Arunachal continues SSA successfully

Itanagar, Sept 03 (UNI) Despite various odds Arunachal Pradesh continues Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) with increase in the enrollment of students in primary and middle schools throughout the state.

During the year 2007-08, the state recorded a total enrollment of 2,17,869 students at primary level, 91,606 at middle level and 3,09,475 at elementary level which is an increase of 48.53 percent at primary level, 52.84 percent at middle and 49.80 percent at the elementary level.

The total number of out of school children which was recorded at 74,213 during 2001-02 has been reduced to 22,070 this year.

The state government in a span of seven years had opened 1189 primary and middle schools besides construction of 811 school buildings and 11,998 class rooms under SSA.

Moreover, Institutionalization of 84 Block Resource Centres (BRC) and 201 Cluster Resource Centres (CRC), recruitment of 4,132 primary and middle school teachers and introduction of Computer Aided Learning (CAL) in 105 schools were some of the major achievements under SSA.

According to official sources, due to financial constraints the state was not in a position to go for developmental activities during the current year including establishment of 213 new primary schools, upgradation of 67 upper-primary schools, appointment of 767 teachers, establishment of 28 new residential schools and 11 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV).

Moreover, establishment of 50 residential school hostels in existing upper-primary schools, construction of civil works amounting to Rs 62.34 crores, implementation of additional coverage of CAL programme and provision of teaching learning equipments to the new schools could not be materialized due to shortage of fund, the sources added.

The state was also lacking in production of textbooks, tackling of multi-lingual situations and setting up of state level quality monitoring institutions like State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT).

Referring to the infrastructural gaps in the state, sources disclosed that if the pace of funding was reduced or stopped, the goal of construction of 811 new and 269 dilapidated school buildings, providing drinking water facility in 1849 schools and toilets in 526 schools could not be fulfilled by the targetted year 2010.

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