SSA

The education sector has been of vital importance to the Indian Government which has been regularly formulating provisions and schemes for promoting elementary education.


The Right to Education has also been enshrined as a Fundamental Right by the Constitution of India. It states that "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine."

To promote literacy among its citizens, the Government of India has launched several schemes such as the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme (External website that opens in a new window), Mid-day Meal Scheme (External website that opens in a new window) and the National Program for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) - External website that opens in a new window. One of the most fundamental and promising of these schemes is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (External website that opens in a new window).

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan is also known as the Education for All movement or 'Each One Teach One'. It was introduced in 2000-2001 as the flagship programme run by the Government of India. This scheme is framed to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the age group of six to fourteen by 2010.



The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan aims to bridge social, regional and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools. All efforts to support pre-school learning in ICDS centres or special pre-school centres in non ICDS areas are made to supplement the efforts of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Objectives of
The SSA programme is an endeavour to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities of all children, through the provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan had been set with specific targets. These are:

All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School or 'Back-to-School' camp by 2003.

All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007.