Policies on education, literacy, health and nutrition
India works towards Education for All through free schooling, the mid-day meal and adult literacy, and towards Health for All through primary health care.
Timeline: Education for All
- 1986National Policy on Education: free and compulsory education for all children up to age 14.
- 1988National Literacy Mission launched for adult literacy.
- 1990A UNESCO-led world meeting at Jomtien (Thailand) sets the goal of Education for All by 2000.
- 1993Nine highly populous countries, including India, meet in Delhi to renew the commitment. (Your NIOS lesson gives 1992, but the Delhi summit was held in December 1993.)
- 2001Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan launched for universal elementary education.
- 2002The 86th Amendment makes education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14.
- 2009Parliament passes the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the mid-day meal
- SSA (2001) goals: every child aged 6 to 14 in school, an Education Guarantee Scheme centre or a bridge course by 2005. Close gender and social gaps. Reach universal retention (keeping every child in school) by 2010. Give good-quality education for life.
- Mid-day Meal Scheme (National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education): better nutrition for children in Classes I to V of government and aided schools. It also aims at regular attendance by poor children, and meals in drought-hit areas even in summer holidays. Since 2021 it is called PM POSHAN and covers Classes I to VIII.
- Steps to cut drop-outs: parent awareness, involving the community and panchayats, free education, books and uniforms, better teaching, and the mid-day meal.
- Results: higher enrolment, more girls and more SC and ST children in school, and more schools close to home.
National Literacy Mission (1988)
- Aim: functional literacy, meaning reading, writing and simple arithmetic useful in daily life, for adults aged 15 to 35.
- Total Literacy Campaign: basic literacy for adult non-literates.
- Post Literacy Programme: strengthens the skills of neo-literates, people who have just learnt to read.
- Continuing Education Programme: rural libraries and reading rooms. Jan Shikshan Sansthans give vocational training.
- Literacy rose sharply between the 1991 and 2001 Censuses, but gender, regional and social gaps remain.
- Newer approach: the Total Literacy Campaign and the Post Literacy Programme run as one integrated literacy project, treating literacy as a continuing process.
Health for All
- India was the first country in the world to start a national Family Planning Programme, in 1952. (Your NIOS lesson gives 1951.)
- Health for All by 2000 was declared at the WHO and UNICEF meeting at Alma Ata (1978). India then stressed primary health care, immunisation, family planning and nutrition.
- Death rates and infant deaths fell sharply after independence, and life expectancy roughly doubled by 2001.
- Population nearly tripled between 1951 and 2001, and health facilities are crowded in and around cities.
- The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was started to spread health care to rural areas. A National Urban Health Mission followed for towns.
- Schemes for mothers and girls: Janani Suraksha Yojana, Balika Samridhi Yojana and Kishori Shakti Yojana.
- National programmes fight TB, leprosy, malaria and other vector-borne diseases, AIDS, cancer and blindness, along with universal immunisation.
Who each programme is for
| Programme | Target group |
|---|---|
| Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan | Children aged 6 to 14, especially those not in school or at risk of dropping out |
| Mid-day Meal Scheme | Children in Classes I to V of government and aided schools, as in your lesson (now Classes I to VIII under PM POSHAN) |
| National Literacy Mission | Adult non-literates aged 15 to 35 |
| Janani Suraksha Yojana | Pregnant women, for safe delivery |
| Kishori Shakti Yojana | Adolescent girls |
| National Rural Health Mission | People in rural areas |
These policies are at work every day. Government schools serve a hot cooked lunch. ASHA workers take pregnant women to health centres, and polio drop booths open on campaign Sundays.
3 marks: “Describe any three steps taken to reduce drop-out rates in schools.” (1) Creating parent awareness and involving the community and panchayats. (2) Incentives such as free education, free books and free uniforms. (3) The Mid-day Meal Scheme, which improves nutrition and attendance. (Also better content and teaching in schools.)
2 marks: “Name the target groups of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Literacy Mission.” SSA: children aged 6 to 14, especially those not in school. NLM: adult non-literates aged 15 to 35.
2 marks: “Why did the government start the National Rural Health Mission?” Health facilities were unequally spread and mostly crowded around cities and towns. NRHM was started to bring health care to people in rural areas.
EFA years 86, 88, 90, 01, 02, 09: Policy, Literacy Mission, Jomtien, SSA, 86th Amendment, RTE Act.