Schools must be entrusted to society: Pradhan

New Delhi, Jan 9: Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, Friday chaired a day-long consultation meeting with the stakeholders on Samagra Shiksha 3.0, at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi.
The meeting aimed to develop a strategic, consultative, and implementable roadmap for Samagra Shiksha 3.0 through collaborative deliberations with States, UTs, and sectoral stakeholders. The discussions focused on emerging challenges, best practices, and priority interventions required to strengthen governance, infrastructure, teacher training, and student entitlements in the next phase of the scheme.
The meeting was attended by Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Education; Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, School Education and Literacy; Dr. Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Higher Education; Additional and Joint Secretaries of the Ministry; State Education Secretaries and State Project Directors (SPDs) of Samagra Shiksha from 11 States and Union Territories; representatives from various Ministries and eminent experts from the education sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has outlined a vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, which can be realised only when every child in India has access to quality education and the country achieves 100 per cent enrolment up to Class XII. He emphasised that bridging learning gaps, reducing dropouts, improving learning and nutrition outcomes, strengthening teacher capacity, fostering critical skills, and moving the ‘Amrit Peedhi’ beyond the Macaulay mindset are collective responsibilities for building a strong human capital base.
The Union Education Minister added that the collaborative deliberations and pioneering ideas shared at the forum would help chart a clear roadmap for strengthening the school education ecosystem and reimagining Samagra Shiksha to make it outcome-oriented, globally competitive, rooted in Bharatiyata, and responsive to the diverse needs of students. Pradhan stressed that to promote the holistic development of students and expand access to knowledge through the meaningful integration of technology, it is essential to once again entrust schools to society.
Referring to the next phase of Samagra Shiksha, Pradhan said that five years after the implementation of NEP 2020, we are entering a new phase of educational reform aligned with national development goals. He urged all stakeholders to come together to prepare a robust and holistic annual plan for the academic year 2026–27 and take it forward as a nationwide movement, noting that the convergence of ideas will strengthen collective capacity. Pradhan also appreciated the enthusiastic participation and valuable suggestions of academic experts, senior officials from sectoral Ministries and representatives from the 11 participating States and Union Territories.
While addressing, Jayant Chaudhary said that the schemes are most successful when they are prepared through a bottom-up approach, grounded in the realities of schools and States. He further said that Samagra Shiksha 3.0 represents this spirit as the larger, operational expression of the National Education Policy where schools act as agents of change. By embedding skilling, vocational pathways, digital learning and inclusion within a multidisciplinary education framework, Samagra Shiksha moves beyond reform to prepare students for work, life and a rapidly changing economy, he added.
While addressing the gathering, Sanjay Kumar underscored the need to improve learning outcomes,as one of the primary driver of school education, among students, emphasized the importance of age-appropriate learning, and highlighted the need for curriculum equivalence across different state boards. He also stressed the importance of leveraging technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence, by interweaving it into the curriculum and integrating it as a key component of Samagra Shiksha.
A detailed presentation was made by Dheeraj Sahu , Addl. Secretary, School Education & Literacy on the occasion. It highlighted significant progress under Samagra Shiksha and NEP 2020, while outlining a framework and milestones for the coming years. Key focus areas mentioned were access, equity, quality, teacher capacity building, digital education, and outcome-based learning, among others.
Samagra Shiksha is an integrated, centrally sponsored scheme for school education that marks a paradigm shift by adopting a holistic approach to school education, covering the entire continuum from pre-primary to senior secondary level without segmentation. (PIB)