The advent of twentieth century saw the education system heavily inclined to a powerful movement of mass education. The main challenge to meet the transportation towards a mass education system that took place within swiftly changing economy and national environment is the issue of quality. The present education systems have developed within a national political framework and work in strictly regulated and specific systems, regulations and procedures adapted to meet the developmental needs of domestic economy. With the national goal of “Education for all”, India's goal of UPE and UEE of good quality points to three main challenges:

1. Raising learning outcomes

2. Universalizing quality access

3. Reducing the gaps in education outcomes across the states and among various groups and communities

 

Raising Learning Outcomes

The government through various schemes and programmes like the midday meals, setting of Village Education Committees (VEC), the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), expanding the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) in numbers and scope, the Block Resource Centers (BRC) etc. did a commendable job in achieving its goal of “Education for all”. Redefinition of UEE in the National Policy of Education (1986) as consisting of not only enrollment and attendance but also learner achievement brought focus on quality primary education in a significant manner. All this has brought “Improvement in learner achievement to the center stage of policy making and planning.” In an attempt to raise the achievement levels in the year 2000, the central government introduced the Srava Siksha Abiyan (SSA), with the aid of world bank whose main objectives are 100% enrollment, retention and achievement, Education for all, zero repetition and drop outs and finally achieving quality in education. Now even five years after the “mission mode” approach to universalize elementary education through the SSA only 47 out of 100 children enrolled reach grade seven. This means we still retain the high drop out rate of 52.79%. Honorable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh attributed the high dropout rates to “lack of adequate facilities, large scale absenteeism of teachers and inadequate supervision by local authorities”. In such a situation, how do we achieve the targeted enrolment rates i.e. accommodating all children of ages 6-10 in primary schools by 2007 (the final year of tenth plan)? To achieve the targets we would require as many as 1.3 million classrooms and 740000 new teachers. Unlike in the past when anything going wrong in the schools was attributed to the teacher's incompetence or indifference, governments have started admitting the real difficulties and hard spots, and that they are more obsessed with data reflecting the global targets pertaining to enrolment, drop out rates and retention rather than the learning experiences of the children. Thanks to the D.P.E.P. initiative that has brought to focus the need and relevance of research and innovations at the grassroots levels. The various initiatives under the programme brought a significant change in the teaching - learning and caught up the enthusiasm of the teachers at the elementary level.

Several recent surveys on learning have revealed appalling facts. - of the 20 crore children in the age group of 6-14 ( to be covered under the fundamental right of eight years of free education enjoined in the constitution of India) 17 crore are enrolled . While three crore remain totally out of the system and 8.5 crore out of the enrolled 17 crore drop out. This means more than half of the eligible population remain uncovered. Going further only half of the 2.2crore who reach the secondary level complete the + 2 stage .This being the progression rates, half of the students in class 5 could not read even at the level of class 2 and two thirds could not even solve division problems meant for the second grade. With this the reality apart from the widely discussed concerns of quality and access, the pressure on secondary education is on improving retention and achievement of students. Research suggests that if high standards are set for pupils and they are let known about them, and accordingly intellectually challenging lessons are provided, then the impact on achievement is considerable.

 

Universalizing Quality Access - Teacher Education and Teacher Quality

The system has rapidly expanded and the governments were not prepared to handle the situation. The teacher training and recruitments did not keep pace with the rapidly expanding enrolments, the complex classroom situations, the diverse learner needs etc. Mass education brought children to class rooms from diverse socio economic backgrounds. Most of the rural and government schools had children coming from extremely poor economic conditions, first generation learners and from differing social orders. Added to these complex classroom situations, most of the remote and rural schools face teacher shortage resulting in multigrade teaching. The one or at the most two teachers working in such schools are unprepared to handle the existing complex class rooms and further demotivated when they have to go in for multi grade teaching. Each teacher, in such a situation, on average, mange four to five classes.

In such a situation it is important that our teacher education programmes be restructured. Including atleast the two important components discussed above i.e. managing diversity and managing multi-grade situations. These problems are rarely covered in the training programmes either pre-service or in-service. The present day teachers lack the skills to manage the increasing diversity and the resultant complex classroom situations. Most of the in-service programmes focus on generic skills and do not provide any value addition to the would - be teacher. Further if we have to match the requirements of the schools and the teachers who work in them, the training programmes should be designed in consultation and participation of the teachers and not just by the teacher educators and administrators.

India has another peculiar situation which impact the performance of our teachers. This is the school teacher has multiple roles to perform. The idiocentric orders of the governments result in teachers to be a social worker, an advocacy agent for various government policy initiatives, a field worker and implementer, a polling agent, a health worker, a flood relief worker distributing aid, and so goes on the list. These enkindle teachers for fighting their rights - the recent one being when some of them where asked to handle the family planning issues and managing liquor shops. Though officially governments claim that teachers are used for non teaching works for less than 5% of the teaching days, there is much more than statistical data that needs to be looked at . In addition to the above listed works not related to the school , the teachers also perform the duty of the dispatch clerk, accountant, record keeper, the ration distributor for the mid day meal scheme and teach the students - many a time in a multi grade system. This is the environment in which 90% of rural teachers work .in such a situation what is the quality of teaching - learning, that we expect from a teacher ? How do we come out of the situation? A situation where there is no aspiration for professional growth on the part of the teacher , inadequate infrastructure and human resources, inadequate time and of all poor human resource management strategies. We require a real “re-searching” of our selves, a retrospection of our actions and a revisioning of the systems and the profession.

Teachers are the core of any school and thus their role in quality improvement becomes paramount. If we agree that educational institutions are human systems then the quality of education can only be as good as its people. If we have to make our schools learning organizations and knowledge enterprises and make them perform the roles of knowledge creators, knowledge warehouses and knowledge propagators then nothing can be more important than the human resources and the teachers. While issues of teacher quality has already been touched upon, let us see how teachers can contribute to improve school quality. In my view there are three issues which are relevant in the context of teachers contribution to quality schooling: 1. Self-evaluation 2. Ethics and values 3. Continuous learning and professional development. The ability of the teachers to critically examine their teaching - learning practices, a retrospection on their activities, adaptation to new technologies and pedagogies looking for new methods and modes of teaching will help teachers to improve their teaching methodology and skills crucial for quality education. In this context the identification and nurturance of some of the crucial competencies of teachers such as content/knowledge, pedagogy and managerial competencies are of great significance. These competencies directly or indirectly cover the three major issues identified. Coming to knowledge, knowledge and mastery in the subject content is almost a precondition to teaching. In a world of constant change and knowledge expanding at exponential rate continuous learning and upgradation of content knowledge has become imperative. One of the major findings of the studies on falling teacher quality indicates the gross inadequacy of the content knowledge of teachers. In surveys conducted on the orientation and rfresher programmes in vougue for inservice teachers professional development, teachers dealing with multigrade systems expressed this as one of their major obstacles and opined that training programmes should be organized for subject content improvement rather than on other aspects . The other component is action research and creativity. We should come out of the “fast food culture” and stand for our professional values. For this we need a real “re-searching” of ourselves , retrospection of our actions and revisioning of our future.. As of today we can say there is hardly any teacher who take up action research. It is the duty of every teacher to reset their goals , their values and firmly anchor their professionalism. We should prepare our younger generation of teachers who would emerge with accountability, better access, better scholarship, with better human relation, with clear vision, and strategic planning and show the world the strength of their scientific and reflective thinking.

 

Reducing the gaps in education outcomes across the states and among various groups and communities

First talking of improving our retention rates let us take note of the Planning commission comments on school education: “Despite some attempts to make the school curriculum joyful and child centered, what is taught in the school is still far from being relevant for the majority of our students. As a result of an irrelevant and poorly designed curriculum a large proportion of children drop out before they complete elementary school. Most children who drop out are from disadvantaged families and failure in school draws them deeper into the “nexus of disadvantage”. The last few decades have seen a rising tide of educational aspirations, especially from the poor and disadvantaged. However, their hopes of quality education are massively frustrated.” In view of the low student achievement and examination results and increasing drop outs as the level progresses it is essential that we make schools function efficiently which only can lead to improvement of quality. As observed earlier most children do not move standard nine and ten. Now what happens to these children? What are the major livelihoods for these children? Does school quality affect their livelihood, the quality of life and the national development?

The issue of quality is basic to national development. School quality is a function of inputs and the efficient management of these inputs in relation to desired goals. The main indicator of quality of secondary education can be visualized in terms of input, process and output. For desired output in terms of student's achievement both in curricular and co-curricular areas, necessary inputs and processes need to be provided. It is generally believed that school quality is based on democratic atmosphere, supportive leadership, team and collaborative efforts, clear and unified purpose, a regular analysis and evaluation of student performance (Wilson and Schomoleer, 1993).If we look at the system we can classify our schools into two main categories- effective schools and ineffective schools. Major chunk of our schools fall on the later category and we can say the system survives on mediocrity. Each school has its own characterstics determined by its location, student intake, size and socio economic backgrounds, geographical location, available resources, quality of its staff, community support, quality of leadership…….. Consequently there is no universal recipe for quality. What combination of factors work in one school may not work in another or in the same school at different times. Hence quality should be monitored in different dimensions continuously with respect to different identified indicators and appropriate actions initiated to achieve the goals. For this we should orient the head teacher and the leadership for effective management. This means -

1. Capacity building of educational administrators for meeting the challenges of qualitative improvement and quantitative expansion.

2. Involve staff and create conditions for more stimulating professional and intellectual involvement in academic and administrative planning - collaborative management.

3. Governments and managements should invite more *flagship programme similar to those of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyana

4. Fix responsibility and accountability in terms of school effectiveness

How good are your schools - in terms of quality of academic provisions and infrastructure. When we discuss this in terms of quality there are three main questions that arise - Does a quality school means that which has good results at the term end examinations. Is the quality of a school and its effectiveness refer only to the outcome i.e. results in the examinations or does it also include the quality of the students admitted, input and the processes? (quality of teaching and learning processes) What are the various parameters to measure school quality? What is the role of governance and stakeholder involvement in improving school quality?

If we say that our school is a `quality' school or `good school' or an `effective' school we mean the same. Unless we are able to define a set of parameters that makes an `idea school' we cannot use the term “quality” in absolute terms. Even if we are able to do it no school can meet those criteria in absolute terms in all contexts at all times. The `good' school today may not be `good' tomorrow as the nature of input and the types of processes within a school vary from time to time. Hence, the terms `good quality' or `effective' with respect to schools can be used only in relative terms.

The second issue is-does effectiveness refer to only output or does it include both input and processes. The answer is the latter. That is, when we say schools are effective, it does not refer just to the outcome in terms of the results at the examinations , pass percentages and so on but also to the kinds of inputs and processes i.e. the student quality at the entry level, the teacher quality and teaching - learning and other aspects of functioning of the school. It is to what extent the school with its deliberately planned inputs and processes has been able to bring out the desired changes in students determines the effectiveness of the school. It also refers to the desired changes brought about in the processes and inputs to bring out ultimate changes in students. The third issue relates to the parameters/criteria that define school quality with reference to secondary schools. An indicators of quality provide wide range of information that can signal areas that need attention related to educational administration, management, teachers, curriculum, community involvement, etc. any positive step taken by the school with respect to improvements in the identifies areas lead to better quality of school in terms of inputs and processes and ultimately in terms of desired student outcome.

Learning environment includes the conditions both physical and socio-emotional available for children that enhances learning. It includes not only availability of facilities but also the extent to which they are utilized. There is no denying of the fact that physical facilities, namely, building, instructional rooms, teaching learning materials, etc are essential to create a learning environment for effective schooling.

Basically, collegiality and collaboration are important conditions for unity of purpose. Research has shown that schools are more effective when staff build consensus on the aims and values of the school, and where they put into practice through consistent and collaborative ways of working and of decision making. This is partly in the hands of head teachers.

One of the factors that is related to the interrelationships between students and teachers is positive expectations of pupil achievement among teachers and parents. In particular, low expectations of certain kinds of student have been identified as an important factor in the underachievement of students in disadvantaged urban schools.

Experience shows that most of the educational institutions have been overwhelmed by the demand of better facilities and while coping with the demand, they missed out on quality. Traditional approaches to teaching had been replaced by modern methods and technology enabled teaching. But the mad rush and cutthroat competition for higher grades had resulted in the loss of human qualities among educatiors.

Hence, it is imperative that the wisdom of sages of yore is brought back into educational institutions. It is also necessary that quality process and practices are adopted to help learners leave the institutions as good citizens. Values and qualities had to go hand in hand and it is not possible to have one without the other. Hence, the induction of values as part of the curriculum should be the prime concern of our nation.

The focus of today's educations is information assimilation and not developing skills and values. Competition seem to be endangering the real goal of education. The challenges of information technology, globalization, and consumerism and materialism had created such an impact that it had brought about a tremendous lack of quality. It is essential that the educational institutions and the head of the institutions redefine and re-establish quality.

 

Conclusion

Quality of a school is a dynamic variable. It depends on innumerable tangible and non-tangible variables, all of which can be considered as factors that influence the dynamic variable, i.e. quality of a school. Though listing all of them is likely to be a Herculean Task, they can broadly be classified into theree categories. They are: Input related, Process related and Policy related. Of course, some even mention `Product' as a fourth category, which according to them influences quality of education by providing feedback needed to improve other factors.

Until now, communities have been forced to be the `reciepients' of what is doled out to them as `quality education'. However, people are becoming more and more aware of their rights, including the right to get quality education. They have started questioning the efficacy of the existing educational system designed by the aforementioned `intellectuals'. Consumer awareness with respect to education is on the rise. Apart from this, consider the following (a) Governments are finding it more and more difficult to sustain even the existing educational system, however inadequate it may be. (b) Move towards globalisation and open market economy has eroded the Governmental controls resulting in commercialisation almost all vital human endeavours, including education. The impact of this phenomenon has been intensified by the fierce competition that is being witnessed in all fields, a competition for attaining excellence in order to survive. In such a scenario, all sections of the society will not be in a position to have equal opportunity to access to education of reasonable quality (c) Ours is supposed to be a `Democractic Society'. It implies that the administration has to be decentralised. People are supposed to plan, implement all endeavours for their own welfare, education being one such endeavour. Democracy also implies that the citizens behave in a responsible manner while exercising their democratic rights. Unfortunately our communities have been incapacitated by the ruling classes, be it our own or external, to such an extent that thay have lost self-confidence as well as work-ethics essential for the success of a democratic system. Now that, we are a free Nation should not our communities be enabled to decide the type of education it wants.