Centre approves new STARS project to strengthen school education system

The World Bank-supported project is estimated to cost Rs 5,718 crore, Prakash Javadekar said

The Centre on Wednesday set the ball rolling for implementation of the National Education Policy by approving a scheme to improve foundational learning for students and tune-up assessment systems in six states.

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Strengthening Teaching-Learning And Results for States (STARS) project which will be implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank.

“India has started implementing the new National Education Policy,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

He said that the Rs 5,718 crore project would be implemented in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha and the World Bank would contribute Rs 3,700 crore.

He also added that a similar project with aid from Asian Development Bank (ADB) would be implemented in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Assam and Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 5,800 crore.

The STARS project would be implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme and would also involve setting up a National Assessment Centre, PARAKH as an independent and autonomous institution.

“We have to improve board exams which will be competency-based. This will impact the processes of education in early childhood and foundational literacy has to be achieved. We have to train teachers and a separate assessment board or institution will come into force,” Javadekar said.

Some of the measurable outcomes of the project are an increase in students achieving minimum proficiency in Grade 3 language, improvement in secondary school completion rate, improvement in governance index scores.

The STARS project also includes a Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) to help the government respond to situations leading to loss of learning such as school closures/infrastructure damage, inadequate facilities, and use of technology for facilitating remote learning.

“The CERC component would facilitate the rapid re-categorization of financing and the utilization of streamlined financing request procedures,” an official statement said.