Prof Sham Lal Gupta
Education in all its forms (informal, non-formal and formal) is crucial to ensure dignity of all individuals. The aim of education is directed to the realization of the individual’s rights and dignity. It ensures holistic development of human personality, fostering physical and cognitive development, allowing for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and talents, contributing to the realization of the full potential of the individual, enhancing self esteem and increasing confidence, encouraging respect for human rights, enabling socialisation and meaning-full interaction with others, contributing to a full and satisfying life with in society and empowering everyone around oneself. Education is not a luxury but a basic human right.
Every child has the right to get quality and affordable education. This is because education is the greatest determinant of success. It helps in unlocking several opportunities and empowers an individual to develop crucial skills to lead a fulfilling life. The NEP 2020 has taken some forward looking initiatives to resolve many challenges that need to be addressed in order to make our education system relevant to ensure quality education.
Quality education both at School as well as Higher Education level mean, safe, healthy and gender-sensitive environment for students. It needs relevant study material and curricula for the acquisition of basic skills and updated knowledge. The quality education needs well-managed classrooms equipped with modern tools and teaching approaches led by trained teachers. The learning outcomes must encompass national goals and are linked to one’s positive participation in society. The quality education must inculcate national and international competencies with world class skills capable of infusing confidence and leadership qualities in order to make the students employable and future leaders.
Unfortunately, many Indian students are still not able to meet the required levels of learning particularly in the remote, hilly and backward regions of J&K UT. There are several quality gaps found in the educational institutions imparting education both at the school level as well as the Higher Education level particularly at the college level. All educational institutions located in urban areas whether in Government or private sector have an edge over all those established in the rural and remote areas in terms of infrastructure, human resources, sports and games, digital means and above all academic ambience as well as academic culture. Even in urban areas there are learning gaps among private branded schools vis-à-vis Government schools. The intake of students in the urban areas particularly in the branded private schools is from high income families with enlightened social background. These private schools have the advantage of world class facilities on the campus including student friendly classrooms, fully equipped with high-tech teaching-learning digital tools, sports infrastructure, and smart classrooms etc. Compare it with the Government schools and you will find the reasons for the quality gaps.
The condition of most of the Government schools is much worse which are operating from buildings lacking various support systems. The Government schools have highly qualified teachers but due to the lack of proper motivation and facilities they are not able to perform. Moreover, the intake of students in the Government schools is from low income, less educated and helpless families. Even in the remote and inaccessible areas the parents who can afford are getting their children admitted in the branded schools located at the Tehsil or District Headquarters and in some cases in Jammu and Srinagar cities. It is pertinent to mention that Government school teachers are compelled to perform many duties except for teaching. One can invariably find Government school teachers on election duty or many such kind of jobs. This is the irony of the fate that no Government teacher or any Government employee is willing to seek admission for their children in Govt. Schools. Therefore, Government schools have become the institutions with helpless children belonging to poor or low income families. Exceptions are there such as Ranbir Higher Secondary School Jammu, Model Girls Higher Secondary School Mubarak Mandi or a few schools at Srinagar city. Most of the Government schools located in remote hilly and backward areas are not able to perform as desired by the system and not fulfilling the norms required to implement NEP.
The condition of the colleges in J&K UT particularly established in remote areas is also far from satisfactory. One can find wide quality gaps in the colleges located in cities or district headquarters and that of remote areas. The idea of reaching Higher Education in the unserved areas is appreciable and setting up of the colleges in educationally backward areas is a noteworthy initiative by the Government of J&K. But all these newly set up colleges are crying for requisite infrastructure, experienced teachers, sports and games, digital tools, labs, libraries so that students studying in these college get quality education at par with some of the well established institutions at district headquarters as well as Jammu and Srinagar cities. During last 15 years the J&K has established many colleges to serve the inaccessible areas under the policy of expansion of colleges. But not much effort has been put in order to ensure the consolidation of these colleges to bring them at par with rest of the colleges in J&K. Now, consolidation of these colleges must be priority rather than the expansion.
An appeal is being made through this write up to the Government of J&K UT to very kindly look into an urgent concern towards the newly created colleges to equip them fully so that these institutions grow into institutions of excellence to produce employable graduates with knowledge and skills. As per the Indian Skill Report 2023, only 50.3% of the young graduates are employable. All this highlights the significance of quality education. There is an urgent need to look into barriers to learning and addressing inequalities within the system.
(The author is former Director Colleges, Higher Education Department J&K)
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