NEW DELHI: The Union Human Resource Development Ministry plans to make universalisation of secondary education (USE) a major 11th Plan initiative to cope with the anticipated surge in demand for further schooling by the turn of the decade as a result of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to universalise elementary education.

With 22 million students estimated to be eligible for secondary education by the turn of the decade— by when the Government hopes to universalise elementary education — the Ministry is working on a blueprint that will ensure enough schools across the country to meet this demand.

Though universalisation of elementary education is still five years away as per the SSA target, the Ministry is working on the premise that it would not be wise to wait for 2010 to draw up a roadmap for USE.

This is also the advice from the Central Advisory Board of Education committee entrusted with the task of drawing up a blueprint for USE.

The committee had suggested that the Government begin making investments towards USE from the stage of the revised estimates for the current fiscal itself.

However, given the huge investment required, the Ministry is working towards having a strategy in place by the 11th Plan beginning 2007.

"Funds are an area of concern, but we are hoping the Planning Commission finds a way out," said an official while maintaining that the Ministry had not yet come to a conclusion on how much would be needed. "A lot of the basic work has to be done by the States. We have to see how many upper primary schools can be upgraded. The inter-State disparities in existing facilities makes the task of preparing an estimate on the financial requirement difficult."

While funds remain an area of concern, officials said the HRD Ministry would pitch hard for the USE in the 11th Plan as there was an acknowledgement at the political level that the time had come for taking proactive measures to provide universal access to secondary education.

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