Madrasas to get free textbooks if they adopt state curriculum
and aided schools across the country, including madrasas, will soon become eligible to receive free textbooks from the Centre at an average cost of ~ 250 per child at the primary level and ~400 per child at the upper-primary level.
They will also get the option of availing direct benefit transfer in lieu of the textbooks to Aadhaarlinked bank accounts.
This provision has been made under a new integrated scheme, wherein free textbooks will be provided to all children in government, local body and aided institutions. Madrasas can benefit from the scheme if they agree to introduce state curriculum in their classrooms.
It was learnt that this scheme of the human resource development ministry, created through the subsumption of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Teacher Education (CSSTE), will be called the ‘Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan’.
“The scheme has been launched keeping a holistic appro- ach to school education in mind. We have integrated all classes from pre-school to Class 12, so we can focus on the overall dev- elopment of children,” said a person familiar with the development.
Under existing norms, Braille and large-print books are provided to all girls as well as SC/ST children at the primary and upper-primary levels at a ceiling of ~150 per head. This has been enhanced to ~250 per child at the primary level, and ~400 per child at the upper-primary level.
A provision for extension to senior secondary schools (class 11 and 12) has been made for the first time under the integrated scheme, and preference will be given to composite institutions. A provision has also been made to support efforts of the state government in setting up pre-nursery schools. Besides this, a provision has been made for students of classes 6 to 8 to procure tablets, laptops, notepads and integrated learning devices under digital and information and communications technology initiatives.
“This will include support for digital boards, smart classrooms, virtual classrooms and DTH channels on a pro-rata basis for number of schools approved,” the document detailing the new norms stated.
“This is a very good step. Madrasas across the country provide elementary education to lakhs of children, and are largely dependent on charity or aid from other organisations. The only important issue is: The other subjects can be taught but the basic curriculum of these institutions should not be touched,” said Masoom Moradabadi, a member of the Delhi Minorities Commission’s advisory committee.
Last month, the cabinet had approved the integration of the SSA, RMSA and STE from 2018-19. While the states currently submit separate plans for each of these schemes, the new programme envisages a single plan for the entire school education sector.
NEWDELHI:Government