STATE COMPONENT UNDER SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN  

SSA provides for support at State level from the 6% management cost as also the funds for Research, Evaluation, Supervision and monitoring at State level. The cost of State level orientation and training programmes can be built into the District Plans at the State level. This does not imply that there will not be a state component. The State Component has to be integrated with the needs of the district. Support to SCERT over and above the support under the Teacher Education Scheme can come from the State component under the SSA. The objective of the State component is to facilitate programme implementation and provide support for capacity development at all levels.  

Effective monitoring would also require a system of intensive review and planning mechanism at the State level. The State level team will constantly undertake field visits to ascertain the quality of programme implementation. Information systems to monitor progress with regard to SSA objectives, effective structures for financial management and audit, support to districts for capacity development, are some areas that require continuous partnership with the State level team.

The management structure under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan at all levels has to be accountable to the State specific arrangements for decentralised management of education. This would require full transparency in all activities. Since the effort is to strengthen the mainstream structures, SSA would involve investment for human resource development among the education department functionaries. Exposure visits, orientation programmes for capacity enhancement, working with Non Governmental Organizations, developing partnerships with elected representatives for universal elementary education, focus on special educational needs of focus groups, capacity for implementation of quality related interventions, will be integral to the management structure. Partnerships like the Total Literacy Campaign management structures within the overall Panchayati Raj/ Tribal Autonomous Council set-up will be required to build an effective management system.    

The State level team also has to encourage diversity across districts and document good practices so that they could be adopted in other regions.  

Management of Accounts and Audit has also to be an important area requiring attention at all levels. Proper maintenance of books of accounts at all levels, generation of financial progress reports, utilization certificates, financial and social audit of interventions, transparency about findings, systems of continuous improvement will have to be developed to sustain effective programme implementation.  

 ILLUSTRATIVE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AT STATE, DISTRICT AND SUB-DISTRICT LEVELS 

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan allows States/ UTs to have their own management structures, respecting the diversity that exists in these structures across the States. This, however, does not mean that decentralization will not be monitored. In fact, the effort is to empower schools to take their own decisions, within the overall management context of a state/UT.

The States have to set up the State level Implementation Society. In DPEP states, it is likely that the existing DPEP Society will be suitably modified to meet the needs of UEE. In other States/UTs either new Societies are being set up or existing Societies like the State Level Mission Authorities for literacy are being suitably modified. The linkage with the mainstream educational administration set up has been emphasised.

The State level Implementation Societies have to have effective monitoring and operational support units. Creation of an effective EMIS unit, a team of experts to provide support in specific functional areas, regular monitoring, supervision and appraisal activities, etc. will have to be organised at the State level Implementation Society. These structures could come up from the 6 percent management costs available under SSA. While doing so, States have to ensure that the educational mainstream has to be totally involved in programme activities. This however, does not, rule out the requirement for specific strengthening of the machinery by infusion of experts.

Each State would like to re–organize the State level setup in the mission mode. Like the National Mission, the State level Mission will have to carry out a large number of monitoring and operational support tasks. In the DPEP states, such support may be provided by the existing State level set up. State level Programme Support Unit will have to be established in non-DPEP States. This office, suitably strengthened, will have the added responsibility of implementing Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

District and Sub district units will similarly be set up by the State. As mentioned in the section on community planning process, creation of a district, Block and Cluster level teams comprising of governmental and non governmental persons would go a long way in establishing effective structures. The selection of the core team has to be very careful, as that would determine the quality of programme implementation. Setting up of EMIS team has to be done on priority in order to put in place an effective MIS. The infusion of additional contractual staff will only be after an assessment of the existing staff strength. Effort will be made to involve representatives of Non Governmental Organizations with proven excellence while constituting teams for programme implementation at various levels.