Andhra Pradesh aims at outcome-oriented education to transform students

AMARAVATI: Come the 2022-23 academic year, government schools in Andhra Pradesh will shift to outcome-oriented education that brings about positive behavioural changes and transforms students into global citizens through development of social and collaborative skills. 'Child is not the reason for his or her low performance' will be the mantra for the teachers and the headmasters to follow to achieve the set objectives in tune with the National Education Policy-2020.

"Teachers and headmasters should be aware of it and take responsibility for the performance of students. The State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) has been entrusted with the task of maintaining academic standards and ensuring all students attain the learning outcomes relative to their class and age," School Education Commissioner S Suresh Kumar has said.

Focused implementation of the NEP-2020 by revising and revamping every aspect of education, including regulation and governance, and aligning it with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Quality Education) would be the top priority of the government, Suresh Kumar told PTI. As a major step towards achieving the set goals, infrastructure in government schools was being completely refurbished with new classrooms and digital learning aids, besides clean toilets, playgrounds, art sessions, etc. Career counselling for students from class VIII onwards, duly involving teachers and parents, would be another path-breaking initiative aimed at nurturing talent in the right direction. "We are creating a conducive learning environment in all schools under the Mana Badi: Nadu-Nedu programme. It's now time to ensure adequate learning outcomes among the children through effective classroom transactions," the School Education Commissioner noted.

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Suresh Kumar, who as district Collector in Medak and Guntur, contributed to the enhancement of standards in government-run schools, is now seeking to take the process to the next level across the state. He has addressed the headmasters of schools, and also the mandal and regional level educational officers, on the reform agenda beginning with an innovative and flexible lesson plan for each class and subject. "Any reform in school education can be successfully implemented at the field level only by the teachers as they are the direct facilitators who interact with the children and impart them knowledge," Suresh Kumar pointed out.

Accordingly, every teacher has been asked to prepare innovative and flexible lesson plans of their subjects in tune with the standards of the students and the best practices. Updated information on each subject apart, current affairs would also be part of the lesson plan. "Not just academics, emphasis will also be on co-curricular and extra-curricular activities so that teaching and learning become holistic. Remedial learning will be another key aspect wherein individual dissimilarities among students will be addressed so as to help them build on their knowledge," the Commissioner said.

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The SCERT, which is the Academic Authority for School Education under the RTE Act, will develop an academic monitoring mechanism and issue guidance and support to all the field-level functionaries. It will monitor the learning outcomes and assess the students’ standards, according to Suresh Kumar.