Aiming to mitigate the learning loss caused by Covid-19, the Centre has prepared a learning recovery plan (LRP) for the academic session 2022-23, according to a letter sent by the education ministry to all states and UTs.
Under the plan, the Centre will be offering additional financial support to states as a “one time measure” for several initiatives, including ₹10,000 for tablets to 2.5 million primary teachers under its flagship Samagra Siksha Abhiyan (SSA).
In the letter sent on February 1, the ministry stated: “To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, there was an imperative need to have an urgent and appropriate strategy to ensure continuum of learning.”
The plan emphasises on taking several measures, including identification of out-of-school and drop out children; preparation of district-wise child registries; remedial plans on the basis of National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report card; 100% delivery of books and uniform; and weekly time-table of learning outcomes to be achieved.
The states and UTs have been asked to incorporate the LRP guidelines while preparing their Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) for the 2022-23 session and also include them in their project approval board (PAB) proposals that will be submitted to the education ministry for final approval.
Under the SSA scheme, the Centre and the states share finances in a 60:40 ratio. In northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand the ratio is 90:10. In this year’s budget, the finance ministry allocated a bulk of the outlay for schools ( ₹37,383.36 crore) to the SSA scheme.
A senior education ministry official said, “The states and UTs can incorporate these interventions in their PAB (SSA) proposals for 2022-23. The ministry will review the proposals and approve accordingly.”
The ministry also offered a financial support of ₹6.40 lakh non-recurring and ₹2.40 lakh as recurring cost for information and communications technology (ICT) facilities at each block resource centre (BRC) .
Educationist Meeta Sengupta said, “The new guidelines focus on ensuring that learning continues even if schools are disrupted. While any additional funding is welcome, training support for disrupted learning is more important.” “These guidelines should be seen as a starting point to our commitment to learning,” Sengupta said.
As per the data shared by the ministry on Thursday, schools have been fully reopened in 11 states/UTs and partially resumed in 16 states/UTs. Only nine states/UTs are yet to reopen schools.
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