Sarva Shikha Abhiyan main vehicle for education: Sibal
By IANSFriday, December 3, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) will be the main vehicle for implementation of the Right to Education Act, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said Friday.
The revised SSA programme is the main vehicle for implementation of the RTE Act, he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The act, which was enforced from April 1 this year, will be implemented from 2011.
The central government has revised th norms of the SSA programme to correspond to the needs of the RTE Act. The revised SSA norms include provision for teachers in accordance with the norms of pupil teacher ratio mandated under the RTE Act. The government has also revised the fund sharing pattern in the 65:35 ratio between the central and state government for implementation of the revised SSA programme, Sibal said.
He said the funds will also be increased for the programme.
In 2010-11, the central budget for SSA programme has been enhanced from Rs.15,000 crore to Rs. 19,000 crore, he said.
According to the ministry’s estimates, RTE Act will require 5.08 lakh teachers, 3.10 lakh part-time instructors and 14.25 lakh additional classrooms so that it could achieve its aim of providing quality education to all in the age bracket of six to 14 years.
