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Friday, January 31, 2014

CHIEF MINISTER PAWAN CHAMLING’S ADDRESS AT THE 8TH GENERAL BODY MEETING OF THE SARVA SHIKHSHA ABHIYAN HELD AT CHINTAN BHAWAN ON 30 JAN, 2014

“We have tried with considerable success to provide quality elementary education”

Hon’ble Minister, HRDD, Shri NK Pradhan, Chief Secretary Smt. R. Ongmu, Principal Secretary HRDD, State Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and other officials, ladies and gentlemen
The rapid progress made in the field of education in Sikkim is exemplary. This is largely due to the consistent policy formulation of the State Government to develop education sector as a priority for the last nineteen years. I would also like to record the noble contribution of our teaching community towards achieving this goal and commitment shown by the officials.
Education is free in the State and perhaps we are the only State to have earmarked over 20 percent of our annual allocation in the education sector. Over the decades, Sikkim has recorded an impressive improvement in the literacy rate from 56 percent in 1993-94 to 82.2 percent today. The teacher pupil ratio of 1:13 is perhaps one of the best found in the country.
At the outset of this 8th General body meeting of Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan, I would like to note that this flagship program has greatly helped our efforts in Sikkim to promote education and reaching out to the remotest corner of the State covering children of all age group. The noteworthy contribution made by Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan towards promotion of Elementary Education and realization of the universalization of education policy in the State is commendable.
We need to reassert that SSA-RTE is not just a project to universalization of Elementary Education, but has the added responsibility of implementing its various programmes and activities in accordance with provisions made under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 implying compulsory admission, attendance and completion of Elementary Education for the children.
In compliance with these directives and in order to encourage cent percent admission and attendance including that of drop-out children, the State Government has established Special Training Centres to cater to these children. In these centres the children are provided bridge course to make them ready for joining the mainstream, age-appropriate classes. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidhyalaya (KGBV) in West District has been established to cater to the educational needs of those girl children who dropped out of school at class V. The Vidhyalaya provides education with hostel facilities free of cost to encourage these girls to continue their schooling and complete elementary education on a compulsory basis.
We are aware that the concept of educating Children with Special Needs has changed with the passage of time. In the past, we used to have a system of ‘Special School’ exclusively for these differently-abled children. However, with the passage of time, it was felt that this system of schooling gradually segregated these Children with Special Needs from the society and it ultimately became counter-productive. Inclusive Education under Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan, makes it mandatory for children with special needs to be treated as an integral part of the general education system and for schools to enroll these children with special needs.
Another intervention of Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan is the education of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste children. The main aim of this intervention is to increase the enrolment of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Students in schools and discourage dropout of these students. As a result of this intervention students especially in the rural areas get enrolled into schools and get exposed to modern teaching-learning methods and extra-curricular activities of which sports and games being the major attraction. It was therefore decided that sports and games would be made one of the medium of achieving retention of the Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste children in the School. Not only this, our children belonging to other categories such as Most Backward Classes and Other backward Classes should receive similar treatment. Sarva Shiksha could be all encompassing.
Accordingly, Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan decided to make sports items available to the schools having a high Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste enrolment. Sports Teachers were provided under RTE and provision for play ground was made for the successful implementation of this policy.
Distribution of free uniforms, textbooks and school bags form an integral part of inclusive incentives introduced by the State Government since 1995.. The opening of 62 schools till date is also commendable. Shiksha Ka Haque Abhiyan was also undertaken by Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan for the purpose of Community Mobilization and for conveying the message of the RTE Act to all the children, teachers, parents and the Stakeholders of the State in its right perspective.
To find out how effectively the provisions of the RTE Act have been implemented in our government schools, a survey was conducted and information was collected through a format send by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. I am happy to learn that the SSA cell has been successfully implementing all these provisions of RTE Act and call upon the public in general to take maximum benefit from this Act.
Computer Aided Learning, in short CAL, was implemented in the State of Sikkim for making learning of subjects like science and mathematics easy, enjoyable and fruitful with the aid of computers and other modern tools and equipments. The CAL programme was a support mechanism to make learning of various subjects more effective and productive for the students. The SSA cell took charge of the implementation of CAL in the State and indentified 20 schools to be modelled as Ideal CAL centres. 100 other schools were also later identified as CAL centers. These Junior High Schools, Secondary Schools and Senior Secondary Schools are being located evenly in the four districts of the state. The age group of students earmarked for this purpose was between the age group of 11-14 years i.e. standards VI, VII & VIII.
Over the decades, the State Government has initiated a large number of incentives special to State of Sikkim. Flagship program of the Central Government like the SSA has proved beneficial for promoting elementary education in the State.
No fees is levied to children upto the College level. Free Uniform & Free textbook upto class VIII are provided by the State Government. Text books on 50% concession are available for class IX to XII. Very interestingly, girl enrolment is higher than the Boys at all levels and no child is deprived of Free and compulsory Education
We have provision for Financial Assistance to BPL Students of Government colleges in Sikkim. The State Government has also introduced Merit and Prerna Scholarships to encourage merit and Girl students at elementary and Secondary levels. Children studying in Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun and Sainik School, Golpara, Assam also avail of special scholarship.
The innovative Chief Ministers Merit Scholarship and Special Merit Scholarship are available to our children who are placed in best public schools in the Country and for those who secure admission in the top 20 Universities of the world.
Interest free Comprehensive Education Loan amounting to Rs.15 lakhs for Foreign University, Rs.7.5 lakhs for Indian Colleges & Rs.5 lakhs in Colleges within Sikkim is also provided to our students.
To encourage students in Science subjects, existing scholarships has been raised from Rs.1200/- to Rs.1600/- for under Graduate courses in addition to the existing Rs.10000/- contingency grant per annum. For Research and Innovation, Fellowship grant has been increased from Rs.5,000/- to Rs.8,000/- per month for M.Phil & PhD courses. There is cash incentives of 1 lakh each for Class X and XII Toppers for Humanities, Commerce, Science and Vocational streams.
I hope that the SSA cell will keep up its good work and continue to serve the children and society with utmost dedication and sincerity for accomplishing the goals envisaged by the RTE Act.
Education has always been considered as the greatest liberating force and powerful weapon of social change. The role of education in improving the quality of life enhancing social, moral, spiritual and economic productivity is well recognized. Education, in its broadest sense of development of youth, is the most crucial input for empowering people with skills and knowledge and giving them access to productive employment in future.
At a more objective level, programs like Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan has focussed on universal admission, retention and completion of elementary education with emphasis on education for life, bridging all gender and social category gaps at primary stage and elementary education level.
Child population encompasses that proportion of the total population of the country which lies in the age group of 0-6 years which is an important indicator since it overlooks a delicate segment of the population.
India is the second most populous country in the world where 13.12 percent of her population lies in the tender age bracket of 0-6 years as per the provisional Census 2011 figures. In Sikkim, we have over 11 percent children falling under the age group of 0-6 years. Therefore, with strong will and commitment, we can collectively ensure 100 percent schooling for our children.
We are aware that we have many constitutional, legal and national pronouncements for universalization of elementary education including the Constitutional Mandate of 1950 calling upon states to “endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of Constitution, for free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 years." Next is the National Policy of Education, 1986 with injunction to "ensure ... free and compulsory education of satisfactory quality .... to all children up to 14 years of age before we enter the twenty first century" and also the Unnikrishnan Judgement of 1993 providing for right to free education for children until he completes the age of fourteen years.
As against the national scenario, the State Government has already made huge investment in the education sector to open new schools, create new or strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.
Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. We have tried with considerable success to provide quality elementary education including life skills with special focus on girl's education and children with special needs. In order to bridge the digital divide, we also provide computer education to our children as part of regular school curriculum. We spend over 20 percent in the education sector compared to the Country spending over 3.6 % of Gross National Product in Education Sector.
I would like to congratulate the Minister for HRD, my Cabinet Colleagues, MLAs, Secretary and all officials involved in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for their hard work and devotion.
I extend best of wishes to all of you who are engaged in the greatest task of educating our citizens- yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Thank you

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