This is especially worrying in light of poor learning quality in Indian schools. The annual status of the Education Report (ASER) 2022 suggests that, despite almost universal enrollment, 4 out of 5 children in Grade 3 cannot read grade 2-level lessons and 3 out of 4 simple two-in-laws Can Even in grade 8, about one-third of children lack these basic abilities, indicating that schooling is not leading to learning.
Recent child safety incidents in schools have exposed deep cracks in our educational infrastructure. From insufficient building construction safety protocols to cases of bullying and misuse, schools are also failing to provide basic security for our children. The crisis is beyond the consequences of learning. How can we expect students to flourish academically when we risk our physical and emotional welfare? The stubborn firmness of learning poverty and basic security failures indicates on deep systemic issues – those issues that cannot be solved with pieces -tukade reforms or token gestures.
The safety of our children in educational performance and educational institutions is paramount. NEP recognizes these systemic challenges and recommends rebuilding its governance structure. Currently, schools are mainly regulated on their infrastructure and finance, almost no attention is paid to the quality of the learning provided by them. The NEP State School recommends the establishment of an independent regulatory body called Standards Authority (SSSA), which will create systemic accountability for children’s learning consequences.
SSSA will need to follow minimal quality standards of quality, making the infrastructure standards rational. It will also measure the results of students learning in all schools from time to time and transparently promote information about school quality. Since parents will be empowered with a deep understanding of school quality, they will create a better-informed option and will increase healthy competition between schools to maintain naturally. If fully implemented, this improvement can give rise to a virtuous cycle where high -performance schools are rewarded and recognized while low performing schools are given target assistance.
The installation of SSSA will actually kill two birds with a stone, as it will also solve an important conflict of interests. Currently, the same education department (DOE) that operates government schools also controls all schools, that is, it controls its own contestants. It is like a sports match where the referee is a member of the teams! Unexpectedly, it has created an uneven sports ground where private and public schools are placed on very different standards.
Private schools are not only forced to be recognized by DOE in a process that are often long and tortured, also conducted for strict land and infrastructure norms compared to their public counterparts. As a result, despite almost no regulation on the quality of education, the entry and operation of private schools are severely interrupted, and investment in the region is stopped. Transferring the DOE governance to independent SSSA will not only strengthen the private school sector, but it will also free DOE resources to focus on its main role of public schools, thus ultimately all schools The quality of education will improve -your children.
Many states and Center have taken regressive steps to set up SSSA, based on various interpretations of NEP recommendations. The central government has informed CBSE as SSSA for central schools. Similarly, many states have also informed the State Examination Board. Sikkim and Punjab have nominated the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), SSSA for educational matters, SSSA.
These tasks run counter for NEP recommendations. If the decision of a regulator is affected by external factors, such as political pressure, industry interests or government, it can potentially give rise to biased rules that do not serve public interest. SSSA should be an autonomous body that specializes only in regulation.
Many important questions should be considered before proceeding with the installation of SSSA. For more than a decade as an worker working on child safety issues-and as a lawyer, who has already seen how poor governance can derail policies with well-intentions. Can not stress enough on how important it is to get this right. To properly mold the SSSA from the executive effect, it should be established as a statutory body through a legislative act with clearly defined powers and responsibilities, including the power to regulate schools run by the government Is.
Its composition and the selection process of its members and the terms of service should be clearly defined by the legislature. To ensure a balanced and objective decision-making process, its members should represent all major stakeholders, teachers, parents, and child safety experts-and its decisions must be transparent and subject to public investigation. Even after SSSA is established, it will be necessary to be cautious and carefully examine all policy decisions.
We cannot provide another missed opportunity like the Right to the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act of 2009, which determines ambitious goals but failed to follow with implementation and accountability. Fifteen years later, many schools still do not meet RTE standards. SSSA should be careful to establish criteria that are ambitious yet are practical. Its budget and expenditure scheme should also be made public annually to ensure financial transparency.
India is the home of 18% of the world’s children, and we should not fail them. The NEP has given a correct recognition to a governance challenge that is having our education system and withdrawing the student. Its recommended solution, SSSA, has the ability to create a system capable of improving our schools and providing quality education to every child. These recommendations should be converted into reality. The time to act is now.
– Writer, Suresh Kumar, is an executive director in Center Direct, a major NGO working for the empowerment of women, youth and children. Thoughts are personal.
(Tagstotransite) National Education Policy (T) NEP (T) Quality Education (T) State School Standards Authority (T) SSSA (T) Children’s Safety
