Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in Rural Schools of Dindigul District

Education is fundamental for an individual to lead a holistic and successful life. Regrettably, many children especially from rural background lack access to education. In 2001-2002, a flagship program to promote education for rural children in India came into being called Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). SSA provides better facilities to students like infrastructure, proper teaching/ learning materials etc. The study outlined here, was designed to find the impact of SSA in the rural schools surrounding Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India. The study reveals that the rural schools are indeed getting benefits from SSA and the teachers from both government and aided schools alike have a positive attitude towards SSA. The enrollment ratio has improved. But schools do lack effective implementation of SSA program especially in areas like civil works, Activity Based Training, and intervention programs for the differently abled students and ICT training for the students. This study will help the Government to refine its strategies to improve and extend the SSA programs, directing towards Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in rural India.