One lakh slum children to be covered under SSA in Punjab

Chandigarh, June 12 (UNI) The Punjab government has opened 3006 Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) centres and 406 Alternative Innovative Education (AIE) centres under Sarv Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) for 1,05,204 children in the state to impart education to the deprived urban children living in slum areas or working as labourers.

Disclosing this here today, Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur, said that to attract the deprived students towards the schools, mid-day meals had been introduced in EGS and AIE centres.The Minister said that the government was determined to change the face of rural education.

"We will even go beyond the Adarsh School Scheme to ensure free and quality education to the gifted poor. No progress is possible without education", she said.

She further informed that remedial coaching programme had being carried out in all the primary schools of the state under which extra coaching was being provided to weak students from the third to the fifth standard. Besides textbooks and workbooks were provided to economically weak children by Punjab School Education Board (PSEB).

Streesing upon Inclusive Education of Disabled (IED) programme, she said that 26,011 disabled children, out of 49,152 that have been identified, had been enrolled in regular schools and EGS/AIE centres. About 1214 severally disabled students had been provided home based education and individual education plans had also been developed.

She further informed that enrolment in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centres, had increased by 8.5 per cent from last year. The number had gone up to 44,435 during academic year 2006-07.

A sum of Rs 85 lakh had been released to all the districts for vocational education centres imparting vocational education to girls.

Under National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL), 850 girls in the sixth, seventh and eighth standards had benefited from additional training imparted on vocational courses like cutting, tailoring, embroidery, knitting, music, painting and cookery etc, Dr Upinderjit Kaur added.

UNI