To an unsuspecting class of primary school students, the teacher darts this question. “Who is the Prime Minister of Cyprus?”
As the children keep mum, the District Educational Officer (DEO) turns to the teacher and the headmaster for an answer, who by now realise their ignorance and begin mumbling. Akbar Kakkattil, who immortalised school teachers in many of his short stories, ends this popular anecdote on school inspection in his book School Diary, saying the DEO too did not know the answer.
This ritualistic approach of fact-finding by the officials, a favourite theme in many Malayalam short stories, is expected to change soon as the Education Department has decided to overhaul the process of inspection of aided and government schools by officials. In a recent circular, the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) has asked Assistant Educational Officers, DEOs, and Deputy Directors of Education to be more self-critical about it.
Reminding teachers that there has been an unprecedented response to the ‘Save public education’ programme of the government, the DPI says the enrolment in government and aided schools had gone up considerably of late. Now, it is the responsibility of the educational officers and teachers to respond to the trust of parents by ensuring academic excellence. Inspection of schools is the effective way to do this, says the circular.
Feedback
“There is need to be more serious towards the monitoring of educational activities in schools. The proposal is to put in place a mechanism to review the feedback [from teachers and students] after inspection. If there is proper intervention, the quality of education will improve,” K.V. Mohan Kumar, DPI, told The Hindu on Monday.
The circular asks educational officers to inspect the schools in their jurisdiction at least once a year compulsorily, apart from conducting an unscheduled visit. For aided schools, managers should be kept in the loop. Pointing out the consecutive reports of the Accountant General citing the ineffective nature of school inspections, the DPI says it is the responsibility of the officers to travel from one school to another.
“The process should not be an error-finding mechanism. The officer should act as a friend of the teachers and non-teachers and help them achieve academic excellence,” the circular says. They should check if the benefits of government schemes reach the beneficiaries. Whether the schools have adequate infrastructure such as libraries, laboratories and furniture should be examined, it adds.
