To bar students from appearing in examinations is no solution to improve results in government-run schools, governor’s advisor Khurshid Ahmad Ganai said on Thursday.
Talking to media on the sidelines of a review meeting convened with the officials of the education department here, Ganai said the government was facing a major challenge of retention of students up to class 12 in government schools.
“If I continue as an advisor, I will try to review the link of teachers with the results. We have to make changes in it. Detention (of students) is not the solution to get good results,” he said.
“Retention of students is a challenge for us because we want to retain students in schools up to class 12 as it will help us increase the literacy rate in the state,” he said.
The literacy rate in J&K is below the national average and also dismal when compared to the number of schools and teachers working in the department, he said.
“The male literacy rate is 78 percent while it is 69 percent for females. Our efforts are on to improve it. We have observed that the literacy rate has not increased over the years. The department will take up matter with director general economics and census of India and cross check it,” he said.
Stating that teachers and officers in the department lag behind in capacity building, Ganai said it has become a challenge for the department to provide quality education to students in government schools.
“Our challenge is to make teachers to deliver good so that students get best out of their teachers,” he said.
He said the department is working on a “non-financial plan” to enhance capacity building in teachers and officers working in the department at various levels.
“We are working on how to create motivation among the students and teachers teaching in government schools,” he said.
He however admitted that the state has established huge number of schools but most of the institutions are without basic facilities.
“But we will fill the infrastructural gaps. By the end of March this year, all the schools will be equipped with drinking water, electricity and toilet facilities. The government will also address the issue of dearth of infrastructure and buildings in schools,” he said.
The school education department had started mid-day meals in government schools as one of the incentives to attract students to schools, he said.
“In today’s meeting, we discussed how to run the MDM as a foolproof system so that students don’t lose their interest in schools. Teachers have to create conducive atmosphere in schools for students,” he said.
He attributed the meager enrollment at primary level in government schools due to mushrooming growth of private schools.
Ganai said there is a need for a duty chart in the department at every level, from teacher to chief education officer and director as well.
“DSEK will submit a proposal in this regard to have measurable duties because anything which is not measured can’t be monitored,” he said.
He said the government intends to develop entrepreneur skills among the students so that their vision doesn’t remain confined to only government jobs but they excel in other spheres of life as well.
“Our students should have a vision of self-sustainability because a government job is not the only option. We have to change the mindset of the students,” he said.
About the disproportionate pupil-teacher ratio in schools, he said the department is “dealing with societal pressure while ordering transfers and postings of teachers in schools”.
“Every household has a teacher in family and unfortunately there is a lot of pressure from society on transfers and posting. Everyone demands convenient posting,” he said.