State to grade govt schools to improve quality of education

Patna: In a first-of-its-kind move to improve the quality of teaching and ensure all-round development of students, the Bihar govt has initiated a step to grade all schools run by it on the lines of NAAC grading system for higher educational institutions.
The twice-a-year ranking to be done in November and March by the education department will be conducted on specific yardsticks such as education, cleanliness, resource utilization, co-curricular activities and grievance redressal.

According to reports, there are around 75,000 govt schools in the state. “The role of teachers is very significant in this mission to ensure quality of education in govt-run schools and all-round development of students,” S Siddharth, additional chief secretary of education department, said in an official letter issued on Wednesday.
As per the letter addressed to all district education officers, the ranking of schools will be on a 100-point scale, which will be mandatory for all teachers to complete in the light of their annual appraisal report.
Based on this ranking, the schools will be allotted stars. As per the grading matrix, the top performing schools securing scores in the range of 85-100 will get five stars with A+ grade, while those getting 75-84 will be given four stars with A grade. Again, those scoring in the range of 50-74 will get three stars (B grade), 25-49 will get two stars (C grade) and in the range of 0-24 will get one star (D grade).
“There must be grading of schools too on the line of NAAC grading system since this will create a sense of competitiveness among the schools to improve its rankings,” Siddharth told the media, adding it would also bring to fore the condition of schools.
An education department official said their main focus is obviously the quality of education, followed by bringing street children to schools, besides improving infrastructure and later recruiting over four lakh schoolteachers through Bihar Public Service Commission. “This is a major initiative towards improving the condition of the schools,” he said.
However, the state president of Bihar State Primary Teachers Association Jairam Sharma described it as a futile exercise. “Too many experiments have turned the department into a research centre. This is surely not in the interest of the state education system. This will only deteriorate the quality of education, increase expenditure and demotivate teachers,” Sharma alleged.