159 junior high schools upgraded under RMSA

IMPHAL, June 26: With a vision to make quality secondary education available, accessible and affordable to all children between the age group of 14-17 years, 159 Junior High schools were upgraded to High Schools under Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The upgradation was based on school mapping exercise. Engineering Wing, Education (S) and Manipur Development Society (MDS) are the executing Agencies, according to official sources.

The number of upgraded Junior High Schools to High Schools in year wise include 44 in 2009-10, 23 in 2010-11, 49 numbers in 2011-12, 9 numbers in2013-14, 12 in 2014-15 and 22 in 2015-16 respectively. RMSA is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, for the development of secondary education in public schools throughout India. It was launched in March 2009, source added.

The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-2010 to provide conditions for an efficient growth, development and equity for all. The scheme included a multidimensional research, technical consulting, various implementations and RMSA, Manipur, has provided the infrastructure support to enhance the access and to provide enabling condition for quality education. To improve the infrastructure of existing Government Secondary schools, 202 Additional Classroom, 167 Integrated Science Labs, 165 computer rooms, 95 Library rooms, 224 Arts & amp; Craft rooms and 224 Toilet Blocks also have been strengthened under RMSA. The works were executed by the School Management & Development Committee (SMDC) as per the Guideline of Ministry of Human Resource to improve the teacher’s attendance and the quality of education in the secondary schools especially in the remote and hill areas. Residential staff quarters have been approved under RMSA, Manipur, and to improve the quality of Government Secondary Schools, RMSA, Manipur has recruited 884 trained Graduate teachers purely on merit.

Recruitment of another 138 trained Graduate teachers will be taken up shortly. The major thrust area of RMSA is on professional development of teachers through In- Service teachers’ training which is conducted every year. Yearly orientation/ sensitization programmes are also conducted to motivate the Principals/ Headmasters at state level too, it added.

During the Twelfth Plan (2012-17), existing schemes of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) @ school, Integrated Education for the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS), Vocationalization of Higher Secondary Education (VE) and Girls’ Hostel in 5 EBBs (Economic Backward Blocks) have been subsumed into.

The objectives of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan is to improve quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools in conformity with the prescribed norms; to remove gender & amp; socio-economic and disability barriers, universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e., by the end of the XII Five Year Plan and Universal retention by 2020.