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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

BASIC FEATURES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to universalize elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.

WHAT IS SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

  • A programme with a clear time frame for universal elementary education.

  • A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country.

  • An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education.

  • An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass root level structures in the management of elementary schools.

  • An expression of political will for universal elementary education across the country.  

  • A partnership between the Central, State and the local government.

  • An opportunity for States to develop their own vision of elementary education

AIMS OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. There is also another goal to bridge social, regional and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools.

Useful and relevant education signifies a quest for an education system that is not alienating and that draws on community solidarity. Its aim is to allow children to learn about and master their natural environment in a manner that allows the fullest harnessing of their human potential both spiritually and materially. This quest must also be a process of value based learning that allows children an opportunity to work for each other's well being rather than to permit mere selfish pursuits.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan realizes the importance of Early Childhood Care and Education and looks at the 0-14 age as a continuum. All efforts to support pre-school learning in ICDS centres or special pre-school centres in non ICDS areas will be made to supplement the efforts being made by the Department of Women and Child Development.    

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

  • All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, ' Back-to-School' camp by 2003;

  • All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007

  • All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010  

  • Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life

  • Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010

  • Universal retention by 2010

 WHY A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION (AND NOT A GUIDELINE)

  • To allow states to formulate context specific guidelines within the overall framework

  • To encourage districts in States and UTs to reflect local specificity

  • To promote local need based planning based on broad National Policy norms

  • To make planning a realistic exercise by adopting broad national norms.

The objectives are expressed nationally though it is expected that various districts and States are likely to achieve universalisation in their own respective contexts and in their own time frame. 2010 is the outer limit for such achievements. The emphasis is on mainstreaming out-of-school children through diverse strategies, as far as possible, and on providing eight years of schooling for all children in 6-14 age group. The thrust is on bridging of gender and social gaps and a total retention of all children in schools.  Within this framework it is expected that the education system will be made relevant so that children and parents find the schooling system useful and absorbing, according to their natural and social environment.

SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN AS A FRAMEWORK AND AS A PROGRAMME

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has two aspects – I) It provides a wide convergent framework for implementation of Elementary Education schemes; II) It is also a programme with budget provision for strengthening vital areas to achieve universalisation of elementary education. While all investments in the elementary education sector from the State and the Central Plans will reflect as part of the SSA framework, they will all merge into the SSA programme within the next few years. As a programme, it reflects the additional resource provision for UEE.