The much-vaunted “Gujarat model” might soon make its entry into Maharashtra in the field of education, if Vinod Tawde, its education and sports minister, is in earnest.
At a conference conducted by the Shikshan Vikas Manch last week, the Hindustan Times reported that Tawde said among other things that he would look into how Gujarat is tackling the issue of learning outcomes – whether Gujaan area neglected by the Right to Education Act – and also see what other states are doing with it.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Tawde spoke of how it was important to see to it that the migrant children of those working in sugar factories and brick kilns get educated.
Tawde is attempting to reinterpret the Right to Education Act as it applies to Maharashtra. There is no doubt that there are gaps in the act as it stands today. The act emphasises infrastructural inputs into education, such as having libraries, separate toilets for female students, and a low enough teacher-student ratio to facilitate meaningful classroom interaction. It is, however, not as forceful on the subject of what children might end up learning.
“One of the criticisms of the RTE is that it doesn’t set a very high premium on the learning quality,” said Shailendra Sharma, executive director of the Pratham Delhi Education Initiative. “It sets out the framework as to what constitutes a school and quality of education. Nobody is asking whether it translates into better learning.”
There might be no single model to emulate across the states.
“You have to develop the best practice in the context it has to happen in,” Sharma said. “You have to see what makes more sense in that situation. The better strategy would be to set up teaching systems. You have to gear the system to make sure those goals are attained.”
What is this Gujarat model?
Where Gujarat stands out from many other states is that it acknowledges the importance of learning outcomes in the first place. It is one of 15 states to acknowledge this in its state-specific RTE rules.
The government started Gunotsav, an initiative to assess the quality of learning in all schools in the state, in 2009. In a grand three-day gala of evaluation, high-ranking officials from the chief minister to secretaries visit all schools in the state to assess children on three parameters: reading, writing and mathematics. At the end of the evaluation, the education department publishes each school’s scores along with suggestions for improvement.
“This is a very comprehensive school assessment programme that doesn’t focus only on a school’s learning outcomes, but also on infrastructural gaps, community participation,” said an additional director with the Gujarat education department who asked not to be identified.
The focus of Gunotsav is to improve learning outcomes and work on building a framework of accountability, he said, adding, “If a teacher is getting a job, he should teach. Children should learn. Our focus is on whether students have learned sufficiently or not. We are evolving our approach to this.”
While other states, such as Andhra Pradesh, make payment for economically weaker students under Section 12 of the act conditional on learning outcomes, Gujarat does not.
“The underline is not penalty, but improvement,” said the additional director. “For example, if I am a head teacher of school, if I am in C category and my neighbour is in A, I will be motivated to improve. Other cadres require a carrot-and-stick model. Teachers don’t deserve that kind of parlance. This is something we inform them about and create moral pressure.”
While Gunotsav begins to acknowledge the problem that exists, it does not go far enough as it does not create a framework to enable teachers to improve their teaching methodology.
Not the best model
“If you want to improve learning outcomes, you have to focus on teachers, who are the real changemakers,” said Ambarish Rai, of RTE Forum India, a platform representing several civil society activists working in the field of education. “But both the centre and the state governments have not taken this seriously.”
In Gujarat, for instance, while Gunotsav emphasises the learning of students, it does not have sufficient training centres for teachers.
“Without supporting and motivating teachers and reviving their training system, you can’t improve this, Rai said. “These systems are not good in Gujarat.”
Tamil Nadu, he suggested would be a better place to emulate, as it does emphasise on continuously training teachers.
“The government is looking at the private sector for a solution to the quality of teachers,” he said, referring to President Pranab Mukherjee’s remarks on deepening the involvement of the private sector with education.
Rai pointed out that government-run Kendriya Vidyalayas are among the best educational institutes in the country
“Any qualified person cannot teach,” he said. “Teachers need to know how to make students interested in learning and that is not something you get only from qualifications. That is lacking in the government perspective. There is no vision on how to make good teachers.”
At a conference conducted by the Shikshan Vikas Manch last week, the Hindustan Times reported that Tawde said among other things that he would look into how Gujarat is tackling the issue of learning outcomes – whether Gujaan area neglected by the Right to Education Act – and also see what other states are doing with it.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Tawde spoke of how it was important to see to it that the migrant children of those working in sugar factories and brick kilns get educated.
Tawde is attempting to reinterpret the Right to Education Act as it applies to Maharashtra. There is no doubt that there are gaps in the act as it stands today. The act emphasises infrastructural inputs into education, such as having libraries, separate toilets for female students, and a low enough teacher-student ratio to facilitate meaningful classroom interaction. It is, however, not as forceful on the subject of what children might end up learning.
“One of the criticisms of the RTE is that it doesn’t set a very high premium on the learning quality,” said Shailendra Sharma, executive director of the Pratham Delhi Education Initiative. “It sets out the framework as to what constitutes a school and quality of education. Nobody is asking whether it translates into better learning.”
There might be no single model to emulate across the states.
“You have to develop the best practice in the context it has to happen in,” Sharma said. “You have to see what makes more sense in that situation. The better strategy would be to set up teaching systems. You have to gear the system to make sure those goals are attained.”
What is this Gujarat model?
Where Gujarat stands out from many other states is that it acknowledges the importance of learning outcomes in the first place. It is one of 15 states to acknowledge this in its state-specific RTE rules.
The government started Gunotsav, an initiative to assess the quality of learning in all schools in the state, in 2009. In a grand three-day gala of evaluation, high-ranking officials from the chief minister to secretaries visit all schools in the state to assess children on three parameters: reading, writing and mathematics. At the end of the evaluation, the education department publishes each school’s scores along with suggestions for improvement.
“This is a very comprehensive school assessment programme that doesn’t focus only on a school’s learning outcomes, but also on infrastructural gaps, community participation,” said an additional director with the Gujarat education department who asked not to be identified.
The focus of Gunotsav is to improve learning outcomes and work on building a framework of accountability, he said, adding, “If a teacher is getting a job, he should teach. Children should learn. Our focus is on whether students have learned sufficiently or not. We are evolving our approach to this.”
While other states, such as Andhra Pradesh, make payment for economically weaker students under Section 12 of the act conditional on learning outcomes, Gujarat does not.
“The underline is not penalty, but improvement,” said the additional director. “For example, if I am a head teacher of school, if I am in C category and my neighbour is in A, I will be motivated to improve. Other cadres require a carrot-and-stick model. Teachers don’t deserve that kind of parlance. This is something we inform them about and create moral pressure.”
While Gunotsav begins to acknowledge the problem that exists, it does not go far enough as it does not create a framework to enable teachers to improve their teaching methodology.
Not the best model
“If you want to improve learning outcomes, you have to focus on teachers, who are the real changemakers,” said Ambarish Rai, of RTE Forum India, a platform representing several civil society activists working in the field of education. “But both the centre and the state governments have not taken this seriously.”
In Gujarat, for instance, while Gunotsav emphasises the learning of students, it does not have sufficient training centres for teachers.
“Without supporting and motivating teachers and reviving their training system, you can’t improve this, Rai said. “These systems are not good in Gujarat.”
Tamil Nadu, he suggested would be a better place to emulate, as it does emphasise on continuously training teachers.
“The government is looking at the private sector for a solution to the quality of teachers,” he said, referring to President Pranab Mukherjee’s remarks on deepening the involvement of the private sector with education.
Rai pointed out that government-run Kendriya Vidyalayas are among the best educational institutes in the country
“Any qualified person cannot teach,” he said. “Teachers need to know how to make students interested in learning and that is not something you get only from qualifications. That is lacking in the government perspective. There is no vision on how to make good teachers.”
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