Education Ministry, in association with World Bank, brings in STAR Project

NewsBharati    29-Jan-2021 17:09:58 PM
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New Delhi, Jan 29: Ministry of Education Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and the World Bank have signed the Strengthening Teaching-learning And Results for States program (STARS) on Jan 28, 2021. The total project cost of STARS project is Rs 5718 crore with the financial support of World Bank amounting to US $ 500 million and rest coming as State share from the participating States, over a period of 5 years. The project is a financial support agreement.
 
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STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) of the Education Ministry. The Union Cabinet hasd approved the proposal of STARS project on Oct 14, 2020. The project covers 6 states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha. The identified states will be supported for various interventions for improving the quality of education.
 
The program envisions improving the overall monitoring and measurement activities in the Indian school education system through interventions in selected states. STARS will draw on existing structure under Samagra Shiksha with the DoSEL, as the main implementing agency at the national level. At the State level, the project will be implemented through the integrated State Implementation Society (SIS) for Samagra Shiksha.
 
The STARS project will be benefiting approximately 250 million students in the age group of 6 to 17 years, coming from 1.5 million schools. Apart from the students, the project will also benefit 10 million teachers across the six states. The project was launched with the aim of strengthening the public-school education. It also supports India’s aim of 'Education for All'. The STARS Project carry forward the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 that envisages the equitable education for all.
 
The total cost of the STARS project is Rs 5718 crore. The world bank has provided financial support worth $500 million which stands around Rs 3700 crores. This loan has been provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) which is the lending arm of the World Bank. The world bank has provided the final maturity of 17.5 years for the $500 million along with a grace period of 5 years.