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Voucher schemes in India

DELHI

SCHOOL CHOICE CAMPAIGN PILOT PROJECTS

• School Vouchers for Girls

• Delhi Voucher Project

Progressive state governments have started adopting School Choice idea to devise innovative solutions to specific problem in their states. Various pilot projects have been designed to empower the poor and improve the education system in these states in both quality and infrastructure.

UTTARAKHAND

PAHAL – An Innovative PPP (private public partnership) initiative has been providing education vouchers to children (6-14 yrs) of rag pickers, scavengers, snake charmers, orphans, etc. from the slums of urban deprived areas of the State. The eligibility criteria for selection are that the child should never have enrolled or has been a drop-out for at least a year and that there is no government school/EGS centre (Education Guarantee Scheme) within a kilometer of the habitation.

RAJASTHAN

The government of Rajasthan has announced two schemes that use school vouchers- Gyanodaya for classes 6-12 and Shikshak ka Apna Vidyalaya for classes 1-5.

Gyanodaya Yojana: 'The Government of Rajasthan has launched the Gyanodaya Yojana in 2010 for setting up public-private partnership schools in the state. Under the scheme private participants will establish and manage fifty senior secondary (class VI to XII) schools on DBFMOT (design, build, finance, manage, operate, transfer) basis. This scheme will be operating in ten districts in the Udaipur and Ajmer divisions of Rajasthan. The Government will provide support to the private participants to acquire land and capital. The revenue for the private participant will be from a combination of school fees and vouchers which will be reimbursed by the Government. The voucher amount will be based on current government expenditure in government schools. The Government has invited applications for pre-qualification from interested private parties.

Shikshak Ka Apna Vidyalaya: Under this scheme, particular emphasis has been given to the role of trained unemployed teachers. It aims to enhance the access to and quality of primary schools by letting these teachers adopt government run one-teacher primary schools and open new schools in Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the rural and the backward areas of the state. All children living within a 3 km area can access these schools with government sponsored vouchers. Such students will constitute 50% of the school strength.

School Choice Campaign conducted a one day interactive workshop on 30 July 2008 for the Rajasthan Education Department on Education Vouchers in the context of the Gyanodaya and Shikshak Ka Apna School schemes. SCC will share its research findings with Rajasthan and offer technical expertise in the implementation of these two new schemes.

UTTAR PRADESH

The government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to provide poor children from standard 1 to 8 the opportunity to study in Convent and Montessori schools. Towards this end, preparations are afoot to provide parents in backward areas of the state with an educational voucher that will cover the cost of their child’s entire schooling like tuition fees, stationary and other related expenses. The private schools will be reimbursed school expenses only if the parents are satisfied with the quality of education their children receive. In the first phase, the project will be implemented only in those areas where the total population is 300 and where there are no primary schools within a kilometre.

MADHYA PRADESH

Paraspar - Under this scheme announced in Bhopal, Jabalpur, Indore and Gwalior, the government proposes government sponsorship for students from economically weaker sections living in slums and other poor unauthorized urban areas to attend private schools already functioning in these localities. This scheme stipulates the transfer of Rs. 3000 to private schools in lieu of per student expenses which is required to cover all fees, books uniforms, conveyance and other ancillary expenses.