India is a vast country with over 1.2 billion people. Close to 200 million children study in primary and secondary schools. The majority of these children are in rural areas, spread over 600,000 villages. One can imagine the challenges faced in educating these children.

Soon after independence in 1947, The Government of India and subsequently all State Governments took upon themselves the task of providing basic education to all children. It was a mammoth task, time consuming and capital intensive. In addition to lacking sufficient funds for this grand initiative, governments also had other significant priorities like increasing food production, providing irrigation facilities, building infrastructure and protecting the borders.

Despite all these struggles and limitations, the country has achieved significant milestones. Today there is a school within 1 Km distance of most children and almost every child is in school (Enrolment rates have gone up to 93%-95% in most parts of the country).

The government’s flagship program Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has done this miracle. In 10 years, SSA has achieved following:

• Out of School children number has been brought down significantly (8 million in 2009, 3 million in 2012).
• Big boost to additional schools -195,000 Primary and more than