MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Dr. SHASHI THAROOR)
(a) to (c) : As per the Statistics of School Education brought out by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the number of Government/Local Bodies and Private aided / Private unaided schools during 2009-10 (Provisional) and 2010-11(Provisional) in the country is given below:
Type of school 2009-10(Provisional) 2010-11(Provisional)
Government / Private aided / Government / Private aided /
Local Bodies Private unaided Local Bodies Private unaided
Upper Primary 268862 98883 334712 98025
schools
Secondary 49486 74240 51141 77229
Schools
The number of upper primary schools under the Government/Local Bodies increased during 2010-11 (Provisional) as compared to that of 2009-10 (Provisional). There is a decline in the number of private upper primary schools during the same period. However, the number of secondary schools both under Government/Local Bodies and Private also increased during the same period. Data on number of schools for 2011-12 and 2012-13 is not available.
(d) & (e): The Government is not unduly concerned about the number of private schools as long as the objective of educating our children is met. The Government has been making consistent progress in meeting the goals of Universal Elementary Education through implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, which became operational with effect from 1st April, 2010, provides that every child in the 6 to 14 age-group shall have a right to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education. The SSA Framework of Implementation has been revised to correspond with the provisions of the RTE Act 2009 and the SSA is being implemented in accordance with the norms and standards of the RTE Act to enhance enrolment and retention of children. The SSA provides for opening of new schools, additional classrooms and infrastructure, appointment of additional teachers, free textbooks, free uniforms and quality interventions. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme provides for setting up of residential upper primary schools. Further, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) has been launched for universal access to secondary education.Under the RMSA, there is a provision for opening new secondary schools, the strengthening of existing secondary schools and the upgradation of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas to secondary schools. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme to set up 6000 model schools at the rate of one school per block was also launched in November 2008.
