Abhishek Valmiki now has a positive reason to attend school every day. Even before the 13-year-old enters his classroom at 10.30 a.m., his favourite Pratibha ma’am is already pacing the room. Frantically calling up parents of truants, she makes sure they attend her class.
“There is a renewed vigour among teachers to attend school and teach. But more importantly, students must attend school,” says Pratibha Walkhade, Principal of the Government Secondary School, Chopda Kalan village. “Now, we always have to be ready for an inspection,” she quips.
A quiet yet tangible change has just begun to sweep primary and secondary government schools of Bhopal district, where the introduction of e-inspection system has not only improved the attendance of teachers, but as a consequence given a reason for students to attend school. Within just three weeks, 15-20% more students have started attending school, spurred by the almost complete attendance of teachers on a given day.
“Under the system, janshikshaks (inspectors) are informed through an SMS around 7 a.m. the schools, chosen randomly, they have to visit in their block,” explains District Collector Tarun Kumar Pithode. “If they come across a teacher absent during the weekly inspections, the teacher loses a day’s salary of around ₹1,000.”
Already a success in Rajgarh, Betul and Sehore districts where Mr. Pithode introduced it first, the model intends to fix accountability on teachers to ensure children attend school. “Earlier, some inspectors used to inform teachers of a visit the night before. But they can’t do that now,” he says.
In the Fanda (rural) block that has recorded an average 18% improvement in student attendance since July 4, the day the system was introduced, 53 of the 60 students enroled in the school in Chandukhedi were present on July 20, marking the highest block-level improvement of 32%.
Always on their toes
Now, teachers in the 1,165 schools are always on their toes — mindful of the prospect of being inspected uninformed. They have even started reaching school at least half an hour early. “If they reach school for starters, they’ll at least teach something. This will improve the attainment levels of students,” says Mr. Pithode.
