Govt approves World Bank project for improving school education

The government has approved the implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project. The project costs Rs 5,718 crore; it will get financial support from the World Bank.
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has cleared the STARS project which will be implemented as a sponsored scheme under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MOE), Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar after the cabinet meeting.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The project will be implemented in six states: Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“The STARS project seeks to support the states in developing, implementing, evaluating, and improving interventions with direct linkages to improved education outcomes and school to work transition strategies for improved labor market outcomes. The overall focus and components of the STARS project are aligned with the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of quality based learning outcomes,” said an official press release.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“The project envisions improving the overall monitoring and measurement activities in the Indian school education system through interventions in selected states. The project shifts focus from the provision of inputs and maintaining of outputs to actual outcomes by linking the receipt and disbursement of funds to these outcomes,” the press release said.</p>
The project at the national level will strengthen the Education Ministry national data systems to capture robust and authentic data on retention, transition and completion rates of students.
<p style="font-weight: 400;">It will also support the Education Ministry in improving states PGI scores by incentivizing states governance reform agenda through state incentive grants.</p>
The project envisages at strengthening early childhood education and foundational learning. It will also strengthen classroom instruction and remediation through teacher development and school leadership governance and decentralized management for improved service delivery.

“The STARS project also aims to focus on initiatives of PM e-Vidya, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission and National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan,” the release added further..