After the partial success of universalisation of elementary education, the Government of India along with the state governments is taking stock of secondary education and working out strategies to infuse fresh life into it. It is imperative because in the present scenario the secondary education constitutes the nucleus of the edifice upon which rests the structure of higher education. Primary education appears to be debilitating but secondary education is gaining momentum with each passing day. The education system in Jammu and Kashmir has derailed in many respects. There is lack of seriousness which affects quality education and hampers its revamping. And bring it back on track is one of the major challenges that the sate faces currently. Quality education at the primary level simply does not exist at this stage, which is also a challenge the state for the state’s educator sector. According to the All India Education Survey 83.3 per cent villages either have a primary school in their own village or one within a radius of a kilometer. Similarly, 76.15 percent villages have middle schools in villages itself or one within a radius of three kms. The situation is not so different in our state. Here the schools have grown like obnoxious weeds to cater to the primary education. This has happened without any consideration to infrastructure and other facilities. Going by these figures, one might infer that almost every village in our state has at least one primary school, middle school and that is true. But what about secondary schools? The paucity of resources available at the secondary level forced the authorities at the national level to device a scheme having the same structure as that of Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA). This time, however, it is for the universalization of secondary education throughout the country. This scheme is known as the Rashteriya Madhyamikh Shiksha Abhyan (RAMSA) and has now been extended to all states including Jammu and Kashmir. The main objective of the scheme is to provide free and compulsory secondary education to all falling in the age group of 12-16 years. But this is far from truth and the idea remains a distant dream. It is the matter of concern that at national level there are 41,198 primary schools around 5,638 middle schools are run under tents or under open sky, 1.15 lakh primary schools with a single teacher, while over 4,000 primary schools do not even have one teacher. Now one can just imagine the scenario of the states.
Government's efforts in the recent past to streamline the primary education sector have apparently failed. The year 2000 saw the introduction of yet another scheme to spread elementary education and the promise of making education a fundamental right. Government launched with great fanfare the "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan". But what happened to it thereafter is also to known to everyone. It is beyond any doubt that schemes are aimed at making proper classrooms, extra teaching and reading materials available in primary schools, middle schools and now in secondary schools. However, most of the Government schemes do not come up to expectations of the people due to callous approach of authorities.
In Jammu and Kashmir it is a tragedy that schemes are taken causally and because of this approach we have been deprived of many benefits otherwise guarantied in such centrally sponsored programmes. As a result, children suffered the most. We forget that due to the lack of other alternative education systems they are totally dependent on the Government-run schools for their education. Lack of facilities has also been a major problem for these schools in attracting and retaining children which the Government of India intended to ensure in Rashteriya Madhyamikh Shiksha Abhyan (RAMSA). But our feeding of data to get the funds under this scheme is wrong.
The idea of the schemes like "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashteriya Madyamikh Shiksha Abhiyan " is comprehensive. Both the schemes aim at roping in all children in the age group of 6 to 16 to complete ten years of primary education and secondary education by 2016. If these "Abhiyans" are carried out seriously and sincerely, it may herald a new chapter in the history of primary and secondary education. But it is too early to jump to any conclusion in this regard, because the nation has had a very bitter experience with regard to the viability of such schemes and operations. Similarly, the review of school curriculum is another major challenge. Given the changes that have taken place in different areas of knowledge, an overhauling of every syllabus is the need of the hour. The increasing dominance of information technology and professionalism in every walk of life has necessitated a fresh and serious look at the primary school curriculum. By introducing a national curriculum framework for school education, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has taken a well-directed step.
A debate is on to reduce the predominance of external examinations, and remove the pass and fail categories up to Class X and indeed some initiatives has been taken by Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education though in haste. The Government, however, should also keep in mind the rural and urban divide, while formulating strategies to streamline the education structure in our state. It is the rural areas where primary education is indeed in a bad shape and needs surgical treatment at the earliest, not to talk about secondary education.
Government's efforts in the recent past to streamline the primary education sector have apparently failed. The year 2000 saw the introduction of yet another scheme to spread elementary education and the promise of making education a fundamental right. Government launched with great fanfare the "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan". But what happened to it thereafter is also to known to everyone. It is beyond any doubt that schemes are aimed at making proper classrooms, extra teaching and reading materials available in primary schools, middle schools and now in secondary schools. However, most of the Government schemes do not come up to expectations of the people due to callous approach of authorities.
In Jammu and Kashmir it is a tragedy that schemes are taken causally and because of this approach we have been deprived of many benefits otherwise guarantied in such centrally sponsored programmes. As a result, children suffered the most. We forget that due to the lack of other alternative education systems they are totally dependent on the Government-run schools for their education. Lack of facilities has also been a major problem for these schools in attracting and retaining children which the Government of India intended to ensure in Rashteriya Madhyamikh Shiksha Abhyan (RAMSA). But our feeding of data to get the funds under this scheme is wrong.
The idea of the schemes like "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashteriya Madyamikh Shiksha Abhiyan " is comprehensive. Both the schemes aim at roping in all children in the age group of 6 to 16 to complete ten years of primary education and secondary education by 2016. If these "Abhiyans" are carried out seriously and sincerely, it may herald a new chapter in the history of primary and secondary education. But it is too early to jump to any conclusion in this regard, because the nation has had a very bitter experience with regard to the viability of such schemes and operations. Similarly, the review of school curriculum is another major challenge. Given the changes that have taken place in different areas of knowledge, an overhauling of every syllabus is the need of the hour. The increasing dominance of information technology and professionalism in every walk of life has necessitated a fresh and serious look at the primary school curriculum. By introducing a national curriculum framework for school education, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has taken a well-directed step.
A debate is on to reduce the predominance of external examinations, and remove the pass and fail categories up to Class X and indeed some initiatives has been taken by Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education though in haste. The Government, however, should also keep in mind the rural and urban divide, while formulating strategies to streamline the education structure in our state. It is the rural areas where primary education is indeed in a bad shape and needs surgical treatment at the earliest, not to talk about secondary education.
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