FICCI ARISE (Alliance for Re-Imagining School Education) advocates creation of progressive policy environment in public and independent schools Govt. of India notifies learning outcomes for each subject in the Right to Education Act: Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for HRD ‘Muskan Programme’ to bring government & private schools together: HRD Minister of Haryana

NEW DELHI, April 3, 2017. The Right to Education Act has been strengthened by notifying learning outcomes in consultation with the stakeholders for each subject, making teachers accountable with respect to their deliverables and quality of education being imparted to students. 

This was stated today by Mr. Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for HRD, Government of India, at FICCI’s flagship conference on school education FICCI ARISE (Alliance for Re-Imagining School Education). The theme of the first edition of the conference was ‘School Education 3.0; Student First’.

Mr. Javadekar said that the Government’s primary focus has been on enhancing the quality of education in the government institutions and the motto was ‘Sabko Shiksha and Achchi Shiksha’ as it will lay a strong and robust foundation for innovation and sustainable growth of the economy. He urged the stakeholders to encourage curiosity and creativity in students to make them lifelong learners and co-creators of knowledge.

Alluding to various schemes and initiatives undertaken by the Government, the Minister said that specific programmes have been launched such as reforms in the Teachers Education. In-service training for teachers had been put in place which would allow a teacher to visit different institutes and work on creating relevant curriculum for the students.

Mr. Javadekar said that with respect to detention policy, the states have been empowered to apply it or not according to their requirement and the CBSE Board Examinations have been made mandatory. He appreciated FICCI’s efforts in the education sector and urged the stakeholders to provide suggestions and recommendations to improve the quality of education in the country.

In his Keynote Address, Mr. Ram Bilas Sharma, HRD Minister, Haryana, said that India was known for its ‘Shiksha, Sanskar and Sanskriti’ and was working towards elevation of the education sector. He added that education has been commercialized and globalized and India with one of the biggest market and consumers of the world, thus it was necessary to have an education system which highlighted quality and accessibility. 

Speaking about the recently launched ‘Muskan Project’ in Haryana, Mr. Sharma said that it had been evolved to bring both government and private schools together. Each private school would voluntarily partner with government schools in the proximity, and share their best practices in learning, innovative ideas and creativity. Sharing various instances of India’s appreciative educational system, he said that the country’s traditional education and universities such as Nalanda were well known for their education and India’s has some of the best minds of the world. 

Mr. Pankaj Patel, President, FICCI, said that while the government should bring in adequate reforms to fix the government schools, to attract credible and ethical private sector, it is critical to facilitate independent schools to restructure and allow them to generate ample surplus in a transparent manner to fulfill the responsibility of providing education to our children with the latest pedagogy and technology. He added that to leverage the strength in private sector, PPP models should be developed to strengthen the underperforming government schools. 

In his theme address, Mr. Prabhat Jain, Chairman, FICCI ARISE, said that third party ratings framework for schools was needed and each school’s performance should be measured on varied parameters where the framework created should be aspirational and credible. He added that autonomy, accessibility and affordability were needed to augment the quality of education. Transformational changes were needed in the education system and students had to be equipped with the right education which allows them to learn, un-learn and re-learn to remain relevant.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Naga Prasad Tummala, Co-Chair, FICCI ARISE, said that FICCI ARISE is a national body which focusses on school education. For FICCI ARISE, the learning outcomes notified by the government are non-negotiable and the members of the collegium were committed towards taking India’s education sector to the next level.  

“Education is the key lever in creating the necessary environment for the development of a future-ready workforce that can extract value from India’s information infrastructure”, said Mr Mohandas Pai while delivery first speech of FICCI@90 lecture series. He also spoke about the 4^th Industrial revolution and the impact advancement of technology is making on education. In an environment of research and innovation schools also would have to innovate. To address these, regulators need to shift from inputs to outcomes. Schools will need autonomy to address the diversity and differences in their classrooms rather than simply making a standardized assembly line solution for students.

Ms. Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI, said that Education 3.0 needs to focus on quality and tech-enabled pedagogical models to enhance formal education. Levers such as personalized and adaptive learning, multi-format simulations and practice environments, and lifelong learning models were needed for holistic development of our children to become productive citizens.

Also present on the dais were Mr. P K Das, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of School Education, Government of Haryana and Mr. Manit Jain, Co-Chair, FICCI ARISE. 

On the occasion, two discussion papers FICCI ARISE-EY Vision on School Education 3.0 and FICCI ARISE- Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. Model Self-Financed Independent Schools Code were unveiled by the dignitaries. 

FICCI ARISE-EY’s Discussion Paper – Vision for School Education 3.0 aims at reimagining new paradigms for school education that focus on creating capabilities powered by inclusivity, inquiry and innovation. Education for tomorrow must hone the learner’s ability to become a co-creator of knowledge rather than being just a passive receiver.

The paper by FICCI ARISE-Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. State School Education Model Code was developed with the objective to independent code for recognition and regulation of schools established as self-financed independent institutions. The Model Self-Financed Independent Schools Code will serve as a useful model draft for various State Governments to adopt in order to encourage credible private investments in school education.