
TSG and NUEPA Estimated based on actual
and projected ST enrolment and STs’ share in total 14-15
age group population
7. Secondary education graduation rate (those
who enrolled in grade IX in year t appearing
for the Board exams in grade X in year t+1) Target % (Gross
Graduation rate) Yearly SEMIS&
UDISE and
Census of
India
TSG, NUEPA
State/UT
Government
Funded 72.1
Pvt. Aided 87.6
5 GPI of GER at secondary level in year t = (GER of girls, Grades IX-X in year t / GER of boys, Grades IX-X in year t )
6 Gender Equity Index at Secondary Level in year t = Share of girls in enrolment to total enrolment in grades IX-X in year t/ Share of girls in the age group 14-15 in the total 14-15age group population in year t. 7
Social Equity Index at Secondary Level (SC) in year t= Share of SC enrolment in the total enrolment in grades IX-X in year t / Share of SC population (age group 14-15) in the total 14-15 age group population in year t. 8
Social Equity Index at Secondary Level (ST) in year t = Share of ST enrolment in the total enrolment in grades IX-X in year t / Share of ST population (age group 14-15) in the total 14-15 age group population in year t..
2
Pvt. Unaided 89.0
Central
Govt/PSUs
Funded 48.8
Total (All Management 81.0
Intermediate Results
A. Access and Equity 1.. Enrolment in Secondary Education
(Grades IX and X) by management State/UT
Government
Funded
Pvt. Aided
Pvt Unaided
Central
Govt/PSUs
Funded
Total (In Millions)
13.8
6.9
7.3
0.3
28.3
12.1
8.8
10.5
0.2
31.6
12.9
10.5
9.6
0.2
33.2
18.2
7.9
8.2
0.4
34.6
16.9
8.5
11.6
0.3
37.3
20.0
8.1
10.5
0.4
38.8
21.9
7.7
10.6
0.5
40.6
23.9
7.4
10.8
0,5
42.5
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE TSG, N
NIOS UEPA, All schools
Projection/target setting
method
Projection from 2014/15 to
2016-17 is based on past
trend (Linear) in the growth
of enrolment from 2010-11
to 2013-14.
2.. Transition Rate from Grade VIII to Grade
IX
( Enrolment in grade IX in the year t+1
minus repeaters in grade IX in the year t + 1 as % of the Enrolment in grade VIII in
the year t)
%
Boys
Girls
Total
90.6
92.1
91.3
92.5
92.0
92.2
93.4
92.4
92.5
94.9
90.2
92.6
94.1
89.7
91.9
95
90
93
96
91
94
97
92
95
Yealy SEMIS and
UDISE TSG a nd NUEPA All schools
The target values of the
transition rates from grade
VIII to grade IX is based on
the past trend and the RMSA objective of
universal enrolment by
2016-17.
3. Share of SC in Secondary enrolment (%) State/UT govt.
Pvt. Aided Pvt.
Un-aided Central
govt./PSU funded
20.6
16.0
14.6
17.1
19.8
17.7
16.7
15.4
20.5
18.5
15.1
15.6
21.5
16.6
14.1
15.3
21.9
16.6
14.7
16.5
18.4
18.5
18.5
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and Census of
India
TSG a nd NUEPA All schools
Projection/target setting
method
Projected values from
2014/15 onwards are based
on the linear trend from
2010-11 to 2013-14.
3
Total
19.9
18.2
18.3
18.2
18.4
4. Number of SC girls per 100 SC boys
enrolled in IX-X State/UT govt.
Pvt. Aided
Pvt. Un-aided
Central govt./PSU
funded
Total
89
84
71
79
84
91
91
80
66
87
95
90
76
66
88
95
88
78
72
89
97
88
78
65
90
92
93
94
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE and
Census of India
TSG a nd NUEPA All schools
Projection/target setting method
Projected values from
2014/15 onwards are based
on the linear trend from
2010-11 to 2013-14.
5. Share of ST in secondary enrolment (%) State/UT govt.
Pvt. Aided
Pvt. Un-aided
Central govt./PSU
funded
Total
9.3
7.5
5.3
8.1
7.8
10.9
8.2
4.4
10.1
8.0
11.3
7.0
5.5
10.3
8.3
10.9
7.5
4.9
7.0
8.4
11.6
8.2
4.5
9.0
8.6
8.8
8.9
9.0
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE TSG a nd NUEPA All schools
Projection/target setting
method
Projected values from
2014/15 onwards are based
on the linear trend from
2010-11 to 2013-14.
6. Number of ST girls per 100 ST boys in
grades IX-X State/UT govt.
Pvt. Aided Pvt.
Un-aided Central
govt./PSU
funded
Total
86
84
72
75
82
91
87
74
79
87
97
87
75
76
89
97
92
74
81
92
100
88
74
69
93
95
96
97
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE TSG a nd NUEPA All schools
Projection/target setting
method
Projected values from
2014/15 onwards are based
on the linear trend from 2010-11 to 2013-14.
4
7. Enrolment of CWSN in Secondary (Grade IX and X) by management
State/UT govt.
Pvt. Aided
Pvt. Un-aided
Central govt./PSU
funded
Total
85990
88008
92479
933
267410
98160
100306
116038
1302
315806
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
374340
61741
28028
4743
468852
123515
73359
29906
805
227585
SEMIS and UDISE
Data are highly inconsistent
(B) Quality Input Indicators (Infrastructure, Teachers & TLM Provisions)
1. Proportion of secondary schools/sections
with all the basic/core infrastructure and teaching learning facilities
9 %
Core facilities (all 10 items)
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE Data inconsistency in reporting certain variables???
Adequate Pucca
Classrooms 42.6 55.3 56.9 41.5 45.5 38.6 34.1 29.6
Urinals (04 or
more) 82.5 34.9 38.6 39.9 46.3 48.8 52.4 55.9
Drinking water 93.1 92.3 91.4 97.4 98.1 100 100 100
Separate
Headmaster’s
Room
75.8 76.6 71.9 67.1 72.6 67.9 66.2 64.5
Office
room/Staffroom 73.9 69.4 65 57.3 63 57.0 54.3 51.6
Girls’ Activity room 20.3 28 25.5 19.5 23.5 27.5 31.5 35.5
Art and Crafts
(Activity) Room 16 24 21.9 19.3 25.4 25.7 27.5 29.2
9 Pucca classrooms (at least two classrooms for grades IX-X up to the total enrolment of 80 and thereafter, one classroom for every 40 additional enrolment in grades IX and X); at least 04 toilets (one toilet block – two toilets
each for boys and girls) in usable condition; drinking water facility; o n e h e ad ma st e r/ p rin c ip al ’s ro o m; one office/administrative staff room; one girls activity room; art and craft room; a functional library with
minimum number of prescribed textbooks and reference books; an integrated science laboratory with necessary equipments and material; one computer laboratory with adequate number of usable computers
and required IT accessories/equipments.
5
Library 71.3 54.5 50.9 80.1 82 81.9 86.6 91.3
Integrated Sc. Lab 41.6 49.9 47.6 36.3 42.1 47.9 53.7 59.5
Computer Lab 35.3 29.9 27 49.1 53.2 55.4 60.9 66.4
Core facilities in:
State/UT Govt.
Schools 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
Pvt. Aided 1.2 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.6
Pvt. Un-aided 4.3 2.6 3.3 5.2 7.5 8.8 10.5 12.1
Central govt/PSU
funded 5.5 3.3 5.1 4.6 11.4 12.1 14.4 16.8
Total 1.3 1.2 1.6 2.3 3.4 4.0 4.7 5.4
2. Proportion of secondary schools/sections with at least the minimum number of
teachers in position10
as on 30th
September State/UT Govt.
Schools
Pvt. Aided
Pvt. Un-aided
Central govt/PSU funded
Total
62.2
62.7
71.2
82.0
65.4
66.4
74.0
77.9
89.0
72.7
64.4
92.2
71.9
83.3
73.8
72.2
82.7
75.9
83.8
77.1
79.2
83.1
79.0
85.6
79.9
83.8
87.1
90.5
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE Projection/target setting
method
Projected values from
2014/15 onwards are based
on the linear trend from
2010-11 to 2013-14.
3. Proportion of secondary schools/sections
with at least the core subject teachers in position
11 as on 30
th September
State/UT Govt.
Schools
Pvt. Aided
22.5
37.7
0.1
0.3
0.3
1.1
13.8
8.9
24.3
13.7
Yearly SEMIS and
UDISE Projection/target setting
method
Projected values from
2014/15 onwards are based
10 This includes 05 subject teachers plus the headmaster/principal.
11 This includes teachers for Mathematics (01), Science (01), Social Studies (01); Languages (02).
*, **, ***, **** Explained in Annexure-I
6
Pvt. Un-aided
Central govt/PSU funded
Total
47.5
50.3
34.0
0.3
0.5
0.3
0.5
0.6
0.6
5.9
5.1
10.0
11.9
18.2
17.4
22.3
28.4
34.5
on the linear trend from 2010-11 to 2013-14.
(C) Quality Process Indicators12
1. Proportion of Government + aided teachers
received in-service training (Cumulative for past 3 years)
RMSA schools
. Curriculum analysis and handholding of
curriculum developers , Teacher support
packages and capacity building programme Based on the analysis of
syllabus and textbooks in the
states/UTs , support to the curriculum developers will be provided for reduction of
the curriculum load,
contextualisation, pedagogic
enrichment infusing
concerns related to art education and health and
physical education and also
curriculum linkages with
elementary and higher secondary stages
12 The set of indicators reported in this section need to be updated by the NCERT.
7
6. National Assessment of Students’ Achievement
13
13 This indicator is meant to track the processes involved in using a robust national student achievement assessment system and its results for quality improvement policies. The targets and outcomes
here takes different processes completed, such as (a) methodology for a national assessment system with standard items id ent ified agreed; pilot testing and validation of assessment tools; sampling of
schools/ students; training for conducting the tests etc; (b) Carrying out the actual assessment and data entry and analysis; (c) analysis and results published and disseminated; and (d) A Plan of Action
to improve Quality (especially learning outcomes) is formulated and activities related to the Plan of Action included in the AWP&B of the next year.
*Annexure -I
**Test and questionnaires of Baseline Cycle will be used in subsequent phase.
8
2.
wo uld b
a.
NUEPA has already prepared a draft technical note to accompany the RFD. The technical note
e further revised to contain the following;
A description of the methodology, data set, year and formula used to compute each indicator. This description should include the particular fields from the UDISE/SEMIS/DISE (data set that are used and the details of the calculations carried out on the data. b. A description of the methodology and formula used to arrive at projected values for each indicator,
c. beginning 2013-14.
Descriptions of how problematic observations were treated while computing each indicator. For instance, were schools with 0 enrollment dropped or included in the set of secondary schools for a given indicator?
d. Explanations of any differences between the figures generated and figures produced in other public
documents (such as Flash Statistics). e. For the teacher indicators, definitions/notes will be provided for teachers shared between different levels of schools (for e.g. between elementary and secondary, and between secondary and higher secondary). f. Projections for the CWSN indicator will be made based on the SSA trend.
3. Once the indicator values for 2010-11 and 2011-12 have been calculated, a complete time series of
Annex 1
Meeting on the RMSA Results Framework Document, NUEPA- 27.05.2013
(With Comments from MHRD)
Professor Mohanty, Professor Biswal, Professor Zaidi, Professor Mehta and Mr. Naveen Bhatia from
NUEPA; Colin Bangay from DFID; Toby Linden, Sangeeta Dey and Rudraksh Mitra from the World Bank
were present.
This meeting was held to follow up on the March 2014 meeting and to determine a set of actions required to
arrive at a final version of the Results Framework Document (RFD).
1. Data from SEMIS 2010-11 and SEMIS 2011-12 has not been available thus far. These datasets are
now complete and available and will be used to compute indicator values for 2010 -11 and 2011-12. This will
be added to the RFD.
actual values, from 2009-10 to 2012-13, will be available for each indicator. These will be used to compute
projected values for each indicator up to 2016-17. Where a projection for a particular indicator is either not
meaningful or cannot be made accurately, this will be flagged in the RFD and a more detailed explanation be
set out in the technical note.
4. Data from the Census, 2011 is now available. This will be used to update the indicators that require
data on population size or population shares.
Comment [RC1]: Need not arise at a
and we should stand by one figure
except for legacy
Comment [RC2]: Is this part of any o
our indicators?what notes?
Comment [CKD3R2]: Draft RFD has
intermediate indicators reg teachers a
no 2 and 3 . this is OK. It will also give
sense of the number of Secondary
School teachers teaching Elementary
Classes and Vice Versa
5. The number of schools covered by successive rounds of SEMIS/UDISE varies. A note stating the
number of secondary schools included in each round for each indicator will be added to the RFD.
6. The percentage of schools that have each basic infrastructure/teaching facility will be calculated
both for government schools and for all school management types.
7. The Development Partners (DPs) indicated that the original version of the RFD included indicators
for the Net Enrolment Ratio for Secondary Education, the Gross Secondary Completion Rate, the share of
SC and ST in secondary completers, the proportion of teachers trained and the proportion of schools with
SDMCs. In the latest version of the RFD these are not present. NUEPA staff confirmed it would be possible
to calculate these figures however this would need to be authorized by MHRD. The DPs will discuss this
with the MHRD and will follow up with NUEPA as necessary.
Comment [RC4]: Number of schools
covered under RMSA year wise need
not vary at all.
Comment [RC5]: This is outside
RMSA ambit
Comment [CKD6R5]: Calculation of
percentage of schools that have basic
infrastructure and teaching facility need
not cover private schools.
Comment [RC7]: RFD has been finalized. Any additional info can be shared as and when requested by DPs
but not as part of RMSA RFD
9
8. NUEPA will complete an updated RFD, with the changes outlined above, along with the
accompanying technical note at the very latest by 30 th June 2014.
9. It maybe that the 2013-14 data will also be available shortly and can be used to calculate values for
that year (and inform the projections). However, the 2013 -14 data will only be used if the deadline of 30 th
June for the revised RFD and technical note can still be met.
10. All queries by the DPs were well attended by the NUEPA faculty. Further, it was decided that
subject to the satisfactory completion of the revised technical note of the RFD, no further meetings will be
held specifically to explain the indicators included in the RFD and their estimation methods.
************
10
Annex 2
Technical Notes on the Indicators and the Revised RFD
The RFD has been revised in the light of the discussions held with DPs (Colin Bangay from DFID;
Toby Linden, Sangeeta Dey and Rudraksh Mitra from the World Bank and Prof. S.M.I.A. Zaidi,
Prof. Arun C. Mehta, Prof. K. Biswal, Dr. N.K. Mohanty and Shri Naveen Bhatia from NUEPA).
As discussed and decided in the meeting, the following two types of changes/additions have been
made to the earlier RFD.
(i) Since 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 SEMIS/UDISE data are now available, the
revised RFD contains latest data on all the indicators for which 2009-10 SEMIS data were given.
Hence, the target values of all these indicators have been set based on their past trends (of the last 5
years, i.e., from 2009-10 to 2013-14) with an upward revision from 2014-15 to 2016-17. Targets
have been set from 2014-15 onwards with the assumption that the future trends of the values of
these indicators would change because of RMSA interventions.
(ii) The values of some of these indicators (Key Performance Indicator No.7, Access Equity
Indicators Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and Quality Input Indicators Nos. 1, 2 and 3) have been reported by
various sources of funding (i.e., state/local govt. funded, private aided, private unaided, central
govt. funded and the total/all sources of funding) instead of providing data only for government
managed and the total as given in the earlier RFD. This has been done to provide a holistic picture
of the development of secondary education and to avoid technical problems associated with
computation of some of the key indicators.
Indicators Reported in the RFD: Methods of Computation and Target Setting
I. Key Performance Indicators
1. Total Enrolment in Secondary Education (Grades IX-X)
Data Source: SEMIS and UDISE
Methodology of Target Setting:
Enrolment targets in Classes IX-X set based on the linear trend in the growth of enrolment from
2009-10 to 2013-14 with an increasing trend in future years due to RMSA interventions.
2. Gross Enrolment Ratio (Grades IX-X)
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
Method of Estimation:
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) = (Total Enrolment in grades IX and X in a year t / Population of
14-15 years in the same year t)*100
11
Methodology of Target Setting:
GER target values estimated on the basis of past trend in GER from 2009-10 to 2013-14.
3. Gender Parity Index(GPI) of GER in Secondary Education
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
Method of Estimation:
GPI of GER at secondary level = (GER of girls for Grades IX-X in year t) / (GER of boys for
Grades IX-X in year t)
Methodology of Target Setting:
The projected values of GPI from 2014-15 to 2016-17 is based on the past trend (Linear) in GPI
from 2009-10 to 2013-14. Once the gender parity is achieved, the target should be to maintain the
gender parity, i.e., 1.0.
4. Gender Equity Index
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
Method of Estimation:
Gender Equity Index at Secondary Level = Share of girls in total enrolment in grades IX-X in
year t/ Share of girls in total relevant age group
population (Age group 14-15) in year t
Methodology of Target Setting:
The projected values of GEI from 2014-15 to 2016-17 has been set based on the past trend (Linear)
in GEI from 2010-11 to 2013-14. Once the gender equity is achieved in any year, the target should
be to maintain it, i.e., 1.0.
5. Social Equity Index (Scheduled Caste)
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
Method of Estimation:
Social Equity Index at Secondary Level (SC) = Share of SC enrolment in the total enrolment in
grades IX-X in year t / Share of SC population
(age group 14-15) in the total population of age
group 14-15 in year t.
12
Methodology of Target Setting:
As the social equity (SC) has achieved its maximum value of 0.9, the target from 2014-15 to
2016-17 should be to maintain the same.
6. Social Equity Index (Scheduled Tribe)
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
Method of Estimation:
Social Equity Index at secondary level (ST) = Share of ST enrolment in the total enrolment in
grades IX-X in year t / Share of ST population
(age group 14-15) in the total population of age
group 14-15 in year t.
Methodology of Target Setting:
As the social equity (ST) has achieved its maximum value of 0.9, the target from 2014-15 to 2016-
17 should be to maintain the same.
7. Secondary Education Graduation Rate
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
Method of Estimation:
Secondary Education Graduation Rate = (Number of students appeared in Grade X Board
Examination in year t+1/ Number of students enrolled
in Grade IX in year t) * 100
Methodology of Target Setting:
The target values of graduation rate are estimated on the basis of past trend in GER from 2009-10
to 2013-14.
II. Intermediate Results (Core Indicators)
A. Access and Equity (7 indicators)
The following data sources, method of estimations and target setting remains same for all 7 access and equity indicators.
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE, Census of India and population projection by Prof. Arun C.
Mehta, NUEPA, New Delhi
13
Method of Estimation:
1. Transition Rate from Grade VIII to Grade IX in year t = Enrolment in grade IX in the
year t+1 as % of the Enrolment in grade VIII in the year t after adjusting for repeaters in
grade IX of year t+1)
2. Share of SC in Secondary Enrolment = (Total number of SC enrolled in IX-X in year t
/Total enrolment in IX-X in year t) * 100
3. Number of SC girls per 100 SC boys enrolled in IX-X in year t = (Total number of SC
girls enrolled in IX-X in year t / Total number of SC boys enrolled in IX-X in year t) *
100
4. Share of ST in Secondary Enrolment = (Total number of ST enrolled in IX-X in year t
/Total enrolment in IX-X in year t) * 100
5. Number of ST girls per 100 ST boys enrolled in IX-X in year t = (Total number of ST
girls enrolled in IX-X in year t / Total number of ST boys enrolled in IX-X in year t) *
100
Methodology of Target Setting:
The projected values of the indicators at Sl. Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 from 2014/15 to 2016-17 are based
on the linear trend from 2010-11 to 2013-14.
B. Quality Input Indicators (Infrastructure, Teachers & TLM Provisions)
(3 indicators)
The following data sources, method of estimations and target setting remain same for all the 3
access and quality input indicators.
Data Source: SEMIS/UDISE,
Method of Estimation: Percentages and proportions
Methodology of Target Setting:
Projected values from 2014/15 onwards are based on the linear trend from 2009-10 to 2013-14.
***********
14