Full Form of SSA, About, Objective, Education, Convergence

What is the full form of SSA is Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

It is a flagship programme of the Indian government that began in 2001 to accomplish the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE). When free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 was designated a basic right in the Indian Constitution under Article 21 A, the legal framework for SSA was built.

SSA tries to satisfy the expectations of this basic right within a reasonable time frame. The SSA Programme is led by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) of the Government of India (GoI) and has been in existence since 2000-2001.

About SSA

A few key facts concerning SSA are included in the list below:

• The SSA movement is referred to as an "Education for All" movement.
• Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the driving force behind the SSA programme.
• The Central Government is implementing this initiative in partnership with the State Governments.
• SSA's initial goal was to accomplish its objectives by 2010, however the deadline has been extended.
• SSA intends to offer educational infrastructure to around 193 million children in 1.1 million households.
• The 86th Amendment Act to the Indian Constitution gave legal support to the SSA when it made education free and obligatory for children aged 6 to 14.
• The New Education Policy 2020 intends to reintegrate around two crore out-of-school youngsters.
• According to the 2019 National Education Policy, an estimated 6.2 crore school-age children (aged 6 to 18 years) were absent in 2015.
• Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat is an SSA sub-programme.
• To oversee the SSA initiative, a government portal called 'Shagun' has been established. It was created by the World Bank in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resources and Development.

Objective of SSA

Following the enactment of the Right to Education Act in 2010, the SSA adopted a comprehensive strategy to accomplish its objectives. The goals are to improve the curriculum, teacher education, educational planning, and management. The following are SSA's broad objectives:

• To open new schools in places with no current educational institutions.
• To improve the current school infrastructure.
• To give alternative educational opportunities.
• To build new schools.
• To expand classrooms, bathrooms, and drinking water facilities in schools.
• Grants for school improvement must be maintained.
• To offer youngsters free textbooks and uniforms.
• Increase the number of teachers in schools when there is a teacher shortage. Such schools receive more teachers.
• To improve and increase the skills and competence of existing teachers in schools by:
  • Extensive Training
  • By keeping the funds, instructors' learning materials are generated.
  • Academic support structures are being reinforced at the cluster, block, and district levels.

• To offer pupils with life skills in addition to a high-quality education.
• To encourage girls' education (with the larger goal of changing women's position) as well as the education of differently-abled or special-needs children. Furthermore, the Ministry of Human Resources and Development states that SSA aspires to provide equitable educational opportunities to children of people belonging to-
  • SC
  • ST
  • Muslim Minority
  • Landless Agricultural Labourers, etc

• SSA also tries to bridge the digital divide by giving computer instruction to youngsters in order to better understand the educational requirements of historically excluded groups.
• The following are the primary areas of attention for the Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE):
  • Universal access
  • Universal enrolment
  • Universal retention
  • Quality elementary education for all children

Convergence of Several Ministries and Schemes

Convergence of programmes and interventions from different Ministries/Departments is a key premise in carrying out Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. 

The following schemes/programs of various ministries/departments have been recognised to converge with the SSA:

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW)

• Provide services to the Model Cluster School.
• Conduct frequent general health examinations through government hospitals, referral hospitals, or primary care clinics.

Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)

• Extend the Mid-day Meal Scheme to all qualifying schools
• Allow for age-appropriate admittance.
• National Institute of Open Education (NIOS)

State PWD

• Provide geospatial technology for school mapping and social mapping exercises at the grassroots level.

Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD)

• Pre-school learning and enrollment should be made easier.
• Extend Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)-based benefits to school-aged children.

Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment and Tribal Affairs (MoSJ&E and MOTA).

• Convergence of funds to establish residential facilities.

District Primary Education Program (DPEP) and SSA 

The District Primary Education Programme was established in 1994 as a government-funded initiative to revive the primary education sector. It was the first initiative aiming at universalizing primary education. DPEP used an area-specific strategy, with districts serving as planning units.

The following are some key points concerning DPEP:

• The Central Government contributed 85 percent of the project costs, while the relevant State Government contributed 15 percent.
• This initiative was implemented in 18 states.
• International organizations such as the World Bank, UNICEF, and others provided external assistance to the Central Government.

[wp-faq-schema title=" Full Form of SSA FAQs" accordion=1]