Government Schools need urgent fixing

Context: 

The Annual Status of Education Report  2023 confirms unprecedented learning poverty due to Covid. This unsatisfactory learning outcomes in schools, the situation demands an immediate response. 

Need of more Governance & Rejuvenation:

• Going beyond Central/State funding issues, it is time to improve governance in schools. 
• Also, schools must shed their forlorn and dilapidated look, an outcome of the long school closure due to Covid. Example set by Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Mission Kayakalpa’ for making schools attractive and an inviting place once again.
• While a lot has been done to improve the schools on the supply side with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and subsequent efforts, there is a need for rejuvenating and re-imagining learning in schools.

Need to ensure:

• To ensure impactful outcomes of learning in schools, the following needs to be done at the earliest:

1. Firstly, local governments and women’s collectives should be given the responsibility for elementary schools with funds and functionaries. The physical and human infrastructure have to be adequate for learning to happen.
2. Secondly, all teachers and teacher educators should be trained in the use of gadgets and course material that can facilitate learning. 
3. Thirdly, the Mid-Day Meal responsibility must be handed over to the village level self-help group (SHG) of women. 
4. Develop Public libraries: In this system, older children in the village can study and prepare for jobs and admissions to good institutions. Karnataka has done outstanding work on strengthening its public libraries and this has gained for school learning outcomes as well.
5. Fifthly, let toys based learning start from early childhood learning, with support of the Integrated Child Development Services. In any case, the New Education Policy 2022 mandates a continuum from ages 3 to 8 to ensure this important early beginning in life.
6. Sixthly, there should be community campaigns and regular school level interactions with parents. 
7. The Nipun Bharat Mission to ensure oral and written literacy and numeracy, should become a people’s movement like the Total Literacy Campaign.
8. And finally, let the school must be community managed and the State is at best the principal financing agent. Let the private sector adopt schools to make them better.

Conclusion:

Education is a Concurrent subject 1976 onwards, hence let both the  Central and State governments equally share the additional resources needed to rejuvenate the system.                                                                                                                                                                  News Source: businessline