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Unit 9: National Knowledge Commission 2009

also believe that this should be extended to cover universal schooling up to Class X as soon as Notes
possible. NKC has emphasised that a vibrant, good quality and universally accessible government
school system is the basic foundation upon which the schooling system in the country must
rest.

The norms for secondary schools, which include not only provision for specialised
subject teachers but also for science labs, counselling etc, must be strictly adhered
to when new schools are created and when primary schools are upgraded.

2. Urban planning and local planning must explicitly incorporate the physical requirements for
schooling, including provisions for playgrounds and other school facilities : It is important to
remember that land is an essential requirement of schools, and this requirement is likely to
increase in the near future given the expansion required by demographic changes and the need
to ensure universal schooling. In the context of rapid urbanisation, it has been found that urban
conglomerations often come up without adequate provision for ensuring the physical space
required for schools in the vicinity. This is particularly a problem in new settlements with
quickly increasing density of population, not only in large cities but also in smaller towns and
fast growing villages. This makes it difficult to establish schools where required, and to ensure
that schools are able to provide all the necessary facilities including sports fields etc. It is
essential that the urban land use policies and regulations in all states and municipalities explicitly
factor in the physical requirements of schools in areas of a certain population density.
Similarly in rural areas, there must be adequate provision for land for setting up schools in
areas that surpass a certain population density. In rural areas with low population density,
difficult terrain or extreme climatic conditions, the government may consider setting up
residential schools, which could also address the problem of migrant labourers and nomadic
populations.
3. The norms for central government disbursal to states of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds
and other central schemes for school education are too rigid and must be made more flexible
: The current system of funds transfer and the accounting rules create unnecessary rigidities that
often do not allow the State Governments to use the money in the most efficient or desirable
way, and also lead to less than complete utilisation of the budgetary allocation.
Some of these problems include:
(i) very rigid norms on unit costs and what is allowed in terms of spending, that do not
recognise the diverse requirements of different states or particular regions;
(ii) inadequate financial provisions for infrastructure such as buildings etc, especially for
some states and cities, which leads to the creation of poor quality infrastructure;
(iii) an inflexible accounting system that does not allow transferring funds across heads to
meet particular or changing requirements, and therefore inhibits full utilisation and
also prevents synergies from developing;
(iv) insufficient allocation for repair and maintenance of infrastructure;
(v) treating rural and urban schools in the same manner even though the requirements are
often very different (for example, urban government schools may require different
infrastructure and facilities in order to attract students); and

9.8 Quality and Management

1. Currently school education is highly segmented, even in government run institutions, as
a result of the parallel track of education centres in some states. These separate systems
must be integrated to give all children access to schools of acceptable quality.

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