For education to be truly inclusive and equitable, a

strong political will and greater efforts are required

on part of the government to ensure that all children are

not just in school but receiving an education which they

can relate to, which represents their experiences and

enables them to make sense of their lives and things

around them.

Problems Associated with Quality of Primary Education in India

• Performance of all enrolled kids is far below the expected level (60% of those

enrolled , b/w 6 to 14 yrs, are unable to read at a II grade level)

• Government strategy: “Schooling for all” and not “learning for all”.

• Less focus on the invisible challenge: (Typical Indian School focuses on completing

curriculum and is not structured to provide extra help to children who are not moving

ahead at the expected pace or to those who are falling behind.)

• Overambitious curricula

• “Teaching by grade” and not “Teaching by level”.

• No significant change in pedagogy and school governance.

• Teaching: Underrated job

• Lack of motivation in teachers.

• No provision for “conditional incentives”: (e.g. rewards dependent on school

attendance both for teachers and students)

• Lack of innovations in teaching methods (focus is given on rote learning)

• 99 percent aspirants failed to clear TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) in 2012, compared to

90 per cent in 2010.

•. Our two primary challenges are to revise our outdated curriculum and sync it with the

industry’s needs; to train our faculty, so that they have knowledge to teach skills and

are continuously motivated to innovate

• The lack of monitoring and the delay in the appointment of staff most of the services are

non-functional .The absenteeism in the primary is high

Heckman’s Curve- Rate of return to human capital

The advantages gained from effective early interventions are best sustained when they are followed by continued high quality learning experiences. The technology of skill formation developed shows that the returns on school investment are higher for persons with higher ability, where ability is formed in the early years. Figure shows the return to a marginal increase in investment at different stages of the life cycle starting from a position of low but equal initial investment at all ages.

Towards better quality: a holistic approach

LEARNERS AND TEACHERS AS LEARNERS HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

1.GOOD HEALTH AND NUTRITUON STATUS 2.LEARNER CONFIDENCE AND SELF ESTEEM 3. REGULAR ATTENDENCE FOR LEARNING

4.EARLY ASSESSMENT OF DISABILITIES HOME

A.HOME/SCHOOL/COMMUNITY PARTERNERSHIPS B.FAMILY SUPPORT FOR LEARNING

C.POSITIVE EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

ENVIRONMENTS PHYSICAL ELEMENTS

1.ACCESS TO QUALITY SCHOOL FACILITIES INCLUDING WATER AND

SANITATION 2.CLASS SIZE

PSYCOLOGICAL ELEMENTS A.PEACEFUL ,SAFE ENVIRONMENTS B.EFFECTIVE SCHOOL DESCIPLINE

,HEALTH AND NUTRITION POLICIES C.INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS

SERVICE DELVERY 1.PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES

CONTENT MATERIALS

1.COMPREHENSIBLE,GENDER SENSITIVE,RELEVENT TO SCHOOLING CURRICULUM

A.BASED ON DEFINED LEARNING OUTCOMES B.NON DISCRIMINATORY AND STUDENT CENTERED

C.UNIQUE LOCAL AND NATIONAL CONTENT D.INCLUDES LITERACY ,NUMERACY,ETC

E.INCLUDES RELEVENT KNOWLEDGE ON HEALTH NUTRITION AND PEACE

STANDARDS 1.STANDARDS AND TARGETS FOR STUDENTS

LEARNING

PROCESSES STUDENTS TEACHERS SUPER VISION AND SUPPORT 1.INTERVENTION AND SPEACIAL 1.COMPETENCE AND SCHOOL EFFICIENCY 1. ADJUSTMENT IN SCHOOL HOURS AND ASSISTANCE WHERE NEEDED 2.ONGOING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR TEACHERS CALENDERS TO SUPPORT STUDENT LEARNING 2.TIME ON TASK 3.POSITIVE TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP 2.ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND LEADERSHIP 3.ACCESS TO LANGUAGE USED 4. BELIEF THAT ALL STUDENTSCAN LAERN AND 3. USING TECHNOLOGY TO DECREASE RATHER THAN AT SCHOOL COMMITMENT TO STUDENT LEARNING INCREASE DISPARITIES 4.RELEVENT STUDENT CENTERED 5.FEEDBACK MEACHANISMS THAT TARGET NEEDS 4.GOVERNAMENTS THAT ARE SUPPORTIVE OF METHODS LEADING TO ACTIVE 6.FREQUENT MONITORING BY TEACHERS EDUCATION SYSTEMS PARTICIPATION 7. POSITIVE LIVING /WORKING CONDITIONS 5.FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION SYSTEMS

QUALITY OUTCOMES 1.LEARNING WHAT THEY NEED TO

LEARN 2.HEALTHY AND FREE FROM

EXPLOITATION,VOILENCE 3.AWARE OF THEIR RIGHTS AND

HAVE OPPURTUNITIES TO REALISE THEM

4.ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN DECISIONS THAT AFFECT THEIR LIVES

5. ABLE TO REPECT DIVERSITY ,PRACTICE EQUALITY,AND RESOLVE DIFFERENCES WITHOUT VOILENCE

System for Quality Education

Call to the private and the corporate sectors to be partners of the govt. There is ample growth

through private enterprise. There is no need for the govt to invest in these activities. It needs

only to invest in the management of the growth and in ensuring that the administration of

primary education is free of corruption and of the many other malpractices that exist.

Planned use of sophisticated technologies to deliver education. The technologies are available

and we have the competence to use them.

Place teaching as a social and intellectual practice . It provides direction to teacher educators

to prepare teachers to examine knowledge critically and engage in a dialogical relationship

with children. It envisions a teacher as a thinking reflective individual, whose primary task is

to facilitate children to construct meaning from their experiences.

Need for a transformative teacher preparation and continued development of teachers, as

an imperative for realizing the goals of education for all by implementing result oriented

pre-service teacher education programs and continuing education of teachers for achieving

Education for all.

Developing critical perspectives about children and their socio-cultural and political

contexts, aims of education and schooling ,content and pedagogical knowledge and, about

self and society, which are important for a multi-cultural classroom, are highlighted as

the pivot of teacher education curriculum and practice. Engaging with such perspectives

requires ,dialogue, self awareness , collaboration and critical inquiry.

Another important aspect contributing to children’s learning is sustained and substantive

continuous professional support to teachers.

Rectifying problems such as lack of basic amenities, interior rural and tribal areas,multi-

grade classrooms, multi-lingual students, children with special needs, first generation

learners and so on.

Grouping students according to their ability and not by class or age have experimentally

proven that a student’s learning improves impressively.

Provision of after –school tutoring/ vacation programmes for at risk students. Schools identified with large number of at risk students should be provided with staff specially trained to meet the needs of those students.

Inter-personal Skills Skills For Building

Self Awareness

Critical And Creative

Thinking Skills

Decision Making Skills Coping And Stress Management

Skills

Active Listening Identifying Personal

Strength And

Weaknesses

Creative Thinking

Skills

Problem Solving Skills Coping With (peer) Pressure

Giving And Receiving

Feedback

Positive thinking Skills Skills For Generating

Alternative

Skills For Assessing

(Personal And Other

Risks)

Time Management Skills

Non-verbal

Communication

Values Clarification

Skills;

(social norms, beliefs,

ethics, myths)

Info Gathering Skills Skills For Assessing

Consequences

Skills For Dealing With Anxiety

Non-verbal

Communication

Values Clarification

Skills;

(social norms, beliefs,

ethics, myths)

Skills For Evaluating

Information Including

Sources Of Information

Such As The Media

Goal Setting Skills Dealing With Difficult Situations

Assertion And Refusal

Skills

Negotiation And Conflict

Management

Cooperation And

Teamwork

Relationship & Community

Building Skills

Identifying And Acting

On Rights,

Responsibilities And

Social Justice

Help Seeking Skills

Life Skills and Peace Education

Successful qualitative reforms require:

• Prime attention to quality of teaching profession

• Strong leading role by government

• A societal project for improving education

• Policy continuity over time

Education quantity and quality are complements, not substitutes

A classroom is like a room of mirrors - the student's mindset reflects the teacher's mindset.