Notwithstanding the government claims about providing quality education to students the standards of education in the government run schools have persistently been falling.  The recently announced results of 12th class examinations by the Board of School Education are glaring example of the rot that has set in the government schools. Compared to private schools the performance of the most of the government run higher secondary schools has been disappointing. In twenty-eight schools the percentage of the students who passed the examination is less than thirty-three. In scores of other schools, the number of students passed is less than fifty percent. The figures available about these results suggest that large number of higher secondary schools in rural areas, with Kupwara District topping the list, have performed very badly. It is true that the government without adhering to laid out criteria and norms has been opening new schools or elevating schools in rural areas but it would be naïve to attribute falling standards of education to the increase in the number of schools. Opening up more schools and colleges is a good idea but government has been failing on two counts one, in building infrastructure and second, in supervision. Most of the newly elevated schools suffer from shortage of teaching staff and basic infrastructure. In Kupwara district alone out of 530 posts of lecturers long before created for various higher secondary schools, 389 are vacant. Ironically these posts have not even been advertised so far. It is true about other districts in the state. Instead of filling up vacancies on regular basis, the government has been pursuing a bad policy of engaging lectures on contractual basis in rural areas at paltry salary some hundred rupees. Lecturers appointed on contractual basis are not ready to work in far-flung areas. It is more than obvious that contractual appointees with sword of uncertainty hanging on their heads have not been performing well. The government needs to make a reappraisal of its education policy and fill up vacant positions in all schools on permanent basis. Besides create an inbuilt mechanism for monitoring the performance of teachers and bring in accountability in education department

Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Feb 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 6 Feb 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 IST