STARS Project | 15 Oct 2020

Why in News

The Union Cabinet has approved implementation of the World Bank aided- Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project with a total project cost of Rs. 5,718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to about Rs. 3,700 crore.

Key Points

• The STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MoE).
• Aim and Focus: These are aligned with the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Quality Based Learning Outcomes.
  
  • Strengthening the government-managed school education system that primarily caters to the educational needs of girls and students from marginalised groups.
  • 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.
• Features:
  
  • Key Areas:
    
    • Access and retention;
    • Right to education entitlements;
    • Quality interventions;
    • Teacher education and training;
    • Gender and equity;
    • Inclusive education; and
    • Upgradation of the learning environment.
  • Support for Participation in PISA: India’s participation in the 2022 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey will also be funded by this project.
    
    • PISA was introduced in 2000 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
    • It tests the learning levels of 15-year-old children in reading, mathematics, and science. The test is conducted every three years.
    • India stayed away from PISA in 2012 and 2015 on account of its dismal performance in 2009, when it was placed 72nd among the 74 participating countries. The government decided to end the boycott in 2019.
• Major Components:
  
  • At the national level:
    
    • To strengthen the national data systems of the Ministry of Education (MOE) to capture robust and authentic data on retention, transition and completion rates of students.
    • To support the strengthening of learning assessment systems.
    • PARAKH: Establishment of PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) as a National Assessment Centre.
      
      1. Included in NEP, this independent and autonomous institution under the MOE will set standards for the around 60 examination boards in the country.
    • Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC): It will help the government respond to situations leading to loss of learning such as school closures/infrastructure damage, inadequate facilities and use technology for facilitating remote learning etc.
      
      1. The CERC component would facilitate:
         
         1. The rapid re-categorization of financing (to provide flexibility in the crisis situation).
         2. The utilization of streamlined financing request procedures (so that delays in financing is eliminated).
  • At the State level:
    
    • The project seeks to improve education outcomes and school-to-work transition strategies for better labour market outcomes in 6 states: Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.

Way Forward

• The STARS programme builds on the long partnership between India and the World Bank for strengthening public school education and to support the country’s goal of providing ‘education for all’.
• STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better prepare for the jobs of the future – through a series of reform initiatives.

Source: PIB