**Executive Summary:**
This document summarizes the response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1214 regarding the participation of Dahod district schools and students in PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, the benefits received by higher education institutions under the PM-USHA scheme, and steps taken to strengthen the education system in Dahod district. The response details the findings of the survey, the allocation of funds under PM-USHA, and various initiatives under Samagra Shiksha and other schemes. The survey was undertaken in December 2024.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
* **PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 (formerly National Achievement Survey):**
* Undertaken in December 2024 to assess competency development among students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 based on NEP 2020.
* Involved over 21.15 lakh students and 2.70 lakh teachers/school leaders from 74,000+ schools across 781 districts.
* Dahod district had 3,530 students and 417 teachers/school leaders from 120 schools participating.
* Dahod performed above the Gujarat state average in Language and Mathematics at the Foundational Stage.
* Performance at the Preparatory Stage was comparable to the state average.
* Performance at the Middle Stage lagged behind the state average.
* **PM-Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA):**
* RUSA aims to improve the quality of State Government Universities and Colleges.
* PM-USHA, the third phase of RUSA, has an outlay of Rs. 12,926.10 crore for 2023-24 to 2025-26.
* Under PM-USHA, 4 units in Dahod district have been approved for a total Central Share of Rs. 12.74 crore.
* Approved units include Government Science College, Zalod, Navjivan Science Degree College, and Gender Inclusion and Equity Initiatives.
* **Strengthening Education System in Dahod District:**
* Samagra Shiksha, a centrally sponsored scheme, provides holistic support from Balvatika to Class XII.
* Aligned with NEP 2020, it focuses on equitable and inclusive quality education.
* Gujarat, including Dahod, has an approved outlay of Rs. 2747.95 crore under Samagra Shiksha for 2025-26.
* PM eVidya, under Samagra Shiksha, provides multimode access to digital/online/on-air education.
* PM POSHAN Scheme provides hot cooked meals to students in Balvatika and Classes I-VIII.
* 3.39 lakh students in Dahod district are covered under PM POSHAN.
* The State Government of Gujarat monitors attendance through Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), recruits teachers under Gyan Sahayak Yojna, provides trainings through GCERT, prepares competency-based question banks, conducts BISAG broadcast training sessions, and provides physical/digital facilities under the School of Excellence (SoE) initiative.
**Impact Analysis:**
* **Students:**
* *Impact:* Benefits from improved learning outcomes, digital education initiatives, and nutritional support. Survey results highlight areas needing improvement.
* *Action Required:* Actively participate in learning activities and utilize available resources, including digital platforms and nutritional programs.
* **Teachers and School Leaders:**
* *Impact:* Provided with data-driven insights to improve teaching methods and school infrastructure. Benefit from training programs and resources to enhance teaching quality.
* *Action Required:* Utilize survey data to identify areas for improvement, participate in training programs, and implement strategies to enhance learning outcomes.
* **Policy Makers:**
* *Impact:* Equipped with district-level data on learning outcomes to design evidence-driven interventions. Can allocate resources effectively based on identified needs.
* *Action Required:* Analyze survey data to develop targeted interventions and allocate resources to address competency, skill, and infrastructural gaps.
* **Higher Education Institutions in Dahod:**
* *Impact:* Receive funding and support to improve quality and meet prescribed standards under the PM-USHA scheme.
* *Action Required:* Utilize allocated funds to upgrade infrastructure, enhance academic programs, and improve overall quality of education.
* **NCERT:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for implementing and monitoring PM eVidya, providing guidance to States/UTs, and evaluating the effectiveness of digital initiatives.
* *Action Required:* Collaborate with States/UTs to implement and monitor PM eVidya effectively, provide regular guidance and feedback, and evaluate the impact of digital initiatives on learning outcomes.
Key Entities Referenced
Dahod district, Gujarat: A district in the state of Gujarat, India, which is the focus of the policy document due to its participation in educational surveys and schemes.
PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024: A national survey conducted to assess the learning outcomes of students in India and understand the impact of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
National Education Policy NEP 2020: A comprehensive policy framework guiding the development of education in India.
Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan PMUSHA: A centrally sponsored scheme aimed at improving the quality of higher education institutions, formerly Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan RUSA.
Samagra Shiksha: An integrated centrally sponsored scheme for school education, from Balvatika to Class XII, aligned with the National Education Policy NEP 2020.
NCERT: National Council of Educational Research and Training, an autonomous organisation of the Government of India.
PM eVidya: A comprehensive initiative that unifies efforts related to digital, online, and on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education across the country.
Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman PM POSHAN Scheme: A centrally sponsored scheme providing hot cooked meals to children in government and government-aided schools.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 1214
ANSWERED ON – 28/07/2025
PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024
†1214. Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor:
Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether the schools and students of Dahod district participated in PARAKH Rashtriya
Sarvekshan 2024 along with the improvement taken place in their quality;
(b) the number of higher education institutions in Dahod district benefited under the PM-Usha
scheme; and
(c) whether the Government has taken any steps to strengthen the education system in Dahod
district?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
(SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)
(a) The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 (formerly National Achievement Survey)
was undertaken in December, 2024 by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH, NCERT
under the aegis of the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education to
understand the baseline performance under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in
development of competencies among the students at the end of the Foundational, Preparatory,
and Middle stages (Grades 3, 6, and 9 respectively).
The Sarvekshan is designed as a system-level reflection on Learning Outcomes in India which
underscores critical competency, skill or infrastructural gaps at various stages of schooling. It
equips policy makers with robust, district-level data on learning outcomes and contextual
variables captured through student, teacher and school questionnaires to design evidence driven
interventions for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of school education
Nationwide over 21.15 lakh students and 2.70 lakh teachers and school leaders from more than
74,000 schools across 781 districts from all States/UTs participated in the survey. From Dahod
district, a total of 3,530 students and 417 teachers and school leaders from 120 unique schoolsparticipated in the survey. National, State and District level report cards for PARAKH
Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 are accessible at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.
The major highlights of Dahod’s performance in the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan are given
below:
• At the Foundational Stage, Dahod has performed above the State (Gujarat’s) average
in both Language (60%) and Mathematics (54%), which is a positive reflection of the
efforts made under the foundational learning initiatives such as NIPUN Bharat
Mission.
• At the Preparatory Stage, Dahod's performance remains comparable to the State
average. While Language scores are marginally lower (49%), the district has
maintained parity in The World Around Us (45%) and slightly exceeded the State in
Mathematics (41%), indicating steady academic progression at the preparatory stage.
• At the Middle Stage, the district lags behind State’s average performance. For instance,
Dahod’s scores in Language (40%), Mathematics (28%), Science (31%) and Social
Science (31%) are lower than the State’s average score.
(b) Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed
at funding specific State Government Universities and Colleges, so as to improve their quality
by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards.
The Government has launched the third phase of RUSA in June 2023 in the form of Pradhan
Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA), with an outlay of Rs. 12,926.10 crore,
including the committed liabilities of the earlier phase of RUSA, for the period 2023-24 to
2025-26, to cater to the needs of educationally unserved/ underserved areas. Under PM-USHA,
priority is given to focus districts. The focus districts are identified by the concerned States/
UTs based on various criteria, including low Gross Enrolment Ratio, Gender Parity, population
proportion and enrolment proportion for females, transgenders, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, Aspirational/ Border Area/ Left Wing Extremism prone
district, etc.
Under the scheme, 4 units have been approved in Dahod district of Gujarat for a total Central
Share of Rs.12.74 crore under various components, as per the details given below:
Sl. No. Phase Component Units approved Total central
share approved
(Rs. in crore)
1 RUSA Erstwhile MDC Government Science 1.34
College, Zalod,
Dahod
2 RUSA Upgradation of Existing Navjivan Science 2.40
Degree College to Model College, Dahod
Degree College3 PM- Grants to Strengthen Navjivan Science 3.00
USHA Colleges College, Dahod
4 PM- Gender Inclusion and Dahod (district as a 6.00
USHA Equity Initiatives unit)
(c) The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing an integrated
Centrally Sponsored Scheme for School education - Samagra Shiksha since 2018-19. The
scheme treats school education holistically, in a continuum from Balvatika to Class XII and
provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act. The Scheme has been aligned with
the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and aims to ensure that all
children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom
environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different
academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.
As per norms of the Samagra Shiksha, the annual plans are prepared by the States and UTs as
per their requirements/ priority and the same are then appraised and approved by the Project
Approval Board (PAB) in the Department of School Education & Literacy in consultation with
the States and UTs as per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme and physical
and financial progress of the State for the interventions approved earlier. During 2025-26, a
total outlay of Rs. 2747.95 crore has been approved under Samagra Shiksha for strengthening
the education system in all districts of Gujarat, including Dahod.
Moreover, funds under Samagra Shiksha are provided to support a comprehensive initiative
called PM eVidya, which is implemented by NCERT and unifies all efforts related to
digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education across the country.
The components of these initiatives are available to all the students across all the States/UTs,
including Gujarat, free of cost. States/UTs collaborate with NCERT to utilise, monitor and
evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives as per their requirements. NCERT also provides
regular guidance/ feedback to States/UTs on quality of these initiatives. One of the key
components of PM eVidya which enhances digital literacy includes broadcasting of 200 DTH
TV Channels and 400 Radio channels to enable all States/UTs including Gujarat to provide
supplementary education in various Indian languages including for classes 1-12. The channels
have been allocated to the States/UTs and Autonomous Bodies under an MoU with NCERT
and are operational.
Besides the above, Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Scheme is one of
the foremost rights based Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented by the Department of
School Education and Literacy in partnership with the States and UTs for providing hot cooked
and nutritious meal to all children studying in Balvatika and classes I to VIII of Government
and Government-aided schools. The Scheme covers about 11 crore children in more than 10.35
lakh schools in all the States/UTs. A total of 3.39 lakh students are covered in Dahod district
under this scheme.Additionally, the State Government of Gujarat has taken various steps to enhance the
educational outcomes in Dahod district, which, inter alia, include monitoring of attendance of
teachers and students through Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) to ensure regular attendance of
students, recruitment of teachers under the “Gyan Sahayak Yojna” to address the shortage of
teachers, trainings for in-service, newly appointed and head teachers organized by Gujarat
Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT), preparation of a competency-based
question bank—also including Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) questions—and its
placement on the GCERT website to ensure wider access for teachers, training sessions
conducted by experts through Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-
Informatics (BISAG) broadcast, and provision of both physical and digital facilities under the
School of Excellence (SoE) initiative .
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