File.No.2-37/2012-EE.3. Govt of India MHRD. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Changes in Program Norms. In pursuance of the powers delegated to the Executive Committee of the National Mission for SSA, norms for various activities under SSA have been further revised by the Executive Committee of the National Mission for SSA in its meeting held on 5th December 2013. The revised programme norms are given below.
File.No.2-37/2012-EE.3 Changes in SSA Program Norms - Norms for Interventions
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Programmatic Norms
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Revised or Inserted Norms
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| 4 | Conversion of EGS centres into schools |
a) All existing EGS centers which have been functioning under SSA for two years shall be converted to regular schools, or closed down when children are mainstreamed into neighborhood schools. The process of upgradation of EGS centres to regular schools must be completed within two years from the date of commencement of the RTE Act. No new EGS centers will be sanctioned from 2010-11 onward. |
Deleted |
| 7 | Transport/Escort Facility |
a) Provision for transport /escort facility will be made as an ‘exception’ measure. This provision will be available at the National level for support in exceptional circumstances as per proposals presented by the States to the PAB for: (i) Children in remote habitations with sparse population where opening of schools is unviable, and (ii) Urban deprived children,/ children without adult protection in urban areas where schools are not opened because availability of land is a problem. b) State RTE Rules must notify the area/limits of neighborhood in which transport/escorts facility is to be provided to the specified categories of the children and categories it as an entitlement. c) Appraisal of district specific proposals from the State, justifying the need for transportation /escort facility |
Following point is inserted: d) Preference should be given to bus passes/ arranging for public transport in the areas, for the duration of school months. |
| 8 | Additional teachers | (a) Additional teachers will be provided as per the RTE norms to all Government and Local Body schools; however SSA assistance will not be available for filling up State sector vacancies that have arisen on account of attrition and retirement vacancies. (b) The practice of recruiting 50% female teachers under SSA will continue. (c) The States shall rationalize the deployment of existing teachers to ensure that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher deployment. (d) The States shall maintain the prescribed PTR for each School (e) Vacancy of teachers in a school shall not exceed 10% of the total sanctioned strength (f) States shall appoint teachers with minimum qualifications as notified by NCTE under section 23 of RTE Act. |
The following points are inserted:
h) Support for additional teachers can be availed by a State/ UT under SSA only after teacher vacancies in the State sector have been filled first. i) The States should maintain unified teaching cadres and no separate ‘SSA cadre’ is permissible, as all teachers are ultimately to be borne on the |
| (g) In case the State does not have trained persons in adequate numbers, it will seek relaxation from the Central Government under the relevant provisions of the RTE Act. While seeking such relaxation the State shall make a commitment with a detailed time bound programme for training of untrained teachers within the time frame prescribed under the RTE Act. |
State/UT Government. | ||
| 11 | Learning Enhancement Programme |
a) SSA will provide support under Learning Enhancement Programme (LEP) for States to initiate and institute curricular reform, including development of syllabi, textbooks and supplementary reading material in keeping with the child centric assumptions in NPE-1986/92, NCF- 2005 and section 29 of the RTE Act based on NCF – 2005. b) LEP funds may also be utilized for developing modules and exemplar material for teaching-learning, teacher training and continuous and comprehensive evaluation. c) LEP should seamlessly integrate with normal classroom processes during school hours without adding to the additional learning load on children. d) States/UTs may also execute District/ State specific LEPs for Language, Science, Mathematics, Environment Studies and Social Science. In doing so, States/UTs may ensure that: (i) The guiding principles of child centred pedagogy enunciated in NCF – 2005 are followed. (i) Outcomes to be achieved through the LEP are clearly articulated. (ii) The total number of children to be covered, number of schools to be covered, block wise are indicated. (iii) Type of teaching learning material proposed to be used for children / teachers / trainers, etc. is specified. (iv) Role of key players like teachers, CRCs, BRCs, DIETs, community etc. in the implementation of the programme is defined. (v) External evaluation for the intervention is included, and (vi) There is no duplication of costs with any other component, including textbooks. |
The following points are inserted:
e) The States must have a structured approach to the foundation skills of reading, writing, comprehension and mathematics in grades 1 & 2, as well as teaching of science and mathematics at upper primary level. f) For sourcing LEP funds, the States must have a comprehensive quality plan. LEP funds may be used for developing and providing specific learning material like graded readers, and other teaching learning materials textual and other materials for mathematics necessary for foundational programmes in early grades for building reading comprehension and writing skills as well as basic arithmetic and maths & science education for classes 3 to 8. g) The comprehensive programmatic approach reflected other components of the quality work plan i.e. teacher training, evaluation and assessment, academic monitoring etc. in an integrated manner h) For developing bridge materials for early grades to facilitate transition of children from tribal language to State language of instruction in schools through use of bridge material. |
| 12 | Training | For Teachers a) In-service training of teachers in Government, Local Body and aided schools, including teachers in Madarsas desirous of introducing the State Curriculum, to enable them to see pedagogical practices from the child’s perspective and continuously upgrade their knowledge and teaching skills. In-service training of teachers will also include training for conducting Special Training for out-of-school children. b) Training of untrained teachers to enable them to acquire professional qualifications. c) Pre-service Training for Teachers as provided by DIETs and Teacher Education Institutions For Head Teachers d) To instill new skills and broadened perspective to ensure school functioning from the point of view of children’s rights which need to be protected every day. For Resource Persons e) To understand child centric pedagogy and active classroom processes For Education Administrators f) To move away from an inspectorial approach to that of a mentor |
Following points are inserted:
c)(i) All in service training programmes for teachers, head teachers, resource persons or educational administrators must be linked to the States’ comprehensive quality improvement plan i.e. learning enhancement programme and school effectiveness programmes and must be an integral to the outcomes expected.
For Head Teachers d)(i) Focus on building leadership skills such that they can enable processes for peer learning and collaborative working among teachers |
| 14 | Teaching Learning Equipment (TLE) for new primary and upper primary schools |
a) Section 19 of the RTE Act stipulates that TLE shall be provided to each class as required. b) TLE will be as per local specific context and requirement/need to be determined by the teachers and/or School Management Committees. States may disseminate an indicative list of basic school requirements, with scope for local contextualization after approval of State SSA Executive Committee. c) Teachers and parents should be involved in the selection and procurement of TLE. d) VEC/SMC, school-village level appropriate body to decide on the best mode of procurement. |
Following point is inserted: e) Centralized procurement of TLE at a level higher than the SMC will not be permissible. |
| 17 | Research, Evaluation, Supervision and Monitoring |
a) Keeping in view the provisions of the RTE Act, the ambit of REMS has been extended to cover private unaided schools. b) REMS will be utilized for: i. Supporting NCPCR/ SCPCR/ REPA to monitor the rights of the child under the RTE Act ii. Instituting regular monitoring systems under SSA. iii. Providing technical resource support to States for promoting innovation, research, case studies and documentation, and capacity building for planning. iv. Instituting a comprehensive child tracking system v. Conducting social mapping c) National level: Provisions under the REMS will be used for: 1. Holding six monthly JRMs 2. Conducting research and evaluation studies and national sample surveys, cohort studies, third party evaluations, etc. 3. MIS development, publication and dissemination of DISE data 4. Documentation and dissemination of good practices 5. Quarterly review meetings of programme components 6. Independent field review and monitoring through national level monitoring institutes 7. Concurrent financial review through independent agency 8. Creating pool of resource persons at national, State, district, sub-district level for effective field based monitoring 9. Capacity building of states and districts. 10. Assessment and appraisal teams and their field activities 11. Providing travel grant and a very modest honorarium (as per State norms) to resource persons for monitoring 12. Contingent expenditure like charts, posters, sketch pen, OHP pens etc. for visual monitoring systems. 13. States should give priority to: a. Developing School Monitoring Systems b. Initiating research, surveys on: i. Learning outcomes, ii. Teacher performance iii. Student and teacher attendance iv. Measuring changes in classroom practices v. Impact of teacher training vi. Efficacy of textbooks and reading materials vii. Quality of academic supervision provided by BRCs/ CRCs/ DIETs etc. d) Each State/UT will set up a Research Approval Committee for processing and approving all research and evaluation projects/ studies. Appropriate mechanisms should also be set up for district level. e) State and district provisioning will include support for EMIS, allocations for school mapping/ micro planning, updating household survey data, etc. |
Point 13 (c) is inserted: To conduct periodic and independent assessment of student learning levels, based on the notified Academic Authority’s learning indicators for the specified grades. |
| 19 | Libraries | a) Infrastructure may be provided for setting up school libraries including books (i) Provision will be available only for existing Government Schools, which do not already have a library. (ii) These funds will not be accessible for new primary and upper primary schools as they can utilize TLE Grants for this purpose. (iii) Procurement of furniture and books for setting up library will be done in a decentralized manner by the VEC/ SDMC/ SMC or equivalent school body for rural/urban areas. (iv) The State will provide the broad guidelines for selecting appropriate books. The broad guidelines will be enabling, and not restrictive. (v) The guidelines developed by the State will also include the procedure for maintenance of record and stock/asset register with due verification as per prescribed procedures. (vi)The guidelines will also prescribe that time should be provided during teacher training and school timetables for reading in school and develop appropriate mechanism for effective monitoring of Library. |
The following points are inserted: vii). States/UTs should develop and disseminate criteria for selection of children’s literature, grade wise, to be purchased for school libraries. viii). Libraries should preferably be located in classrooms so that children have easy access and the books/material can be used by the teacher for teaching purpose. They can be in the nature of learning corners, a book shelve or almirahs. |
| 24 | Provision for children with special needs |
a) The key thrust of SSA will be on providing inclusive education to all children with special needs in general schools. b) SSA will also support special training, education through open learning system, special schools and home schooling, wherever necessary, itinerant teaching, remedial teaching, community based rehabilitation (CBR) and vocational education. c) The following activities will form components of the programme: i. Identification of children with special needs. ii. Educational Placement iii. Aids and appliances iv. Support services v. Teacher Training vi. Resource support vii. Individualized educational plan viii. Parental training and community mobilization. ix. Curricular access x. Building synergy with special need. xi. Removal of Architectural Barriers xii. Research xiii. Peer sensitization. d) Involvement of Resource Institutions will be encouraged. |
The following point is inserted:
e) To develop through State/UT notified academic authority curricular and evaluation adaptations for teaching and assessment of different categories of CWSN and disseminate the same to teachers and supervisory officials/organisations. |
| 26 | Training of SMC, VEC, PRI members |
a) The RTE Act clearly outlines the functions to be performed by SMC. Some of these functions, for example, preparation of school development plans, would require significant investments in capacity building. The role of civil society organizations would be critical in making the SMC an effective democratic space. It needs to be highlighted that the nature of such interventions cannot be one-time training but must necessarily be a long-term involvement. b) Besides capacity building of SMC, on-going support of the PRI (local authority) is also essential. PRIs will have to play a crucial role in provision of facilities mentioned in the Act. c) States should design training modules comprising a mix of residential and non-residential training for all participants. The State shall prepare exemplar material, which will be contextualized at district and block levels to local needs. d) The training must reach out to at least 50% women and proportionate members from disadvantaged sections e) Voluntary and civil society organisations should be involved in conducting community training. f) Training should be conducted in batches not exceeding 30 persons at a time. g) The State will periodically commission independent evaluation of the impact of training. |
The following point is inserted: h). States/UTs need to define the role of PRI institutions viz. SMC’s with respect to elementary education, so there is no conflict or lack of clarity with the State PR Act and the State RTE Rules. |
| 34 | Civil works | a) Funds on civil works shall not exceed the ceiling of 33% of the entire project cost b) This ceiling of 33% does not include the expenditure on maintenance and repair of buildings. c) However, in a particular year’s Annual Plan, provision for civil works can be considered up to 50% of the District Annual Plan Outlay, subject to the proviso that during overall SSA project period civil works outlay shall be restricted to 33% of the project cost. d) Unit costs will be based on the State Schedule of Rates as notified by State Governments. e) Civil Works costs also include: i. Adaptation of existing building at environment to conform with RTE norms ii. Retro-fitting of existing building toward hazard resistance. iii. Construction of building-less schools iv. Reconstruction of dilapidated school buildings which are beyond major repairs and declared unsafe by the competent engineers. f) No expenditure under SSA shall be incurred on construction of office buildings. |
The following point is inserted: g) All civil works (except larger multistoried school buildings in urban areas and KGBV residential schools) are to be constructed through the SMCs and no departmental centralization/ use of contractors is permissible. |
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