IMPHAL, Jun 25 (DIPR): With a vision to make good quality secondary education available, accessible and affordable to all children of the age group 14-17, 159 Jr High Schools were upgraded to High Schools under RMSA (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan). The upgradation was based on school mapping exercise. Engineering Wing, Education (S) and Manipur Development Society (MDS) are the executing agencies.
The number of upgraded Jr High Schools to High Schools year-wise are— 44 in 2009-10; 23 in 2010-11; 49 in 2011-12; 9 in 2013-14; 12 in 2014-15 and 22 in 2015-16.
RMSA is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Deve-lopment, Government of India, for the development of secondary education in public schools throughout India. It was launched in March 2009. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-2010 to provide conditions for an efficient growth, development and equity for all. The scheme includes multidimensional research, technical consulting, various implementations and funding support.
RMSA, Manipur has provided the infrastructure support to enhance accessibility and provide enabling conditions for quality education. To improve infrastructure of existing Government Secondary schools, 202 additional classrooms, 167 inte- grated science labs, 165 computer rooms, 95 library rooms, 224 arts and craft rooms and 224 toilet blocks have been strengthened under RMSA. The works were executed by the School Manage- ment and Development Committees (SMDC) as per guide-lines of the Ministry of Hu- man Resource Development.
To improve teachers’ attendance and the quality of education in the secondary schools specially in remote and hill areas, residential staff quarters have been approved under RMSA, Manipur and all the construction works are in progress.
On the other hand, to improve the quality of Govt 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.
During the Twelfth Plan (2012-17), existing schemes of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) at 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 RMSA.
It is worth to note that the objectives of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan included improvement quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools in conformity with the prescribed norms, to remove gender and socio-economic and disability barriers, universal access to secondary level education by 2017, ie, by the end of the XII Five Year Plan and universal retention by 2020.
