School Education In India

Government has initiated the following steps to make school education qualitative:

• Shagun portal has been launched to create a repository of best practices in school education and to monitor the implementation of SSA;
• Swachh Vidyalaya Campaign for the provisions of separate toilets for girls and boys in every school;
• Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar was instituted from 2016-17 at District, State and national level as a next step to Swachh Vidyalaya initiative;
• Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat was launched in 2014 to ensure that students of classes I & II are able to read with comprehension as well as basic numeracy skills;
• Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan was launched in 2015 to motivate children of the age- group of 6-18 years in study of Science, Mathematics and technology;
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has been amended in February, 2017 to include reference on class-wise, subject-wise Learning Outcomes to ensure that all children acquire appropriate learning level;
• Section23 (2) of the RTE Act has been amended in August, 2017, to extend the period of in-service training for untrained elementary teachers to 31st March, 2019 to ensure all teachers acquire minimum qualifications as laid down by the academic authority;
• E-pathshala webportal and mobile apps (Android, iOS and Windows) have been launched in November 2015 to disseminate e-resources including e-books developed by NCERT, SCERT/ SIEs, State boards etc;
• Shaala Siddhi is a comprehensive instrument for school evaluation leading to school improvement, which was launched in November, 2015;
• Kala Utsav programme has been started to promote arts in education by nurturing and showcasing the artistic talent of school students at the secondary stage;
• An Online Project Monitoring System (PMS), for online management and monitoring of RMSA has been enabled from August 2014,
• Distribution of tablets preloaded with relevant e content in Kendriya Vidyalayas has been started on a pilot basis to connect students and their teachers for effective learning; Also, 93 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) have been started during last 3 years and 62 new Navodaya Vidyalas have been sanctioned.
• Automated Monitoring System at the school level under Mid Day Meal Scheme has been introduced for real time monitoring of the scheme;
• A National Achievement Survey (NAS) based on learning outcomes has been conducted on 13th November, 2017 for classes III, V & VIII with a sample frame upto district level to enable states/UTs to identify gaps. At the secondary level (Class X), NAS was conducted for the first me at national level covering 33 States/UTs. According to the survey, the achievement of girls in class X (Cycle-1) is at par with the boys in all subjects. The second cycle of NAS for class X has been conducted on 5th February, 2018, with a district level sampling frame.

Analysis

• Education is one of the basic needs for human development and to escape from poverty', it is necessary for national development and a prosperous society.
• School education lays the foundation stone in building the personality of a person.
• The importance of school education lies in the fact that the children of today will become adult citizens of tomorrow. The growth and future of our country highly depends upon the quality of the present school education system. But, we notice that the less privileged get sub-standard schools. The teachers teach like drudges and there is little participation. In a good school the chief objective of the authority is to stimulate interest and curiosity in the students. Today in major cases this happens because of high fees.
• In India this disparity is proving to be cancerous for the nation. Merit is never an exclusive possession of the affluent class. Unless opportunities of good education trail down to the grass-root level, the health of the nation will surely suffer.
• It is important to understand that the facilities for education should be equal for all. A large cross-section of dull, unresponsive students that hail from the affluent class makes their way into good schools where highly paid good teachers serve. On the other hand, such good schools are clean beyond the reach of honest earning parents. Thus there is cleavage between quality education and quality students today. Quality Education is the right of every quality student.
• Furthermore, education is important for social and economic impacts in society. Thus, governments and society have a vested interest in ensuring a constant flow of students in education.

By: Vishal