This scheme was launched in March, 2009 to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10. It envisions an enrolment rate of 75% from 52.26% in 2005-06 at secondary stage of implementation of the scheme and focuses on providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation. The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e., by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and achieving universal retention by 2020. Some important equity interventions provided in the scheme are: more female teachers in schools and separate toilet blocks for girls.