Failure to setup SCERT likely to squeeze funding for education department

The school education department has failed to set up its own State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), an institution exercising full control over academic activities of educational institutions in other states.

Given the failure to establish the premier  institute, J&K is yet to come under the purview of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), a statutory body set up to oversee standards, procedures and processes in the education system.   

   

“J&K is the lone state which is yet to make SCERT functional here. In other states, SCERT is working as independent institution and takes control of academic activities in schools and research in allied institutions,” an official said.

The official added that the establishment of SCERT will pave way for promoting research work in district institute of education trainings (DIETs) and prepare better text books for children enrolled in government schools.

“The process for it started in 2017 but it is yet to get a proper shape for unknown reasons. There are chances that MHRD may stop funding to the state for its failure to establish its SCERT,” an official said, referring to the union ministry of human resource development that oversees funding for such projects.

The SCERT in other states organise and implement the special educational projects sponsored by UNICEF, NCERT and other agencies for qualitative improvement of school education and teacher educators.

“The role of SCERT is to prescribe curricula and textbooks for the school and teacher training institutions besides producing instructional materials for the use of teacher- educators,” the second official said.

Already, MHRD in its roadmap prepared for J&K’s school education department in 2017 had picked loopholes and asked the government to prioritise and expedite the process of restructuring of SIEs into SCERTs and adopt NCTE guidelines.

“State should establish SCERT as nodal academic authority following which funds will flow from SCERT to DIETs,” reads the MHRD roadmap which was framed in year 2017 for overall revamp of the education sector in the state. 

The roadmap says that J&K state doesn’t come under purview of NCTE and has weak linkage between SIEs and Teacher training institutes.

An official said the department failed to establish SCERT despite the funds released by MHRD for the purpose.

“Establishment of SCERT has zero financial implications. Department has to just promote joint make separate directorate for SCERT by promoting joint director as director SCERT,” the official said, adding that SCERT would have proper monitoring over DIETs which is missing in present system.

“The issue was earlier discussed in several meetings but I don’t understand why the process is getting delayed,” said an official who was part of the meeting.

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