Poor infrastructure,shortage of teachers mar education programme

The study,aimed at evaluating the performance of the SSA,reveals that 18 per cent of teachers’posts have not been filled.

According to the study,most of the schools in Assam,Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan and West Bengal do not have boundary walls. Shortage of teachers was witnessed in states like Assam,Haryana,Bihar,UP,Maharashtra,Puducherry and MP.

Launched in 2001 as a flagship programme,SSA seeks to provide useful and relevant education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years by 2012. The study found poor infrastructure facilities for elementary education in Bihar,Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The study says there is lack of monitoring and supervision of SSA in states,including West Bengal,Tamil Nadu,Madhya Pradesh,Haryana,Bihar and Himachal Pradesh. The government has earmarked Rs 4,239 crore for the SSA during the current financial year against the budget estimate of Rs 4,250 crore in previous fiscal.

The revised estimates indicate an amount of Rs 4,659.67 crore was spent under the scheme in 2008-09. For conducting the study,the states were divided into five zones. The samples were drawn from the the rural as well as urban slum areas.

A sample of 1,790 students was drawn from 222 schools,1,150 households,115 villages,58 blocks of 29 districts of rural area. Covering the urban area,a sample of 255 students was taken from 28 schools and from 240 dwelling units in 22 slums 13 towns.

The SSA programme covers the entire country and schools except private unaided schools. The objectives of the scheme is to see all children in schools by 2005 and to bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010.