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Perspectives in Education and Education Policy · Chapter 7

Programmes and Incentives

What to remember

  • From projects to a single umbrella. DPEP (1994) and SSA (2001) built elementary education; RMSA (2009) covered the secondary stage; Samagra Shiksha (2018) merged SSA, RMSA and teacher education into one scheme for school education from pre-school to Class 12.
  • Girls and the disadvantaged have special schemes. KGBV (2004) and NPEGEL (2003) were designed for girls in backward areas.
  • Incentives pull children into school. Mid-day meal (1995, now PM POSHAN), free textbooks, uniforms, scholarships and residential schools raise enrolment, attendance and retention.

Early programmes (before 1990s and in the 1990s)

  • Operation Blackboard (1987): after NPE 1986, it gave every primary school at least two rooms, two teachers and basic teaching-learning material.
  • Shiksha Karmi (Rajasthan, 1987) and Lok Jumbish (1992): state-level efforts with community participation in remote areas.
  • Mahila Samakhya (1988): women's empowerment through education.
  • Navodaya Vidyalayas (from 1986): free residential schools for talented rural children.
  • APPEP (Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project): an externally supported state project (UK ODA aid) that began in 1984 and ran into the mid-1990s that trained teachers, improved classroom practice, formed school clusters and encouraged community involvement in primary schools. It was a forerunner of DPEP in the state.
  • District Primary Education Programme (DPEP):
  • launched in 1994 as a centrally sponsored scheme with external assistance;
  • the district was the unit of planning, a new idea;
  • focus on primary education, access, retention, low-achieving areas, girls, SC and ST;
  • introduced Block Resource Centres and Cluster Resource Centres, and village education committees;
  • aimed at universal primary education and reducing the gender gap.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)

  • Launched in 2001 as a time-bound national programme for universal elementary education (6 to 14 years). Its early slogan was "Sabke liye shiksha" (education for all), and its motto was often expressed as "Sab Padhein, Sab Badhein".
  • It was a partnership between the Centre, states and local bodies, with community ownership through School Management Committees, Village Education Committees and Panchayati Raj institutions.
  • Components: new schools and additional classrooms, teacher recruitment and training, free textbooks, uniforms in many states, civil works, TLM grants, school grants, maintenance grants, innovative activities, special training for out-of-school children, and inclusive education for children with special needs.
  • Resource structure: BRC at block level and CRC at cluster level provide academic support.
  • After the RTE Act came into force in 2010, SSA became the main vehicle for implementing it.
  • Girls' components inside SSA: NPEGEL and KGBV.

NPEGEL and KGBV

FeatureNPEGELKGBV
Full nameNational Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary LevelKasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
Started20032004
AimSupport girls' education beyond access: model cluster schools, gender-sensitive material, bridge courses, incentivesResidential upper primary schools for girls
TargetEducationally backward blocks, girls who are hard to reachGirls from SC, ST, OBC, minority and BPL families in difficult areas
LinkComponent of SSAMerged into SSA from 2007

KGBV hostels provide boarding, food, and quality teaching and have the aim that girls complete the elementary stage and move on. NPEGEL focused on "model cluster schools" with extra activities, such as life skills and vocational training.

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

  • Launched in March 2009 to raise access and quality at the secondary stage (Classes 9 and 10).
  • Aim: make secondary education available within a reasonable distance of every habitation, raise enrolment, improve quality, remove gender, social and disability barriers.
  • Features: new schools and extra classrooms, laboratories, libraries, toilets, additional teachers, in-service training, and strong focus on SC, ST, girls and disabled children.
  • Works with Model Schools, girls' hostels and Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS).
  • ICT in schools was supported separately.

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan (RAA)

  • Launched in 2015 for children aged 6 to 18.
  • Purpose: build a scientific attitude and make learning of science and mathematics joyful through activities, experiments, observations and projects, instead of rote learning.
  • Includes inter-school and cluster-level science and maths activities, and partnership with institutions of higher learning to support schools.

Model Schools

  • A central scheme (announced around 2008) to set up quality schools in educationally backward blocks, one in each such block, as pace-setting schools.
  • Aim: provide quality education to talented rural children, with facilities of a good school in terms of teachers, laboratories, ICT, and a good environment.
  • Run by state governments in the government mode; further schools were planned through the Public-Private Partnership mode.
  • Medium of instruction and curriculum follow the state's choice. Admission is mostly on merit and with reservation norms.
  • AP has also run its own state-level model schools, and there are other model-type schools (such as residential schools run by social welfare and tribal welfare societies).

Samagra Shiksha

  • Launched in 2018 as an integrated scheme for school education from pre-school to Class 12.
  • It merges three schemes: SSA, RMSA and Teacher Education (CSS-TE).
  • Vision: treat school education as a continuum, and reduce differences between elementary and secondary stage.
  • Aims: universal access, equity, quality, inclusion, strengthening of teacher education institutions (SCERTs and DIETs), vocational education, digital initiatives, and focus on learning outcomes.
  • Features: support for pre-school, inclusive education, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (upgraded up to Class 12 in places), free uniforms and textbooks for girls and SC, ST and BPL children in some components, sports and physical education, and "Operation Digital Board".
  • It supports NEP 2020 goals, including foundational learning (NIPUN Bharat).

Mid-day meal and PM POSHAN

  • Launched on 15 August 1995 as the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE). It began with dry rations and later changed to cooked meals.
  • Supreme Court (2001): in the right to food case, the Court directed states to give a cooked mid-day meal in government and aided primary schools.
  • Extended to upper primary classes in 2008 (earlier in the pilot stage in educationally backward blocks).
  • Nutrition norms: about 450 calories and 12 g protein for primary level; about 700 calories and 20 g protein for upper primary level.
  • Aims: increase enrolment, attendance and retention; improve nutrition; promote social equality by children of all castes eating together; and support working mothers.
  • In 2021 the scheme was renamed PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) and extended to pre-primary classes (Bal Vatika) in government schools.
  • Under the National Food Security Act 2013, children have a legal entitlement to the meal.
  • AP provides the meal under a state name that has changed with governments; the content and norms follow the national scheme. Check the latest official name.

Scholarships and other incentives

  • Free textbooks and uniforms, bicycles in some states, free transport for girls, and school kits are common incentives.
  • National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMSS): for talented students from economically weaker families, to prevent dropout after Class 8 and help them continue at the secondary stage.
  • Pre-matric and post-matric scholarships for SC, ST, OBC and minority students.
  • National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) was run by NCERT for talented students at the secondary stage; it has been on hold since 2021-22 after the scheme period ended.
  • INSPIRE supports young people in science (a scheme of the science department).
  • Scholarships for girls and for children with disabilities at different stages.
  • AP has run state schemes giving financial support to mothers or guardians whose children attend school, plus school kits and infrastructure improvement programmes; names change with governments, so use the latest official release.
  • Hostels and residential schools (social welfare, tribal welfare, BC welfare, minority welfare societies, Kasturba schools) reduce dropout.
  • Free and compulsory education under RTE is the base for all these incentives.

Exam traps

  • 1. DPEP (1994) took the district as unit; SSA (2001) is national and covers 6 to 14 years.
  • 2. NPEGEL is a component of SSA; KGBV is a residential school.
  • 3. RMSA is for Classes 9 and 10; SSA is for elementary education.
  • 4. RAA is about science and maths; RMSA is about the secondary stage.
  • 5. Samagra Shiksha merged SSA, RMSA and Teacher Education; it did not merge mid-day meal.
  • 6. The mid-day meal began in 1995 (NP-NSPE); PM POSHAN is the name since 2021.
  • 7. Operation Blackboard (1987) was for primary school facilities; it came after NPE 1986.
  • 8. NMMSS is for Class 8 pass-outs to prevent dropout; NTSE is a talent search.

One-liners

  • 1. DPEP started in 1994.
  • 2. SSA was launched in 2001.
  • 3. NPEGEL started in 2003 and KGBV in 2004.
  • 4. RMSA started in 2009.
  • 5. RAA started in 2015.
  • 6. Samagra Shiksha began in 2018.
  • 7. Mid-day meal started on 15 August 1995.
  • 8. PM POSHAN is the new name of the mid-day meal scheme.
  • 9. Primary mid-day meal norm is about 450 calories.
  • 10. KGBV is a residential upper primary school for girls.
  • 11. Samagra Shiksha covers pre-school to Class 12.
  • 12. BRC and CRC give academic support under SSA.

Practice questions

  1. The District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in

    1. 2001
    2. 1994
    3. 1986
    4. 2009
    Answer

    B. 1994

    DPEP began in 1994 with the district as the unit of planning.

  2. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in

    1. 2009
    2. 1994
    3. 2004
    4. 2001
    Answer

    D. 2001

    SSA is the national programme for universal elementary education.

  3. SSA aims at universal elementary education for children aged

    1. 14 to 18 years
    2. 6 to 14 years
    3. 3 to 6 years
    4. 6 to 18 years
    Answer

    B. 6 to 14 years

    Elementary education covers ages 6 to 14.

  4. The unit of planning in DPEP was the

    1. state
    2. district
    3. school
    4. village
    Answer

    B. district

    DPEP adopted the district approach.

  5. Block Resource Centres and Cluster Resource Centres give

    1. academic support to schools
    2. land for schools
    3. hostel food
    4. scholarships
    Answer

    A. academic support to schools

    BRCs and CRCs support teachers and schools.

  6. NPEGEL stands for

    1. National Plan for Early Girl Education and Learning
    2. New Programme for Elementary Girls and Education Loans
    3. National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level
    4. National Plan for Equal Gender Education and Literacy
    Answer

    C. National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level

    NPEGEL started in 2003 as part of SSA.

  7. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya was started in

    1. 2015
    2. 1995
    3. 1986
    4. 2004
    Answer

    D. 2004

    KGBV began in 2004; it merged with SSA in 2007.

  8. KGBV schools are

    1. day schools for boys
    2. residential upper primary schools for girls
    3. colleges
    4. pre-primary centres
    Answer

    B. residential upper primary schools for girls

    They serve girls from SC, ST, OBC, minority and BPL families.

  9. NPEGEL is a component of

    1. DPEP
    2. RMSA
    3. Operation Blackboard
    4. SSA
    Answer

    D. SSA

    NPEGEL worked within SSA in educationally backward blocks.

  10. RMSA was launched in

    1. 2009
    2. 2018
    3. 2001
    4. 1994
    Answer

    A. 2009

    Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan began in March 2009.

  11. RMSA mainly aims at the

    1. higher education
    2. pre-primary stage
    3. secondary stage (Classes 9 and 10)
    4. primary stage
    Answer

    C. secondary stage (Classes 9 and 10)

    RMSA focuses on access and quality at the secondary stage.

  12. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan focuses on

    1. mid-day meals
    2. girls' hostels
    3. adult literacy
    4. science and mathematics learning through activities
    Answer

    D. science and mathematics learning through activities

    RAA was launched in 2015 to build scientific attitude.

  13. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan was launched in

    1. 2015
    2. 2001
    3. 2009
    4. 2021
    Answer

    A. 2015

    RAA began in 2015.

  14. Samagra Shiksha covers school education from

    1. Class 9 to graduation
    2. Class 6 to 12
    3. pre-school to Class 12
    4. Class 1 to 8
    Answer

    C. pre-school to Class 12

    It treats school education as a continuum.

  15. Samagra Shiksha merged

    1. SSA, DPEP and KGBV
    2. SSA, RMSA and Teacher Education
    3. RAA, NPEGEL and mid-day meal
    4. RMSA, ICDS and NTSE
    Answer

    B. SSA, RMSA and Teacher Education

    The three schemes were integrated in 2018.

  16. Samagra Shiksha was launched in

    1. 2010
    2. 2005
    3. 2018
    4. 2022
    Answer

    C. 2018

    The integrated scheme started in 2018-19.

  17. Operation Blackboard (1987) aimed at

    1. improving basic facilities in primary schools
    2. teacher transfers
    3. adult education
    4. higher education loans
    Answer

    A. improving basic facilities in primary schools

    It gave rooms, teachers and learning material to primary schools.

  18. Operation Blackboard followed which policy?

    1. Kothari Commission 1966
    2. NPE 1986
    3. Wood's Despatch
    4. NEP 2020
    Answer

    B. NPE 1986

    It was launched in 1987 after NPE 1986.

  19. The Model Schools scheme aims to set up quality schools in

    1. metro cities
    2. foreign countries
    3. private colleges
    4. educationally backward blocks
    Answer

    D. educationally backward blocks

    One model school per such block was proposed as a pace-setter.

  20. Mid-day meal scheme was launched at national level on

    1. 15 August 1995
    2. 14 November 2009
    3. 2 October 1986
    4. 26 January 2001
    Answer

    A. 15 August 1995

    It began as NP-NSPE in 1995.

  21. The early name of the mid-day meal scheme was

    1. Poshan Abhiyaan
    2. National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education
    3. Midday Food Security Mission
    4. Integrated Child Development Scheme
    Answer

    B. National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education

    NP-NSPE was the original name.

  22. The mid-day meal scheme was renamed PM POSHAN in

    1. 2008
    2. 2014
    3. 1995
    4. 2021
    Answer

    D. 2021

    It was renamed and extended to pre-primary classes.

  23. Cooked mid-day meals were ordered by the Supreme Court in

    1. 1975
    2. 1995
    3. 2001
    4. 2010
    Answer

    C. 2001

    A 2001 order in the right to food case directed cooked meals.

  24. The calorie norm of mid-day meal at primary level is about

    1. 200 calories
    2. 450 calories
    3. 1200 calories
    4. 900 calories
    Answer

    B. 450 calories

    The standard norm is about 450 calories and 12 g protein.

  25. The calorie norm of mid-day meal at upper primary level is about

    1. 450 calories
    2. 300 calories
    3. 700 calories
    4. 1000 calories
    Answer

    C. 700 calories

    Upper primary: about 700 calories and 20 g protein.

  26. Which is an educational aim of the mid-day meal scheme?

    1. Stop private schools
    2. Increase fees
    3. Reduce teacher posts
    4. Raise enrolment, attendance and retention
    Answer

    D. Raise enrolment, attendance and retention

    It also helps nutrition and social equality.

  27. Children of all castes eating together in school promotes

    1. social equality
    2. isolation
    3. commercialisation
    4. privatisation
    Answer

    A. social equality

    This is a social aim of the mid-day meal.

  28. NMMSS is a scholarship scheme meant to

    1. fund foreign study
    2. prevent dropout of talented students from poor families after Class 8
    3. pay teachers
    4. build laboratories
    Answer

    B. prevent dropout of talented students from poor families after Class 8

    It supports continuation at the secondary stage.

  29. The National Talent Search Examination is conducted by

    1. NCERT
    2. NCTE
    3. UGC
    4. SCERT only
    Answer

    A. NCERT

    NTSE identifies talented students at the secondary stage.

  30. Navodaya Vidyalayas are

    1. technical institutes
    2. pre-primary centres
    3. free residential schools for talented rural children
    4. adult education centres
    Answer

    C. free residential schools for talented rural children

    They began under NPE 1986.

  31. Which programme was a forerunner of DPEP in Andhra Pradesh?

    1. RAA
    2. NPEGEL
    3. RMSA
    4. APPEP
    Answer

    D. APPEP

    The Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project was a state project before DPEP.

  32. Which scheme became the main vehicle for implementing the RTE Act?

    1. NMMSS
    2. RAA
    3. DPEP
    4. SSA
    Answer

    D. SSA

    SSA supported RTE implementation after 2010.

  33. Mahila Samakhya, launched in 1988, aims at

    1. women's empowerment through education
    2. school transport
    3. teacher training only
    4. sports promotion
    Answer

    A. women's empowerment through education

    It organises rural women for education and empowerment.

  34. Hostels for SC and ST girls and residential schools mainly help to

    1. raise fees
    2. limit enrolment
    3. reduce dropout
    4. close small schools
    Answer

    C. reduce dropout

    Residential support keeps children in school.

  35. Which scheme integrated school education from pre-school to Class 12 and strengthened SCERTs and DIETs?

    1. NPEGEL
    2. Samagra Shiksha
    3. DPEP
    4. Operation Blackboard
    Answer

    B. Samagra Shiksha

    Samagra Shiksha includes teacher education institutions in its support.

  36. Which centrally sponsored programme of the 1990s took the district as its unit and focused on primary education?

    1. RMSA
    2. RAA
    3. DPEP
    4. KGBV
    Answer

    C. DPEP

    District Primary Education Programme, 1994.

  37. Consider the statements: 1. DPEP used the district as the unit of planning. 2. SSA was launched in 1994. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    SSA was launched in 2001; DPEP in 1994.

  38. Consider the statements: 1. KGBV is a residential school for girls. 2. NPEGEL is a component of SSA. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  39. Consider the statements: 1. RMSA is for Classes 9 and 10. 2. RAA is mainly for adult literacy. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    RAA is about science and maths for children.

  40. Consider the statements: 1. Samagra Shiksha merged SSA and RMSA. 2. It covers only the primary stage. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    It covers pre-school to Class 12.

  41. Consider the statements: 1. The mid-day meal began in 1995. 2. PM POSHAN is the present name of the scheme. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  42. Consider the statements: 1. Mid-day meal was extended to upper primary classes after its start. 2. Mid-day meal is for private unaided schools only. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    It serves government and aided schools; it was extended to upper primary later.

  43. Consider the statements: 1. NMMSS is a scholarship for Class 8 pass-outs from poor families. 2. NTSE is conducted by NCTE. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    NTSE is conducted by NCERT.

  44. Consider the statements: 1. Operation Blackboard came before NPE 1986. 2. Operation Blackboard was for primary school facilities. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    It started in 1987 after NPE 1986.

  45. Consider the statements: 1. SSA components include free textbooks and teacher training. 2. BRC and CRC are part of SSA support. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

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