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Needs and Rights of Children

outcomes. It subsumes three schemes: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The scheme
visualizes the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, Notes
secondary to senior secondary levels. The vision of the Scheme is to ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education from pre-school to senior secondary
stage synchronized with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education.
The major objectives of the Scheme are provision of quality education and
enhancing learning outcomes of students; bridging social and gender gaps in
school education; ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education;
ensuring minimum standards in schooling provisions; promoting vocationalisation
of education; support States in the implementation of Right to Education; and
strengthening and up-gradation of SCERTs/State Institutes of Education (SIEs)
and DIETs as a nodal agencies for teacher training.

3.3.2 National Minimum Guidelines for Setting up and Running Crèches
under Maternity Benefit Act, 2017

Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has released National
Minimum Guidelines for setting up and running crèches in 2018 under Maternity
Benefit Act, 2017 mandating that “every establishment having 50 or more
employees shall have the facility of crèche”. These guidelines are meant to
facilitate the employer in establishing and managing crèche facility for their
employees having children mainly from 6 months to 6 years against key
parameters such as location, timings, infrastructure, equipment, health and
nutrition practices, safety and protection, trained human resource, parent’s
engagement and others, to ensure holistic development care of every child at
the crèche.

3.3.3 The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 has increased the duration of paid
maternity leave available for female employees from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. The
act extends the benefit to adopting and commissioning mothers and provides
a woman who adopts a child will be given 12 weeks of paid leave from the
date of adopting the child. The act is applicable to all those women employed
in factories, mines and shops or commercial establishments employing 10 or
more employees. The amended Act has mandated crèche facility for every
establishment employing 50 or more employees. The women employees should
be permitted to visit the creche. The Act has introduced a provision of “work
from home” that can be exercised after the expiry of 26 weeks’ leave period.
Depending upon the nature of work, a woman can avail of this provision on
such terms that are mutually agreed with the employer.

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 37