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The government has allocated a total of Rs 1037.90 crore for the five-year New India Literacy Programme (NILP). The centrally sponsored initiative, which will be implemented over a five-year period from 2022-23 to 2026-27, was announced in February of this year. The Foundational Literacy and Numeracy component of the programme intends to reach 5 crore learners over the course of five years. “The total financial outlay of NILP for five years (FYs 2022-23 to 2026-27) is Rs 1037.90 crore, out of which Rs 700 crore is Central share and Rs 337.90 crore is state share. The Central and state shares are in the ratio of 60:40 for all states other than North Eastern Region (NER) and Himalayan states where the sharing pattern between the Centre and the State is in the ratio of 90:10,” said Annpurna Devi, minister of state for education, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. According to the education ministry, the major challenge that the government is currently facing in implementing the NILP scheme is the opening and mapping of all bank accounts of Single Nodal Agencies (SNAs) and Implementing Agencies (IAs) in all states with Public Financial Management System (PFMS). The funds will be transferred via PFMS and state treasuries. As a result, it is a need for the release of funds under the updated procedure standards of the finance ministry. The difficulty comes because this is the first year of implementation, according to Annpurna Devi. According to the ministry, all states and UTs have been made aware of the initiative through a communication dated March 11, 2022, along with a plan for its implementation. Because the NILP began in the current fiscal year 2022-23, funds allocated or used for the programme during the previous three years are no longer applicable, it stated. During the current financial year, 2022-23, states and UTs would get more than Rs 208 crore (Rs 208.96,42,893) for the New India Literacy Programme. The government stated that the scheme intends to educate non-literates above the age of 15 with foundational literacy, numeracy, and critical life skills in order to give continuing education opportunities. The ministry replaced the term “adult education” with “education for all” in February because the former did not include anyone above the age of 15.

The Lok Sabha was informed on Monday that there is no lack of principals and teachers in Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country. According to the Ministry of Education, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), an autonomous body that operates KVs across the country, has carried out a rationalisation effort to ensure the availability of an adequate number of regular teachers in the school. Annapurna Devi, Union Minister of State for Education, provided the information in a written reply in Lok Sabha. “There is no such shortage of principals and teachers as teachers are regularly engaged on contractual basis pending regular recruitment, for which advertisement has been issued recently. Also, KVS has carried out a rationalisation exercise for ensuring availability of adequate number of regular teachers in the school,” she said. Responding to a question about whether there was no scheme for career progression or a transfer policy, which resulted in many employees spending five to seven years at distant locations and complaining of “policy paralysis,” Devi stated that there are notified schemes for career progression and transfer guidelines for all categories of employees in KVS. “There is no policy paralysis and KVS has been actively making special efforts to address learning loss arising from the pandemic. Such learning recovery measures, depending on the requirements of the students include remedial measures taken to address the problem and difficult areas of each student, extra classes, assigning expert teachers for personalised attention, parental engagement, use of technology and specific instructional material and worksheet and workbooks to address the specific learning requirements of students,” Devi stated. The Minister also denied that some principals were bitter and frustrated, and alleged that there was “employee unrest” because some of them were forced to work double shifts.  “No such matter has been reported,” she stated. Source: PTI

According to the draft guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC), students would be able to obtain an undergraduate “honours” degree after completing four years rather than three. On Monday, the draft ‘curriculum and credit framework for four-year undergraduate programmes’ prepared in compliance with National Education Policy is expected to be notified. “Students will be able to get a UG degree in three years on completion of 120 credits (measured through the number of academic hours) and a UG honours degree in four years on completion of 160 credits. “If they wish to go for a research specialisation, they will have to undertake a research project in their four-year course. This will get them an Honours degree with research specialisation,” the draft read. “Students who have already enrolled and are pursuing a three-year UG programme as per the existing Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) are eligible to pursue a four-year undergraduate programme. The university may provide bridge courses (including online) to enable them to transition to the extended programme,” it noted. Students currently receive an honours degree after completing three years of undergraduate studies. The Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) also provides students with several entry and exit points. If they leave before three years, they will be allowed to return within three years of their leave and must complete their degree within a seven-year term. According to the document, the FYUP curriculum should include major and minor stream courses, courses from other disciplines, language courses, skill courses, and a set of courses on environmental education, understanding India, digital and technical solutions, health and wellness, yoga education, and sports and fitness. Students can choose to continue with their present major or change their major at the end of the second semester. Students will also have the option of pursuing a UG with a single or double major. “A student has to secure a minimum of 50 per cent credits from the major discipline for the 3-year/4-year UG degree to be awarded a single major,” the document stated. Source: PTI

Delhi University has decided to increase the number of students in a lecture by around 50 to 60% per batch, a move that has been opposed by teachers. According to the university’s new plan, the number of students in tutorials would triple. The resolution was passed by the university’s Executive Council on Thursday, with two EC members dissenting, claiming that the effort to raise the student-teacher ratio will have an impact on the quality of education. According to EC member Seema Das, the DU has set a cap of 60 students each batch for lectures, 30 for tutorials, and 25 for practical classes in undergraduate programmes. Previously, the number of students in lectures in graduate courses was set at 40, while the number of students in tutorial and practical sessions was set at 8 to 10 and 15 respectively. Postgraduate courses have 50, 25, and 15-20 students per batch, accordingly. On November 11, the university issued a notification to colleges in this regard. “The Executive Council accorded its approval regarding uniformity in the teacher-student ratio in all the programmes and courses being offered by the university and its colleges, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels vide the notification,” Das added. Several teachers’ bodies have spoken out against the notification, citing “bigger-than-ideal” batch sizes. The dissenting members have stated that the November 11 notification will have a negative impact on the quality of learning at colleges and university departments. Registrar Vikas Gupta stated in the notification that the regulation was created to provide uniformity in teacher-student ratios across all of the university’s programmes. According to the dissenting members, increasing the tutorial group size to 30 students for UG courses and 25 for PG courses “negates” the concept of small group interaction and denies students the ability to gain a deeper knowledge and clarify their doubts. Source: PTI