Cabinet approves Rs 5,718 crore World Bank-aided STARS project to boost school education system
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New Delhi, Oct 15: To support states in strengthening the school education system, the Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs. 5,718 crore World Bank-supported Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project. The project seeks to support states in developing, implementing, evaluating, and improving interventions with direct linkages to improved education outcomes.
The government has started implementing the new National Education Policy (NEP) and as part of the process it has approved the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told a press conference. He said, "India has started seriously implementing the new National Education Policy and therefore a new program — STARS — been cleared today by the cabinet as the base of the policy is not rote learning but learning with understanding."
The STARS project, which was approved by the Cabinet today, strengthens our efforts to transform the education sector and improve the quality of learning. https://t.co/HaJJVI72t5
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 14, 2020
"Implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project with a total project cost of Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of the World Bank amounting to the US $ 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crore). STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. Setting up and support to the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH as an independent and autonomous institution under the Department of School Education and Literacy, MOE," the Ministry said in a statement.
The project covers 6 States namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Odisha. The identified States will be supported by tor various interventions for improving the quality of education. Besides this project, it is also envisaged to implement a similar ADB-funded project in 5 states namely Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Assam. All states will partner with one other state for sharing their experiences and best practices.
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 the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Quality-Based Learning Outcomes. The project shifts focus from the provision of inputs and maintaining outputs to actual outcomes by linking the receipt and disbursement of funds to these outcomes.