SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

Introduction

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of Government of India to
attain Universal Elementary Education (UEE), covering the entire country in a mission mode. SSA has been
launched in 2001-2002 in partnership with the State Governments and Local Self Governments. The programme
was pioneered by former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The programme aims to provide useful
and relevant, elementary education to all children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. It is an initiative to
universalize and improve quality of education through decentralized and context specific planning and a process
based, time bound implementation strategy. The programme lays emphasis on bridging all gender and social
category gaps at elementary education level with time bound objectives.

Objectives
The SSA scheme is designed to improve curriculum, educational planning, teacher education, and
management. The main goals of the SSA program are as follows:

 To establish new schools in such habitations with no schooling facilities.

 To arrange for alternative schooling facilities.
 To strengthen the existing school infrastructure by providing additional classrooms, toilets, and drinking
water facilities.
 To give quality elementary education and life skills to the students
 To manage maintenance grants and school improvement grants.
 To provide uniforms and free textbooks to the school children.
 To provide and increase the strength of teachers by appointing additional teachers in schools with a
shortage of teachers.
 To promote girls’ education to bring a change in the status of women.
 To promote the education of children with special needs or differently-abled children.
 To promote equal education opportunity to children of households belonging to SC/ST, landless
agricultural labourers, the Muslim minority, etc.
 To understand the educational requirements of the children of traditionally excluded categories.
 To bridge the digital divide by giving computer education to school children.
 To strengthen and enhance the capacity and skills of the existing school teachers through extensive
training, grants for developing materials for teachers-learning and maintaining academic support
structure at a block, cluster, and district level.

ACKNOWLEDGEMET
This assignment is result of
collective effort of a number of
people who have guided me
on my way. I would like to
convey my heartfelt gratitude to
my Professor, Dr. Bilal
khan sir whose encouragement,
guidance and support from the
initial to the final level
enabled me to develop an
understanding of the subject. I
consider myself very fortunate
for being able to work with a very
considerate and encouraging
teacher like him. The
following assignment is
completed under the inspiring
guidance of all the concerned
people who always gave me
valuable suggestions. Their
tremendous contribution and
support helped me to understand
and remember important details
of the project that I
would have otherwise lost.
This assignment is completed in
a very lucid manner that
contains each and every
important aspect of National
income.
Many friends
Rafid, Sabha
have deepened my knowledge
of the subject through
discussions and criticism.
Mistakes, misconceptions and
misinterpretations, if any, are
entirely of mine.
Lastly, I offer my regards and
blessing to all of those who
supported me in any respect
during the completion of the
assignment.
Thanking You.
ANIS AHMAD
ACKNOWLEDGEMET
This assignment is result of
collective effort of a number of
people who have guided me
on my way. I would like to
convey my heartfelt gratitude to
my Professor, Dr. Bilal
khan sir whose encouragement,
guidance and support from the
initial to the final level
enabled me to develop an
understanding of the subject. I
consider myself very fortunate
for being able to work with a very
considerate and encouraging
teacher like him. The
following assignment is
completed under the inspiring
guidance of all the concerned
people who always gave me
valuable suggestions. Their
tremendous contribution and
support helped me to understand
and remember important details
of the project that I
would have otherwise lost.
This assignment is completed in
a very lucid manner that
contains each and every
important aspect of National
income.
Many friends
Rafid, Sabha
have deepened my knowledge
of the subject through
discussions and criticism.
Mistakes, misconceptions and
misinterpretations, if any, are
entirely of mine.
Lastly, I offer my regards and
blessing to all of those who
supported me in any respect
during the completion of the
assignment.
Thanking You.
ANIS AHMA
ACKNOWLEDGEMET

This assignment is result of collective effort of a number of people who have guided me on my way. I
would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to my Professor, Dr. Bilal khan sir whose
encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an
understanding of the subject. I consider myself very fortunate for being able to work with a very
considerate and encouraging teacher like him. The following assignment is completed under the
inspiring guidance of all the concerned people who always gave me valuable suggestions. Their
tremendous contribution and support helped me to understand and remember important details of
the project that I would have otherwise lost.

This assignment is completed in a very lucid manner that contains each and every important
aspect of National income.

Many friends Rafid, Sabha have deepened my knowledge of the subject through discussions and
criticism.

Mistakes, misconceptions and misinterpretations, if any, are entirely of mine.

Lastly, I offer my regards and blessing to all of those who supported me in any respect during the
completion of the assignment.

Thanking You.

ANIS AHMAD
ABBREVIATIONS

SSA Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan

NPE National Policy on Education
POA Programme of Action
MHRD Ministry of Human Resource Development
UEE Universalisation of Elementary Education
NEF National Formal Education
DPSP Directive Principle of State Policy
VA Voluntary Agency
DPEP District Primary Education Programme

TABLE OF CONTENTS Pg. No

Introduction 5
Historical Background of Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan 6
Aim 8
Study Significance 9
Objectives of the study 11
Coverage of Special Focus Groups 11
Education for Girls, Scheduled Caste and Tribal Children 11
Education for Children with Special Needs 12
Strategies for Out-Of-School Children 12
Quality Issues in Elementary Education: The National Policy 13
Resolve
Teacher Recruitment, Rationalization and Management 13
Useful and Relevant Education and Education for Life 14
Improvement of School Facilities and other Civil Works 14
Limitation of the study 15
Conclusion 16
Bibliography 17

SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

INTRODUCTION:

Children are very important part of our society. Any lacunae in early education of a child can have long
– term consequences, Not to be educated not to be educated. Not to acquire basic literally and
numeracy is a serious disability both for the child and for coming generations. Education is the basic
requirement for success of democracy and progress of a country.

Education is considered as the best equalizer among all emerging inequalities and is universally
acknowledged as one of the key inputs contributing to the process of individual and national
development.

Primary Education is seen as the first step in laying the foundations for future educational
opportunities and life-long skills. Through the skills and knowledge imbued, primary education
enables people to participate in the social, economic and political activities of their communities to
their fullest potential. The education for all movement better known as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan aims to
bridge social gender and region facets of education in the country.

India’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is the world’s most successful school programme. It was launched
in 2001 towards the culmination of Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002) to achieve the goal of
universalisation of elementary education in the country.

It focuses on compulsory education of children in the age group 6-14 years. Education
Guarantee Scheme, and Alternative Innovative Education Scheme for children living in remote
areas or dropouts and those who did not join school in time, is the two components of this scheme.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to improve the performance of the school system and
provide community-owned quality elementary education. It envisages bridging up gender and social
disparities in elementary education. It has special focus on educational needs of girls, SCs and STs,
children with disabilities and disadvantaged children. It is also an effort to universalize elementary
education by community-ownership of the school system. The main features of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
are:

1. A programme with a clear time frame for universal elementary education

2. An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education
3. A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country
4. An expression of political will for universal elementary education across the country
5. An effort for effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management
Committees, Village and Urban Slum-level Education Committees, Parents’ Teachers’ Associations,
Mother Teacher Association, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass-root level structures in
the management of elementary schools
6. An opportunity for states to develop their own vision of elementary education
7. A partnership between the central, state and the local government.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SARVA SH1KSHA ABHIYAN

Universalization of education in India implies ‘Elementary Education for All’ (Classes I to VIII) and not
for a selected few. This concept accepts that education is the birth right of every child. This means that
all children belonging to the rich and the poor, living in towns as well as rural areas and in places,
which are accessible with difficulty, have to be provided with facilities for elementary education. It is
accepted in UN’s Declaration of Human Rights and Children’s Rights. It is universally accepted that the
Universalization of the elementary education is the true index of the general, economic, political
and social development of a country.

Universalization of elementary education means free education. In some of the advanced countries
free education means no fees, free books and stationery, free mid-day meals and free school
transport. But in developing countries like India, it has not been possible to provide all these
facilities free of cost. Of course, education at this stage is free of tuition fees. Other facilities on a
selective basis are also provided. Universalization of primary or elementary education involves
three stages.

1. Universalisation of provision
2. Universalisation of enrolment
3. Universalisation of retention

The Universalisation of elementary education has been one of the most important goals of
educational development in India since independence. It found expression in Article 45 of the Indian
constitution as a Directive Principle of State Policy. It reads under the caption provision for free and
compulsory education for children. “The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten
years from the commencement of the Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of 14 years.” In other words this task should have been
completed by 1960. However this resolve could not be accompanied on account of several problems
such as the rehabilitation of displaced persons after partition and lack of resources. As a result the
target date had to be revised first to 1970, then to 1976 and later on to 1990.

The target date, according to the National Policy on Education, 1986 was 1995. The resolve contained
in the policy reads as: “The new education policy will give the highest priority to solving the problems
of children dropping out of school and will adopt an array of meticulously formulated
strategies based on micro-planning and applied at the grass-root level all over the country to
ensure children’s retention at school. The effort will be fully coordinated with the network of
non-formal education. It shall be ensured that all children who attain the age of about 11
years by 1990 will have had five years of schooling or its equivalent through the non-formal
stream. Likewise by 1995 all children will be provided free and compulsory education up to 14
years of age.” The modified NPE 1992 has further revised the date.

It states “It shall be ensured that free and compulsory education of satisfactory quality is
provided to all children up to 14 years of age before we enter the 21st Century. A National
Mission will be launched for the achievement of this goal. ”

Since the formulation of the National Policy on Education- NPE (1986) and the Programme of Action-
POA (1986), several new schemes for the qualitative as well as quantitative improvement of
primary education and reaching the goal of UEE, have been initiated by the Government of India,
Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) department of education. The Centrally
Sponsored Scheme of Non-Formal Education (NFE) was introduced in 1979-80 on a pilot basis with a
view to support the formal system in providing education to all children up to the age of 14 years
as enunciated In the Directive Principles of the Constitution. In subsequent years, the NFE scheme
was expanded to cover 10 educationally backward states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal.

The national policy on education (NPE), 1986 recognized that the school could not reach all children
and a large and systematic programme of non-formal education would be required for school
dropouts, for children from habitations without schools, working children and girls' who could
not attend whole day schools. Thus NFE became an important component of the overall strategy for
achievement of Universalisation of elementary education (UEE). The NFE scheme was revised in 1987-
88. While the focus continued to be on 10 educationally backward states but it also included
urban, slums, hilly, tribal and desert areas and projects for working children in other states and
Union Territories as well. A major portion of the NFE scheme is run by the State Government,
which set up NFE centres. One component of this scheme provides grants to Voluntary Agencies (VAs)
directly from the Central Govt, for running of NFE centres and third is for projects of experimental
innovative nature by VAs.

District Primary Education Programme launched in 1993 is a national initiative to achieve

Universalisation of elementary education (UEE) through district level intervention. The overall
goal of the programme is the reconstruction of primary education system to operationalize the
strategy of UEE as envisaged in NPE 1986 (as up dated in 1992) in each Programme of Action - POA
1992 through decentralized planning and management, disaggregated target setting, community
mobilization and population specific planning. The fundamental principle of DPEP is to evolve strategy
as state and district level. It goes beyond the conventional packages such as opening of new schools
and appointing new teachers and addresses the issue of content, process, quality and equality in
education. The Programme will also strengthen the capacity of national state and district institutions
and organisations in relation to planning management and evaluation of primary education.

The District Primary Education Programme has left an indelible mark on the primary education
scenario in India—bringing issues of access, equity and quality of education centres stage. The
size of the intervention can be gauged by the fact that 86,850 new schools and 83,500 Alternative
schools have been opened under DPEP. With 1 million teachers and 3 million community members
trained under the programme, DPEP has really been large in its outreach. DPEP emphasised both
opening of new primary schools as per norms, as also EGS like alternative strategies.

AIM

The aim of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide useful and relevant elementary education to all
children in the 6 to 14 years age group by 2010. Another goal is to bridge social, regional and
gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools.

The aim is also to allow children to learn about and master their natural environment in a
manner that allows the fullest harnessing of their human potential, both spiritually and
materially. This quest must also be a process of value-based learning that allows children an
opportunity to work for each other’s well-being rather than to permit mere selfish pursuits. The
objectives of the scheme are:

1. All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, ‘Back-to-School’ camp.
2. All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010.
3. All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007.
4. Universal retention by 2010.
5. Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education
level by 2010.
6. Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life

Study significance

Primary education represents a very critical stage in the whole educational system. The entire edition
of our national innovations is focused on primary education availability and efficiency.
Quality education is the most important thing for better child development and growth. Each child
should be given the opportunity to make themselves a better life. Unfortunately, today, so many
children in the world grow up without this chance, as they are robbed of their basic right to even
attend primary schools. On several aspects of SSA initiatives, including both qualitative and
quantitative dimensions, various studies have been undertaken independently by external agencies as
well as by SSA.

The aspects indicators used for assessment in most of these studies are more quantitative,
such as access to schools, number of teachers in schools, availability of classrooms, toilets,
presence of learning maternal teaching, etc. But measurable aspects that are more subjective in
nature, such as consistency of teaching experiences in the classroom, teacher behaviour, etc. In
most studies, particularly from the end user perspective, they are not adequately discussed.
There is therefore a compelling need to conduct a systematic analysis that discusses both the
qualitative and quantity dimensions of the programs from an end-user perspective in order to
better understand their effectiveness.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented as India’s main programme for universalizing elementary
education. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social
category gaps in education and enhancement of the learning level of children. SSA provides for
a variety of interventions, including inter alia opening of new schools and alternation
classrooms, toilets and drinking water, providing for teachers, periodic teacher training and
academic resource support, textbooks and support for tearing achievement. These provisions
need to be aligned with the legally mandated norms and standards and free entitlements
mandated by the new law that provides a justifiable legal framework entitling all children
between the ages of 6 to 14 years free and compulsory admission, attendance and completion
of elementary education. It provides for children’s right to an education of equitable quality
based on principles of equity and non- discrimination. Most importantly, it provides for children’s
right to an education that is free from fear, stress and anxiety.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of the Indian
government to attain Universal Elementary Education (UEE), covering the entire country in a
mission mode. SSA was launched in 2001 and 2002 in partnership with the state governments and
local self-government. The programme aims to provide useful and relevant elementary education to
all children between the ages of 6 to 14 by 2010. It is an initiative to universalize the quality of
education through deteritralized and context specific planning and a process based time bound
implementation strategy. The programme lays emphasis on bridging all gender and social category
gaps at elementary education level with time bound objectives.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to universalize elementary education by community –
ownership of the school system. It is in response to the demand for quality basic education all over
the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving
human capabilities to all children through provision of community – owned quality education in
a mission mode. SSA is the primary vehicle for delivering the right to education.

Since independence various efforts have been made by the government to provide free and
compulsory education to the children between the ages of 6 to 14 for this purpose, large
numbers of schools were opened by the government. Intensive drives have been made to
enroll the children in schools, but very little attention has been paid to the retention of those children
who are already enrolled in those schools.

Objectives of the study:

1. To analyse the growth and development of primary education under Sarva Shiksha Abiyan
programme.
2. To analyse the Financial allocation for primary education under Sarva Shiksha Abiyan
programme.
3. To analyse the problems of after implementation of SSA programme
4. To give the solution for the problem of Sarva Shiksha Abiyan programme.

Coverage of Special Focus Groups

Education for Girls, Scheduled Caste and Tribal Children

Recent assessments show that girls' participation in schooling has improved significantly during
the last 10-15 years. Education of girls, especially those belonging to the scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes, becomes the primary focus in Sarva Shiksha Abiyan. Efforts are made to
mainstream gender concerns in all the activities under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan recognizes the need for special efforts to bring the out of schoolgirls,
especially from disadvantaged sections, to school. This requires a proper identification of girls who are
out of school in the course of micro planning. It also calls for involving women through participatory
processes in the effective management of schools. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is committed to
making these interventions possible. States have been sensitized on the use of available data for local
level planning for girls' education with community involvement. Field based trainings have been
conducted in Assam, Kerala, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. States have been building
on these skills and are concentrating in certain very deprived pockets. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu have also initiated focused interventions along similar lines.
The educational development of children belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is a
special focus in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Every activity under the project has to identify the benefit
that ensures to children from these communities. Many of the incentive schemes have a sharper
focus on children from these communities. The participation of dalits and tribals in the affairs of
the school is especially encouraged to ensure ownership of the Abhiyan by all social groups,
especially the most disadvantaged.

The interventions for children belonging to SC/ST communities are based on the intensive micro
planning addressing the needs of every child. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan provides flexibility to
local units to develop a context specific intervention. Some interventions like engagement of
community organizers from SC/ST communities with a focus on schooling needs of children
from specific households, special teaching support as per need, ensuring sense of ownership of
school committees by SC/ST communities, training programmes for motivation for schooling,
setting up alternative schooling facilities in un served habitations and for other out of school
children, using community teachers, monitoring attendance and retention of children from weaker
sections regularly, and involving community leaders in school management.

Education for Children with Special Needs

SSA ensures that every child with special needs, irrespective of the kind, category and degree of
disability, is provided education in an appropriate environment. SSA adopts zero projection
policy so that no child is left out of the education system. The thrust of SSA is on providing integrated
and inclusive education to all children with special needs in general schools. It supports a wide
range of approaches, options and strategies for education of children with special needs. This
includes education through open learning system and open schools, non-formal and alternative
schooling, distance education and learning and special schools, wherever necessary.

Strategies for Out-Of-School Children

The Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) scheme
is a part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan framework. The management structure for implementation
of EGS and AIE are incorporated in the management structure of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The new
scheme makes provision for diversified strategies and has flexible financial parameters. It has provided
a range of options, such as EGS, Back to School Camps, Balika Shibiras, etc. There are four broad focus
areas in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan like, 1) full time community schools for small un served
habitations, 2) mainstreaming of children through bridge courses of different duration,3)
specific strategies for special groups like child labour, street children, adolescent girls, girls
belonging to certain backward communities, children of migrating families, etc. and 4)
innovative programmes - the innovations can be in the areas of pedagogic practices, curriculum,
programme management, textbooks and Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs), etc.

All habitations not having a primary school within one kilometer and having a minimum of school age
children are entitled to have an EGS type school. Children who have dropped out of school have an
opportunity to avail of bridge courses, aimed at their mainstreaming. The objective is to see the EGS
and AIE as integral to the quest of UEE.

Quality Issues in Elementary Education: The National Policy Resolve

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan makes efforts to take a holistic and comprehensive approach to the issue of
quality. Efforts to decentralize the whole process of curriculum development down (grass root level)
to the district level are made. Reducing the load of non-comprehension by facilitating child centered
and activity based learning is attempted. Learning by doing, learning by observation, work
experience, art, music, sports and value education is made fully integral to the learning process.
Appropriate changes made in the evaluation system to make it more continuous and less
threatening. Performance of children is constantly monitored in consultation with parents.
Teacher's role in preparation of textbooks and secondary learning materials are enhanced. School
timings are made contextual.

Teacher Recruitment, Rationalization and Management

States have their own norms for recruitment of teachers and a lot of diversity exists in
payments being made to new recruits. In many cases the appointing authority is the local
Panchayats. The states are free to follow their own norms as long as these are consistent with the
norms established by National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE). There is no compromise on
standards even though payments of less than the state pay scale as an interim measure may be
adopted in states with large scale vacancies. The programme provides for primary and upper
primary school teachers to ensure that there are no single teacher schools.

Overall, the effort is to provide at least 1: 40 teacher pupil ratio. Qualifications of upper
primary teachers are as per state specific norms and the number of upper primary schools is broadly
as per the national policy norm. The practice of at least 50 percent of women teachers is strictly
followed. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan encourages decentralized management of teacher cadres. The local
government recruits and the community have a say in the selection process. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
improved the accountability of the teacher vis-a-vis local community without diluting the
standards for selection of teachers, as laid down from time to time by the NCTE.

Useful and Relevant Education and Education for Life

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan encourages states to focus on total development of children, giving
encouragement to sports, cultural activities, project work involving interaction with social and
natural surroundings, activity based learning, exposure to life skills with regard to health, nutrition,
professions, etc. Such a focus is looking upon a school as a social institution that is the hub of
community activities.

Improvement of School Facilities and other Civil Works

Community participation is the only means of undertaking any civil works in the improvement
of school facilities. Experiments in community participation under Lok Jumbish and under DPEP
in many states had been very encouraging and such experiments are further carried out. The Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan is first of all tried to mobilize resources under Rural Employment Programme (REP)
and other developmental schemes for constructing school buildings. The community is to come
forward to maintain school facilities if any investment is proposed in a village. An annual support to
the community for repair and maintenance is envisaged under the SSA.

With the elementary education becoming an obligation of the state (including the local
government), the panchayats are directed to prioritize construction of school facilities where it does
not exist. The participation of the community in all civil work activities is mandatory in order to
ensure a sense of ownership and a departure from contractor driven approaches. School
Management Committees/ Village Education Committees/ Gram Panchayat Committee on
Education have to carry out the civil works activities through a transparent system of account
keeping. The DPEP and Lok Jumbish Project had developed effective community based
approaches for civil works. As per the policy framework these are mandatory in all Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan districts.

The principle of social audit could be accepted for minor repairs. The School Management
Committee/ Village Education Committee could certify the maintenance and repair work
undertaken in a school. For larger repair and maintenance as well as new construction,
technical provisions are followed. New building designs developed in Lok Jumbish and DPEP
are adapted to promote child centered learning. Use of local materials and cost effective
technologies is encouraged. A civil works innovation fund is set up in each state/UT to encourage
experimentation with design. Repair and maintenance of buildings is given the top most priority in the
policy framework.

It is seen from the above discussion that one of the thrust areas of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is the
empowerment of community and enhancing the community participation in school related activities
to achieve Universalisation of Elementary Education in all the social groups including Scheduled
Tribes in India. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan completed the first phase of its implementation by 2007. With
this background, the researcher made an attempt to find out its impact on community participation
in primary education in the rural areas in the East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. The
responses of community participation in school related activities are presented in the paper4.

Limitation of the study:

The limitation of the study is a necessary point of research. Because it saves to wastage of time,
money, labour and over sources research. Therefore, adopted limitation process of the study is given
below.

The study will be concentrate only on education through SSA programme. The sample selection
had only 30 students. The study will be completed from only students of 10 primary school in Avathi
and Vastare Hobli. The study will be conducted related to only social secator economy.

CONCLUSION:

The Present study reveals that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme aims to ensure
elementary education for all including five years of primary education and eight years of
schooling for all children. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan focuses on community ownership and the village
education plans proposed in construction with Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The central focus in
the implementation of the programme is community ownership and their participation in school
related activities to bring more relevance in the field of primary education.

Therefore, the policy framework strongly suggested for greater involvement of community in all the
areas of programme implementation. Under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan community participation
is an important component at village level that the community has to be involved in education
planning and mobilization process at the school level. To achieve its objective of UEE, the
programme calls for public -private partnership. The programme has given importance to the
involvement of NGOs in the area of community mobilization. This programme has also allocated huge
funds for constructing school buildings and improvement of school facilities.

It is also observed that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan framework ensured that the community has
the prime responsibility in the finance related decision-making at the school level. On the whole, the
discussion in this chapter reveals that community ownership and their participation is an
important aspect to achieve universalization of primary education. The next chapters deal with
the profile of the study area, implementation of the programme in the study area, the socio-
economic background of the respondents and their awareness and perception as to Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan programme details to analyze the ground realities in the implementation of the programme.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Available at: https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/115320/10/10_chapter%201.pdf

(last visited on April, 17 2020).

2. Available at:http://www.shareyouressays.com/essays/1442-words-essay-on-sarva-shiksha-abhiyan-
ssa/2918 (last visited on April 17 2020).

3. Prof. G. Rita Goretti Lourdes and Dr. K.A. Sheela, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) (Neelkamal; First
edition, 2016).

4. Available at: http://ignited.in/a/58347 (last visited on April 17 2020).

What Is Cost-Benefit Analysis, How Is it Used, What Are its Pros and Cons?

What Is a Cost-Benefit Analysis?

A cost-benefit analysis is a systematic process that businesses use to analyze which decisions to make
and which to forgo. The cost-benefit analyst sums the potential rewards expected from a situation or
action and then subtracts the total costs associated with taking that action. Some consultants
or analysts also build models to assign a dollar value on intangible items, such as the benefits and
costs associated with living in a certain town.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
 A cost-benefit analysis is the process used to measure the benefits of a decision or taking
action minus the costs associated with taking that action.
 A cost-benefit analysis involves measurable financial metrics such as revenue earned or costs
saved as a result of the decision to pursue a project.
 A cost-benefit analysis can also include intangible benefits and costs or effects from a decision
such as employees morale and customer satisfaction.
  More complex cost-benefit analysis may incorporate sensitivity analysis, discounting of
cashflows, and what-if scenario analysis for multiple options.
 All else being equal, an analysis that results in more benefits than costs will generally be a
favorable project for the company to undertake.

Understanding Cost-Benefit Analysis

Before building a new plant or taking on a new project, prudent managers conduct a cost-benefit
analysis to evaluate all the potential costs and revenues that a company might generate from the
project. The outcome of the analysis will determine whether the project is financially feasible or if the
company should pursue another project.
In many models, a cost-benefit analysis will also factor the opportunity cost into the decision-making
process. Opportunity costs are alternative benefits that could have been realized when choosing one
alternative over another. In other words, the opportunity cost is the forgone or missed opportunity as
a result of a choice or decision.

Factoring in opportunity costs allows project managers to weigh the benefits from alternative courses
of action and not merely the current path or choice being considered in the cost-benefit analysis. By
considering all options and the potential missed opportunities, the cost-benefit analysis is more
thorough and allows for better decision-making.

Finally, the results of the aggregate costs and benefits should be compared quantitatively to
determine if the benefits outweigh the costs. If so, then the rational decision is to go forward with the
project. If not, the business should review the project to see if it can make adjustments to either
increase benefits or decrease costs to make the project viable. Otherwise, the company should likely
avoid the project.

The Cost-Benefit Analysis Process

There is no single universally accepted method of performing a cost-benefit analysis. However, every
process usually has some variation of the following five steps.

Identify Project Scope

The first step of a cost-benefit analysis is to understand your situation, identify your goals, and create
a framework to mold your scope. The project scope is kicked off by identifying the purpose of the
cost-benefit analysis. An example of a cost-benefit analysis purpose could be "to determine whether
to expand to increase market share" or "to decide whether to renovate a company's website".

This initial stage is where the project planning takes place, including the timeline, resources needed,
constraints, personnel required, or evaluation techniques. It is at this point that a company should
assess whether it is equipped to perform the analysis. For example, a company may realize it does not
have the technical staff required to perform an adequate analysis.

During the project scope development phase, key stakeholders should be identified, notified, and
given a chance to provide their input along the process. It may be wise to include those most
impacted by the outcome of the analysis depending on the findings (i.e. if the outcome is to renovate
a company's website, IT may be required to hire multiple additional staff and should be consulted).

Determine the Costs

With the framework behind us, it's time to start looking at numbers. The second step of a cost-benefit
analysis is to determine the project costs. Costs may include the following.
 Direct costs would be direct labor involved in manufacturing, inventory,  raw materials,
manufacturing expenses.
 Indirect costs might include electricity, overhead costs from management, rent, utilities.
 Intangible costs of a decision, such as the impact on customers, employees, or delivery times.
 Opportunity costs such as alternative investments, or buying a plant versus building one.
 Cost of potential risks such as regulatory risks, competition, and environmental impacts.

When determining costs, it's important to consider whether the expenses are reoccurring or a one-
time cost. It's also important to evaluate whether costs are variable or fixed; if they are fixed, consider
what step costs and relevant range will impact those costs.

Determine the Benefits

Every project will have different underlying principles; benefits might include the following:
 Higher revenue and sales from increased production or new product.
 Intangible benefits, such as improved employee safety and morale, as well as customer
satisfaction due to enhanced product offerings or faster delivery.
 Competitive advantage or market share gained as a result of the decision.

An analyst or project manager should apply a monetary measurement to all of the items on the cost-
benefit list, taking special care not to underestimate costs or overestimate benefits. A conservative
approach with a conscious effort to avoid any subjective tendencies when calculating estimates is best
suited when assigning a value to both costs and benefits for a cost-benefit analysis.

Analysts should also be aware of the challenges in determining both explicit and implicit benefits.
Explicit benefits require future assumptions about market conditions, sales quantities, customer
demands, and product expectations. Implicit costs, on the other hand, may be difficult to calculate as
there may be no simple formula. For example, consider the example above about increasing
employee satisfaction; there is no formula to calculate the financial impact of happier workers.

Compute Analysis Calculations

With the cost and benefit figures in hand, it's time to perform the analysis. Depending on the
timeframe of the project, this may be as simple as subtracting one from another; if the benefits are
higher than the cost, the project has a net benefit to the company.

Some cost-benefit analysis requires more in-depth critiquing. This may include:
 Applying discount rates to determine the net present value of cashflows.
 Utilizing various discount rates depending on various situations.
 Calculating cost-benefit analysis for multiple options. Each option may have a different cost
and different benefit.
 Level-setting different options by calculating the cost-benefit ratio.
 Performing sensitivity analysis to understand how slight changes in estimates may impact
outcomes.

Make Recommendation and Implement

The analyst that performs the cost-benefit analysis must often then synthesize findings to present to
management. This includes concisely summarizes the costs, benefits, net impact, and how the finding
ultimately support the original purpose of the analysis.

Broadly speaking, if a cost-benefit analysis is positive, the project has more benefits than costs. A
company must be mindful of limited resources that might result in mutually-exclusive decisions. For
example, a company may have a limited amount of capital to invest; although a cost-benefit analysis
of an upgrade to its warehouse, website, and equipment are all positive, the company may not have
enough money for all three.

Advantages of Cost-Benefit Analysis

There's plenty of reasons to perform cost-benefit analysis. The technique relies on data-driven
decision-making; any outcome that is recommended relies on quantifiable information that has been
gathered specific to a single problem.

A cost-benefit analysis requires substantial research across all types of costs. This means considering
unpredictable costs and understanding expense types and characteristics. This level of analysis only
 strengthens the findings as more research is performed on the state of outcome for the project that
provides better support for strategic planning endeavors.

A cost-benefit analysis also requires quantifying non-financial metrics (i.e. what is the financial benefit
of increased employee satisfaction?). Although this may be difficult to assess, it forces the analyst to
consider aspects of the project that are more difficult to measure. The ultimate result of a cost-
benefit analysis is to deliver a simple report that makes it easier to make decisions.

Limitations of the Cost-Benefit Analysis

For projects that involve small- to mid-level capital expenditures and are short to intermediate in
terms of time to completion, an in-depth cost-benefit analysis may be sufficient enough to make a
well-informed, rational decision. For very large projects with a long-term time horizon, a cost-benefit
analysis might fail to account for important financial concerns such as inflation, interest rates, varying
cash flows, and the present value of money.

One of the benefits of using the net present value for deciding on a project is that it uses an
alternative rate of return that could be earned if the project had never been done. That return is
discounted from the results. In other words, the project needs to earn at least more than the rate of
return that could be earned elsewhere or the discount rate.

However, with any type of model used in performing a cost-benefit analysis, there are a significant
amount of forecasts built into the models. The forecasts used in any cost-benefit analysis might
include future revenue or sales, alternative rates of return, expected costs, and expected future cash
flows. If one or two of the forecasts are off, the cost-benefit analysis results would likely be thrown
into question, thus highlighting the limitations in performing a cost-benefit analysis.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Pros
 Requires data-driven analysis
 Limits analysis to only the purpose determined in the initial step of the process
 Results in deeper, potentially more reliable findings
 Delivers insights to financial and non-financial outcomes
Cons
 May be unnecessary for smaller projects
 Requires capital and resources to gather data and make analysis
 Relies heavily on forecasted figures; if any single critical forecast is off, estimated findings will likely be
wrong.
What Are the 5 Steps of Cost-Benefit Analysis?
The broad process for a cost-benefit analysis is to set the analysis plan, determine your costs,
determine your benefits, perform analysis of both costs and benefits, and to make a final
recommendation. These steps may vary from one process to another.
What Is the Main Goal of Using a Cost-Benefit Analysis?
The main goal of cost-benefit analysis is to determine whether it is worth undertaking a project or
task. This decision is made by gathering information on the costs and benefits of that project.
Management leverages the findings of a cost-benefit analysis to support whether there are more
benefits to a project or if it is more detrimental to a company.
How Do You Weigh Costs vs. Benefits?
Cost-benefit analysis is a systematic method for quantifying and then comparing the total costs to the
total expected rewards of undertaking a project or making an investment. If the benefits greatly
outweigh the costs, the decision should go ahead; otherwise, it should probably not. Cost-benefit
analysis will also include the opportunity costs of missed or skipped projects.
What Are Some Tools or Methods Used in Cost-Benefit Analysis?
Depending on the specific investment or project being evaluated, one may need to discount the time
value of cash flows using net present value calculations. A benefit-cost ratio (BCR) may also be
computed to summarize the overall relationship between the relative costs and benefits of a
proposed project. Other tools may include regression modeling, valuation, and forecasting
techniques.
What Are the Costs and Benefits of Doing a Cost-Benefit Analysis?
The process of doing a cost-benefit analysis itself has its own inherent costs and benefits. The costs
involve the time needed to carefully understand and estimate all of the potential rewards and costs.
This may also involve money paid to an analyst or consultant to carry out the work. One other
potential downside is that various estimates and forecasts are required to build the cost-benefit
analysis, and these assumptions may prove to be wrong or even biased.
The benefits of a cost-benefit analysis, if done correctly and with accurate assumptions, are to provide
a good guide for decision-making that can be standardized and quantified. If the cost-benefit analysis
of doing a cost-benefit analysis is positive, you should do it!
The Bottom Line
Some complex problems require deeper analysis, and a company can use cost-benefit analysis when it
isn't abundantly clear whether or not to pursue an undertaking. By determining the expenses and
identifying what will be favorable, a company can simplify the decision-making process by
synthesizing a cost-benefit analysis.
Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR): Definition, Formula,
and Example
What Is the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BRC)?
The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is a ratio used in a cost-benefit analysis to summarize
the overall relationship between the relative costs and benefits of a proposed
project. BCR can be expressed in monetary or qualitative terms. If a project has a
BCR greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a positive net present value
to a firm and its investors.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is an indicator showing the relationship between

the relative costs and benefits of a proposed project, expressed in monetary
or qualitative terms.
 If a project has a BCR greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a
positive net present value to a firm and its investors.
 If a project's BCR is less than 1.0, the project's costs outweigh the benefits,
and it should not be considered.
How the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) Works
Benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) are most often used in capital budgeting to analyze the
overall value for money of undertaking a new project. However, the cost-benefit
analyses for large projects can be hard to get right, because there are so many
assumptions and uncertainties that are hard to quantify. This is why there is usually
a wide range of potential BCR outcomes.

The BCR also does not provide any sense of how much economic value will be
created, and so the BCR is usually used to get a rough idea about the viability of a
project and how much the internal rate of return (IRR) exceeds the discount rate,
which is the company’s weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) – the opportunity
cost of that capital.

The BCR is calculated by dividing the proposed total cash benefit of a project by
the proposed total cash cost of the project. Prior to dividing the numbers, the net
present value of the respective cash flows over the proposed lifetime of the project
– taking into account the terminal values, including salvage/remediation costs – are
calculated.

What Does the BCR Tell You?

If a project has a BCR that is greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a
positive net present value (NPV) and will have an internal rate of return (IRR) above
the discount rate used in the DCF calculations. This suggests that the NPV of the
project’s cash flows outweighs the NPV of the costs, and the project should be
considered.

If the BCR is equal to 1.0, the ratio indicates that the NPV of expected profits
equals the costs. If a project's BCR is less than 1.0, the project's costs outweigh the
benefits, and it should not be considered.

Example of How to Use the BCR

As an example, assume company ABC wishes to assess the profitability of a
project that involves renovating an apartment building over the next year. The
company decides to lease the equipment needed for the project for $50,000 rather
than purchasing it. The inflation rate is 2%, and the renovations are expected to
increase the company's annual profit by $100,000 for the next three years.

The NPV of the total cost of the lease does not need to be discounted, because the
initial cost of $50,000 is paid up front. The NPV of the projected benefits is
$288,388, or ($100,000 / (1 + 0.02)^1) + ($100,000 / (1 + 0.02)^2) + ($100,00 / (1 +
0.02)^3). Consequently, the BCR is 5.77, or $288,388 divided by $50,000.

In this example, our company has a BCR of 5.77, which indicates that the project's
estimated benefits significantly outweigh its costs. Moreover, company ABC could
expect $5.77 in benefits for each $1 of costs.

Limitations of the BCR

The primary limitation of the BCR is that it reduces a project to a simple number
when the success or failure of an investment or expansion relies on many factors
and can be undermined by unforeseen events. Simply following a rule that above
1.0 means success and below 1.0 spells failure is misleading and can provide a
false sense of comfort with a project. The BCR must be used as a tool in
conjunction with other types of analysis to make a well-informed decision.

What Is the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BRC) Used for?

The BRC is used in cost-benefit analysis to describe the connection between the
costs and benefits of a potential project.

How Do You Calculate the Benefit-Cost-Ratio?

The Benefit-Cost-Ratio is determined by dividing the proposed total cash benefit of
a project by the proposed total cash cost of the project.

What Does a Benefit-Cost-Ratio Over 1.0 Suggest?

A reading over 1.0 suggests that on a broad level, a project should be financially
successful; a reading of 1.0 suggests that the benefits equal the costs; and a
reading below 1.0 suggests that the costs trump the benefits.