Literacy_Rate

4- improvement in literacy rate btw males and females in our country Women have much lower literacy rate. Compared to boys, more fewer girls are registered in the schools, and many of them quit in early years. According to a 1998 report by U.S. Department of Commerce, the limitations of female education in India are inadequate school facilities (such as health facilities), shortage of female teachers and gender bias in courses (majority of the women are described as weak and helpless) The number of literate women among the female population of India was around 6% from the British Raj onwards to the formation of the Republic of India in 1947. Concerted efforts led to improvement from 15.3% in 1961 to 28.5% in 1981. By 2001 the literacy for women became about 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy within India. Education Planning in India is one of the essential areas of concern in all the Five year Plans in India. With the onset of globalization and modernization in recent times, education at all levels is very necessary if India is to outdo other nations.  Since the 1990s, the Indian government has been emphasizing the need to develop education in India across all levels - elementary, secondary, vocational, higher level, and technical. Towards this, the government has also formulated certain measures to increase adult literacy and continuing education among Indians. ------------------------------------------------- Hindrances for Education Planning in India: The major problems of the Education Planning in India as far as analysts opine are as under:  * high drop-out rates * low levels of learning achievement * low participation of girl students * inadequate school infrastructure * teacher absenteeism rate high * large-scale teacher vacancies * inadequate teaching/learning material * lack of public involvement in provisioning of educational services * variation in the literacy rates for the Special Groups of citizens * variation in inter-state literacy rates ------------------------------------------------- Steps taken by government in accelerating Education Planning in India: The central as well as the state governments have been emphasizing on the growth of education at all levels. Moreover there are District Literacy Societies or Zilla Saksharta Samiti who also plays the most pivotal role in the pursuance of adult education. The first step taken by the Indian government is to initiate measures for universal elementary education among all. The other significant steps taken on the Education Planning in India are - * to increase the number of institutions, teachers and students at elementary level * to provide for incentives like textbooks, free uniforms and scholarships * to offer Centrally Sponsored Program of Nutritional Support to Primary Education or Mid Day Meal Scheme * to launch the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan Scheme * to initiate the District Elementary Education Plan * to launch the National Literacy Mission for providing functional literacy to the non-literates between the age group of 15 and 35 * to provide free and compulsory education for children * to improve the Industrial Training Institutes, Boards of Technical Education and Engineering Colleges, and Polytechnology and Apprenticeship Schools * to upgrade the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management * to progress in new technology based areas like biotechnology, bioinformatics, and nano-technology ------------------------------------------------- Midday Meal Scheme From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Midday Meal Scheme is the popular for school meal programme in India which started in the 1960s. It involves provision of free lunch on working days in schools. The key objectives of the programme are: protecting children from classroom hunger, increasing school enrollment and attendance, improved socialization among children belonging to all castes, addressing malnutrition, and social empowerment through provision of employment to women. The scheme has a long history, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu. The scheme was introduced statewide by the then Chief Minister K. Kamaraj in the 1960s and later expanded by the M. G. Ramachandran government in 1982. It has been adopted by most Indian states after a landmark direction by the Supreme Court of India on November 28, 2001.[1] The success of this scheme is illustrated by the tremendous increase in the school participation and completion rates in Tamil Nadu. NGO's have a main part in the preparation of the midday meal scheme . ------------------------------------------------- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Movement) is a programme by the Government of India aimed at the universalization of elementary education "in a time bound manner", as mandated by the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free education to children aged 6–14 (estimated to be 205 million in number in 2001) a fundamental right. The programme was pioneered by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations. In FY 2009-10,60% of SSA funds came from GOI. This has now been revised to 65%. The programme is looking to open new schools in those habitations without schooling facilities and to strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. SSA is now the primary vehicle for implementing the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, and 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. SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on female education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide. Its goals of 2011 were to do the following: * Open new schools in areas without them and to expand existing school infrastructures and maintenance. * Address inadequate teacher numbers and provide training a development for existing teachers. * Provide quality elementary education including life skills with a special focus on the education of girls and of children with special needs, as well as computer education.[ UNIVERSALISATION OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION   Expanding Access    INCREASE IN ENROLMENT   Mid-Day Meal   Village Education Committee   Promoting Girls’ Education   Strategy for bringing out - of- school children Education of Children with special needs (CWSN)   QUALITY IMPROVEMENT   TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMMES .   Textbooks and Teacher Guides .   Grading of Schools   Other strategies *No detention policy is followed in class 1 and 2. *Teaching of English as a subject from class 3 onwards. *Free text books to all children. *An annual grant of Rs. 2000/- to each primary school of the district for improving school environment by purchase of required materials. * Repair and maintenance grant @ 5000 per school to schools of 70 districts. *Annual grant of Rs. 500/- per teacher for development of locally suitable teaching learning materials. *Remedial teaching course are conducted during summer vacation. *Inclusion of one period for remedial teaching in regular time table of the schools. Strategy Challenges to the 12th Five Year Plan The 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) with the theme of “Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth” was recently approved by the National Development Council (NDC). The Plan was approved after scaling down the average annual growth target to 8 per cent for the five-year period. Based on an intensive process within the Planning Commission, the following Twelve Strategy Challenges have been identified for the 12th Five Year Plan. The Strategy Challenges refer to some core areas that require new approaches to produce the desired results. The Strategy Challenges for 12th 5 year plan The Strategy Challenges are as follows. Enhancing the Capacity for Growth Today, India can sustain a GDP growth of 8 percent a year. Increasing this to 9 or 10 percent will need more mobilization of investment resources; better allocation of these resources through more efficient capital markets; higher investment in infrastructure through both public and PPP routes; and more efficient use of public resources. Enhancing Skills and Faster Generation of Employment It is believed that India’s economic growth is not generating enough jobs or livelihood opportunities. At the same time, many sectors face manpower shortages. To address both, we need to improve our education and training systems; create efficient and accessible labor markets for all skill categories; and encourage the faster growth of small and micro enterprises. Managing the Environment Environmental and ecological degradation has serious global and local implications, especially for the most vulnerable citizens of our country. How can we encourage responsible behavior, without compromising on our developmental needs' Markets for Efficiency and Inclusion Open, integrated, and well-regulated markets for land, labor, and capital and for goods and services are essential for growth, inclusion, and sustainability. We have many sectors were markets are non-existent or incomplete, especially those which are dominated by public provisioning. How do we create or improve markets in all sectors' Decentralisation, Empowerment and Information Greater and more informed participation of all citizens in decision-making, enforcing accountability, exercising their rights and entitlements; and determining the course of their lives is central to faster growth, inclusion, and sustainability. How can we best promote the capabilities of all Indians, especially the most disadvantaged, to achieve this end' Technology and Innovation Technological and organizational innovation is the key to higher productivity and competitiveness. How can we encourage and incentivize innovation and their diffusion in academia and government as well as in enterprises of all sizes. Securing the Energy Future for India Faster and more inclusive growth will require a rapid increase in energy consumption. Since we have limited domestic resources, how can we meet this need equitably and affordably without compromising on our environment' more… Accelerated Development of Transport Infrastructure Our inadequate transport infrastructure results in lower efficiency and productivity; higher transaction costs; and insufficient access to our large national market. How can we create an efficient and widespread multi-modal transport network. Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth of Agriculture Rural India suffers from poor infrastructure and inadequate amenities. Low agricultural growth perpetuates food and nutritional insecurities, which also reduces rural incomes. How can we encourage and support our villages in improving their living and livelihood conditions in innovative ways' Managing Urbanization Most of our metros and cities are under severe stress with inadequate social and physical infrastructure coupled with worsening pollution. Migration pressures are likely to increase. How do we make our cities more liveable' What can we do today to ensure that smaller cities and towns are not similarly overwhelmed tomorrow' more… Improved Access to Quality Education Educational and training facilities have been increasing rapidly. However, access, affordability, and quality remain serious concerns. Employability is also an issue. How can we improve the quality and the utility of our education, while ensuring equity and affordability' Better Preventive and Curative Health Care India’s health indicators are not improving as fast as other socio-economic indicators. Good healthcare is perceived to be either unavailable or unaffordable. How can we improve healthcare conditions, both curative and preventive, especially relating to women and children'