The 62nd meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) was held under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble MOS(HRD), Shri Jitin Prasada here today at New Delhi. The meeting was attended by Shri K. Rehman Khan, Hon’ble Minister of Minority Affairs, Shri P.B. Naik, Hon’ble MOS, Social Justice and Empowerment, Lt. General Andaman & Nicobar, 13 State Education Ministers, representatives of States and Union Territories, CABE Members, Heads of Autonomous Organisation, Vice Chancellors and Senior Academics. Shri Ashok Thakur, Secretary (HE), cum Member Secretary, CABE, Shri R. Bhattacharya, Secretary Department of School Education and Literacy, Chairman, UGC and AICTE were also present in the meeting along with other senior officials of the Central and State Governments.

As a mark of respect to the late CABE Member Shri Vinod Raina, condolence was paid and rich tributes were made to his remarkable contributions to education sector. A minute of silence was observed as a tribute to the departed soul. 

Hon’ble MOS (HRD), Shri Jitin Prasada, in his opening address highlighted the thrust and focus of the Ministry of HRD in the XII Five Year Plan in keeping with the vision of a Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. He said that the Ministry will continue to focus on the four E’s Expansion, Equity, Excellence and Employability. He highlighted the achievements made in many of the ongoing schemes and shared the broad roadmap for education sector and postulated on the strategies that will be employed to achieve the identified goals.

Shri K. Rehman Khan highlighted the development deficit among Muslims, which is the largest minority comprising 14%, amounting to 22.2 crore of the population. He urged CABE to look at the issue not as a religious one but as a social demand as no development can take place without an inclusive approach. He desired that all efforts must be made to implement Article 30 of the Constitution safeguarding the educational rights of the minorities. He also desired that RTE be implemented in right earnest so that children from socio-economic backward classes are admitted under the 25% reservations as per neighborhood criteria.

Thereafter, the agenda items were discussed and based on the deliberations, the following resolutions were taken:

RTE Act 

The RTE progress of the last three years noted by the Committee in improving access, promoting social inclusion, reduction in gender gaps and in provision for children with special needs. The CABE members also noted the road that still needs to be travelled in fully meeting the objectives of the RTE Act and in ensuring school standards enunciated therein. The Committee resolved therefore, that completion of school infrastructure and recruitment of teachers and their deployment should be expedited. The need for paying greater attention to improvement of learning outcomes and the quality of teachers was further highlighted by the CABE.

Regarding the issues raised on teacher recruitment, teacher salaries and teacher training, most of these would be covered under the proposed National Mission on Teachers and Teaching. However, the Central Government would not like to enter into a domain directly relating to State and local administration, such as salary and appointment of teachers.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme

(a)Safety, Quality and Hygiene under Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

(b)Setting up of Empowered Committee for Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

CABE noted the proposed changes for ensuring the quality of Mid Day Meal and putting in place an effective monitoring and supervision mechanism and emphasised “A zero tolerance policy for maintain the standard and quality of food”.

RUSA

In higher Education, the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) has been approved by the Cabinet. A detailed presentation on the Mission giving the various components under this Mission and the roll out in the coming years was presented before CABE. This is for the first time since independence that Higher Education is being expanded in a mission mode which will particularly benefit State Universities and Colleges. All State Governments will take steps to form their State Higher Education Council and prepare the State Higher Education Plan.

National Mission on Teachers and Teaching

The CABE Committee Report on National Mission on Teachers and Teaching was presented. CABE placed on record its appreciation for the committee chaired by Hon’ble MOS, Dr. Shashi Tharoor. The major recommendations made in the Committee Report were noted by CABE. Based on these recommendations, a new scheme of National Mission on Teachers and Teaching is being launched.

Introduction of NSS

Making NSS a credit based elective course in higher education was taken up for consideration. This was an agenda item of the Department of Youth Affairs. It was decided that UGC and AICTE would explore to implement from the next academic session.

Community Colleges 

An updated status on the implementation of Pilot Community Colleges Schemes was also noted by CABE.

Source: Press Information Bureau