Minister: Schools should meet people’s expectations

Seminar on General Education Protection Mission

C. Ravindranath

The government’s focus on giving shape to the idea of the General Education Protection Mission and implementing it was rewarded by the public in the form of increase in number of new admissions this academic year. Now, it was time to live up to the expectation of people. For this, each school must become a centre of excellence, Minister for Education C. Ravindranath has said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a seminar on the General Education Protection Mission and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) here.

The Minister said academic excellence referred to all students in a class achieving the learning outcomes stipulated for them. Each examination should be a lesson for them so that they could understand their limitations. They should look at the question paper as an opportunity to write whatever they had learnt that academic year. This approach was also being adopted by the government to reform the examination system. An action plan was being prepared for this. Teachers would be made party to all agreements, the Minister said.

The SSA, Mr. Ravindranath said, could play a significant role in achieving academic excellence and exam reformation.

General Education Secretary Usha Titus, said that be it improving school infrastructure or appointing teachers, the goal was to raise academic standards. All activities should be undertaken keeping this in mind.

Focus on libraries

During inspections, not only teachers’ attendance but how they functioned should also be assessed, Ms. Titus said. Teachers should also look into whether students were using the books in libraries. SSA State project director A.P. Kuttikrishnan, in his presidential address, said the Education Department, the SSA, and local self-government institutions should work together to give emphasis to school-centred activities.