Government is spending a lot of time and money in the education sector. It is identified as one of the best investment with good returns. Therefore a number of policies and schemes were introduced to support the system. Some of the policies are Elementary Education, Restructuring of Higher education system, CSIS etc. Among these the Elementary Education gets higher attention because this is the introductory phase of education to the children. So to attract and retain the students, the major goals of elementary education, the government have to provide quality education.

What is quality stands for in education? Quality should be visible in every part of education. It can start from the curriculum, infrastructure and facilities in the environment, teachers and staff etc. The SSA planning committees understand the crucial importance of quality education and its part in attracting and retaining the students in schools. This is the reason behind the idea “Satisfactory Quality for all Children” launched in 2010.

NCERT

The first step in implementing quality in education is to understand the factors which affect the quality and take corrective measures to improve the conditions. The input can be collected through the Focus Group Discussions, FGDs with the participation of local committee members of the school, Headmaster and the PT members. The discussion will lead to a fruitful conclusion about what the children really needed and what can be implemented. Some of such action plans can be,

Erudition upbringing and Support Services

How the information reaches the students and how they interpret to knowledge is an important factor in learning. The medium is always important. Indian culture has a great history of Gurukul System, where the students are provided by a best environment for learning. At that time there is no sign of school drop outs. Agreeing the fact that the socio-economic situation has completely change and now the students from the rural area no longer wish to stay in school. So here we need a change in providing the facilities, like pre-schooling, childhood care, learning aids etc., which motivate the students to attend the school every day. The students must be treated equally irrespective of his/her socio-economic background and for the merit students some incentives should be provided. Most importantly the school’s status and the teachers profile is also part of the learning environment. Periodic training according to the curriculum demands should be provided to the teachers and the local committee can easily monitor the efficiency level of the schools functioning.

Teachers’ aptitude levels

Check the condition, if we have a good learning environment, best curriculum and motivated students and a teacher who is not able to serve the students and deliver the knowledge effectively, then what is the use of the entire system? Hence the teachers play a vital role in implementing quality education. In today’s scenario most of the Teachers in Government sector are not ready to update their knowledge and accept the changes happening in worldwide, especially in the education sector. They are not ready to understand their students and even try to teach the students properly. The teachers are not even aware about various education options available to the students in order to show the correct path. The only thing which matters to them is the remuneration part. This attitude leads the difference between students dropping out from the Government school and that of any private institutions.

This has to change and a proper management system should be there to monitor the performance of the teachers. Give time to update their profile and help them to contribute in the learning system. Timely and periodic training should be provided to the teachers and a good feedback and appraisal system should be implemented in all Government institutions. The teachers have to play the role of an active guide-cum-leaner, not merely a body to give assignments and punishments.

Importance of Preparation time

Preparation time is not only for the students but it is also mean for the teachers. The students are asked to have a rough idea of the next session by going through the topics. This will help them to have a better understanding while the actual session is taken and can raise fruitful doubts. Likewise teachers also have to prepare well for the class and must be able to clear all the doubts regarding the topic and can find any useful activity or teaching method that found easy to learn a particular subject.

But the preparation time should never put the students under pressure and the time should be allotted in between the school hours. So an effective forecasting and management should be there to utilize the available academic time.

Program of study

Everybody knows the curriculum is important, since it determines what we are learning. Understanding this factor NCERT introduced a “National Curriculum for Elementary and Secondary Education: A Framework”. By this policy the state’s education system was given enough power to reframe the curriculum according to the demand or local need. According to the SSA committee, the education should communicate the holistic development of the children and it is based on the knowledge, value and the development of necessary skills. Each state has different conditions and the demands are different from one another. Consequently, the reframing should meet all the demand and also focus on the changes in a larger scale; so that the extent of decentralization is determined by the NCERT is being clearly monitored.

Proper Coaching and Learning Material

The teaching and learning aids also concludes the quality of education in all level. It is important to make sure the timely availability of text books, workbooks, blackboards and other teaching-learning tools. These materials have to satisfy all the needs and demands of the students and teachers and the school committee can make use of the locally available materials for supporting the learning process. The teachers can also adapt their own teaching materials for the easy learning.

Classroom procedure

Classroom is an important factor in the learning process. It should provide room for all the activities, experiments and serve the students as a platform for expressing, communicating to the world. For a primary level student the classroom become their world. So the classroom should be arranged considering all the facts, it should provide with the necessary arrangements. The teachers have to use the space of classroom for the activities and the teaching strategies should consider the classroom area. The students are to be evaluated on their classroom performance and necessary attention has to be given for the capacity building.

Importance of Classrooms

Assessment and Learning Accomplishment

Effective evaluation of the learning process is also part of the quality education. The evaluation should assess the learning out come as well as the skills and values that the learning process implemented in the pupils. The assessment also helps to improving the quality of education and support the decision regarding the corrective measures. So we need to develop new strategies that completely assess the student and enhance the process of learning and teaching. But we can adapt the positive side of the existing method and can hope for the better one for our competent future.

The quality in education determines not only the improvement of the education sector but also the overall national development. The quality education at the elementary education system ensures the positive pull and preservation of students in schools, with improved learning environment. This is a better step toward the dream of education at every door of the Indian and for the slogan “School Jaye Hum”….