Revised policy formulations
7.4.1 While reiterating the priority for UEE as well as the policy frame outlined by NPE, 1986, the Revised Policy Formulations (RPF) brought about following modifications:
- i) Achieving essential levels of learning has been specifically incorporated as one of the thrust areas in para 5.5; this is a logical consequence of the increasing importance that came to be attached to MLL along with access and retention.
- ii) Scope of Operation Blackboard (OB) was enlarged to provide three reasonably large rooms and three teachers in every primary school; it was also decided to extend OB to the upper primary stage.
iii) It was specifically laid down that at least 50 per cent of the teachers recruited in future should be women.
- iv) Taking a realistic view of the enormous task of achieving UEE in its entirety (access, retention as well as achievement), the RPF envisage that free and compulsory education of satisfactory quality should be provided to all children up to 14 years of age before the commencement of the twenty-first century.
- v) Taking note of the effectiveness of the Mission mode in social sectors, particularly literacy, the RPF envisage launching of a national mission to ensure the achievement of UEE by the year 2000.