Rajasthan is the largest state of all others in the Indian Union. With 10% of the landmass of the country and 5% of its population, it presents huge challenges in development and socioeconomic growth.

Rajasthan authored educational models in the past, ushering in the sweeping changes through innovation and public participation. The now internationally acknowledged “Shiksha Karmi Project” and the “Lok Jumbish” project helped generate interest in far flung areas of the State by utilizing local talent and motivating children to attend the schools. The literacy rate doubled up in the state during the last decade, a clear indication of the impact that these measures have had on the population at large. Education in the state received new impetus with the World Bank assisted District Primary Education Projects in 19 Districts.

State wise, Odisha registers the highest percentage of out of school children in India at 6.10 %, followed by Uttarakhand at 5.07% and Rajasthan at 5.02%. The principal challenge confronting education strategies in Rajasthan is education of the girl child, especially among Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. The system of education in Rajasthan needs considerable reform in order to improve the access of marginal groups (women, girl children, dalits, migrants and nomadic people, etc.) to the educational infrastructure that has been put in place.

Govt of Rajasthan ICT and non-ICT initiatives

REI Accomplishments at a Glance

• The REI has significantly contributed to the fulfilment of SSA goals and different facets of educational development in Rajasthan, including widening access, promoting efficiency and enhancing quality.
• Approximately 15,000 schools were impacted through various REI interventions; 30,000 teachers received ICT training.
• The REI reached wider geographical areas in the state and addressed the needs of rural and urban underprivileged children, especially girls and children with special needs.
• 26 MoUs have been signed with various organizations under the ICT and non-ICT streams.
• The District Executive Committee of SSA has been delegated the responsibility of coordinating and monitoring the REI partnerships.
• The REI has developed various partnership themes, estimated costs and guidelines for partnership. This will help the potential partners in engaging with the REI in their areas of interest and expertise

The figure below provides an institutional map of the administrative structure of primary education in Rajasthan that is responsible apart from other echelons of school education, as well as the finance, administration and management of the primary school system. The system of accountability and planning is mostly a top down one, centralised in terms of programmed management, design and implementation. The existing decentralised approach to planning is limited to sub-programmes for which the options, opened to the communities, are limited by the criteria set by state planners.

The State Government realizes that much ground still remains to be covered and that enlisting the support of stake holders including the p rivate sector, civil society and other voluntary organisations in the critical areas of education will yield results that can be effectively demonstrated and that can help inspire similar activities within the traditional education sector.

The present Rajasthan Education Initiative arises from this thinking. Rajasthan has evolved for the REI its own definition of public – private partnership in the field of education, involving not only technological interventions in schools, but also socially relevant initiatives to help in the holistic development of child.

The REI is enjoying a unique position within the education sector. Under the over arching vision of Millennium Development Goals, and the specific thrust of the “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan”, the REI has set an outstanding example of public-private partnership which has brought forward the energy and capacity to transform education and bring about a long term beneficial impact on the development of human resources of the state.

The Govt of Rajasthan did not depend solely on the ICT and non-ICT initiatives to be implemented under the REI banner. Dept of Education, Govt of Rajasthan has launched several programmes covering all 33 districts.

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