Published Paper Details:

Realizing the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for human well-being and recognizing the role of education in achieving these goals, this research paper examines the role of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in promoting educational equity. RMSA is a Government of India initiative launched in 2009 to enhance access and improve the quality of secondary education. The study evaluates the increase in enrolment among girls, Scheduled Castes (SC), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students at the secondary and higher secondary levels in Punjab during the implementation period of the RMSA. Due to the high validity of U-DISE (Unified District Information System for Education) data, enrolment growth has been estimated using percentage analysis of statistical data derived from this source. The findings of this study indicate that during the RMSA period in Punjab, there was a notable increase in Gross Enrolment Ratios (GERs) and a reduction in transition gaps between secondary and higher secondary levels. Enrolment also rose among gender-based categories and socially disadvantaged groups, including SC and OBC students, at both educational levels. However, the enrolment growth among girls lagged behind that of boys, highlighting persistent gender disparities. Additionally, a significant proportion of students do not transition to higher secondary education after completing secondary schooling, with dropout rates of approximately 25% for boys and 23% for girls. The situation is more severe among Scheduled Caste (SC) students, where the dropout rate reaches nearly 30%. While RMSA played a key role to the achievement of the SDGs by increasing enrolment among disadvantaged groups, it was not entirely successful to sustain gains in the Gross Enrolment Ratio and was not fully effective in ensuring the retention of all students within the education system.