Pillar: Education & Training
A government secondary or senior secondary school is a state-run school that teaches Classes 9 through 12, preparing students for Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations conducted by the state education board. A "high school" covers Classes 9-10; a "senior secondary" or "higher secondary" school covers Classes 11-12 with streams in Science, Commerce, and Arts/Humanities. Many schools are "composite," covering Classes 1-12 on a single campus, particularly in rural areas. These schools follow the syllabus prescribed by the state board and are the most common institutional presence in any district -- the place where most young people encounter the education system. Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, these schools sit in the Secondary Stage (Grades 9-12) of the 5+3+3+4 curricular structure, with multidisciplinary learning, vocational exposure, and competency-based assessment as stated reform goals.
If you completed school through the government system, this is where your board results, scholarships, and vocational exposure were supposed to happen. If you are guiding someone still in school, this is the institution that shapes what comes next.
- Deliver the state board curriculum for Classes 9-12, including daily lessons, assessments, and board exam coordination - Facilitate scholarship applications through the National Scholarships Portal (NSP) for pre-matric, post-matric, National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS), and Pradhan Mantri Young Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India (PM YASASVI) schemes - Deliver vocational education where approved under Samagra Shiksha — NSQF-aligned trade courses, the mandatory Employability Skills module, and a minimum 80-hour On-the-Job Training (OJT) / internship per job role, arranged during vacations, for Classes 9-12 students (typically one job role across Classes 9-10, a second across Classes 11-12) - Vocational hub-and-spoke arrangement — students from nearby schools (spokes) use the workshop / skill-lab infrastructure of a designated hub school (or, where feasible, an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) / Polytechnic / Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) acting as hub) for NSQF practicals; spoke schools receive a small per-student transport grant for the purpose - Digital and ICT delivery — use of the DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) platform for digital content and teacher training; smart classrooms and ICT labs where sanctioned and operational under Samagra Shiksha's ICT and Digital Initiatives component - NEP-aligned holistic elements (where implemented): vocational internship opportunities with local artisans, industry, ITIs and higher institutions during the school year and holiday periods (NEP Para 4.26 — the formal "10-day bagless period" sits at the Middle Stage, Grades 6-8); field visits to places of historical, cultural or vocational interest; and competency-based external assessment with a joint school-board and…
Portal: udiseplus.gov.in -- search by state, district, school name, or pin code for full school profiles Also: Ask the Block Education Officer (BEO) or District Education Officer (DEO/DIOS) for the complete list of secondary schools in the block
For what this looks like in a particular district, start from the district courses or the English reference guide (Hindi).