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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Focus on learning, empowerment of teachers and curricula to make Right to Education a success-Urmi Goswami

Focus on learning, empowerment of teachers and curricula to make Right to Education a success-Urmi Goswami

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published Published on Apr 14, 2012   modified Modified on Apr 14, 2012

In upholding the Right to Free and Compulsory Education for all Children, commonly known as the Right to Education (RTE), the Supreme Court signalled the beginning of a new approach to education. It marks a shift from the current institution-centric system to one that puts children and their interests at the core. 

Most important, it is recognition of the pivotal role that education plays in a person's life, and that every child has the right to the opportunity of a good education giving her a fair shot at a better future. The inability to access good education comes at a cost, one that comes in the way of both individual and collective welfare. And, for this reason, the onus of providing this opportunity lies with the state. The RTE, then, is a promise of change; one that will give every child the opportunity to access learning that will help them be the best they can be. 

There are two parts to this promise: first is access to schools, and second is learning. On the access front, to fulfil its responsibility, the state can set up schools, pay schools for the opportunity, or give concessions to help set up schools. The much-debated 25% provision is but an extremely small part of this effort. Schools that have not received a concession will be reimbursed by state. These schools are not providing free education, the state is. 

But access is the least of the problems: 98% of children between six and 14 years of age are enrolled in schools. Though most debated, the issues being raised about the 25% quota - this being the upper limit - for poor children in private schools are virtually non sequitur. The law lays down the norm of 40 children to a teacher, which effectively means that in a class, a maximum of 10 students will be from economicallyweaker sections. The really top-notch private and government schools, assuming the quality of learning is high, make up but a small sliver of the education system. 

What it means is that no matter how wide the doors of the top private schools are forced open, as much as 90% of children will continue to study in government and private schools that are in urgent need of reform. To spend disproportionate time on the problems arising out of a change in the class mix would only detract from the crisis that confronts our schools: the problem of low levels of learning. 

The challenge is to ensure that children remain in schools and learn. This is where the real test of a successful implementation of the RTE lies. Low learning levels plague the entire Indian school system: both private and government schools. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests reveals this in the most unambiguous way. PISA tests critical thinking in maths, science and reading, it doesn't measure memorisation, rather demands drawing on knowledge and realworld problem-solving skills. India fared poorly, ranking 71st among 73 countries. 

The focus needs to be on improving school facilities, quality of teachers and teaching, the books that children read, the support that children have to make the most of the opportunity that education and schooling provides. 

For learning to improve, we need schools to meet certain basic minimum standards in terms of infrastructure and facilities. There is a tendency to tar all schools with the same brush: government schools are bad, private schools are good. This is incorrect. 

There are grades of government schools as there are for private ones. The RTE steps in to set out basic standards that all schools will have to meet. It requires all schools to be registered for which it will need to meet these standards. This will not mean that all schools will be alike; it just means that none will have less than the minimum that is required to provide a child with a reasonable learning environment. 

The law provides for greater community participation in schools, through the school management committees. Greater involvement of parents and the larger community can transform schools to be agents of social change. These committees can ensure that schools meet basic standards in terms of facilities and teaching. However, given that a large segment of children are first-generation learners, often the only resource these children have are their teachers and schools. 

The burden of responsibility of delivering on the promise of the RTE lies with the teachers and schools. Government should be an enabler. Attention must be paid to school curriculum and teachers. International studies show that student performance improves when schools have greater say in defining curricula and assessments, choosing textbooks, determining course content and teacher appointments, service conditions and dismissal. India needs to increase its focus on teachers and curricula. 

The two must happen simultaneously for the RTE to deliver effectively. For teachers to deliver, it is not enough to ensure greater accountability, they need greater resources. Not just training, schools and teachers must have greater freedom in translating curricula into practice. School learning is limited to textbooks that have become bulkier, and often not appropriate for the children's age or learning levels. Often, children are unable to follow the language used in classrooms and textbooks as it differs from their spoken language. 

Teachers must have the freedom to design teaching in a manner that children can understand and relate to: such as higher local content and non-textbook forms of teaching. The teacher needs to be given the space to work out what would capture students' attention and interest to help them learn better. Teachers are in the best position to determine learning levels and must be allowed to make independent assessments. 

The RTE is a momentous legislation, it holds the promise of changing the way the education system unfolds in this country. But it is just that, a promise. The hard work begins now and the challenges many. The focus has to be on ways to improve the standard of schooling, teaching and learning, not just for poor and underprivileged children but all children.

The Economic Times, 14 April, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/focus-on-learning-empowerment-of-teachers-and-curricula-to-make-right-to-education-a-success/articlesh


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