Kerala launches 'comprehensive quality improvement' programme to elevate public education

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In a move to elevate public education, the Kerala government has announced the launch of a statewide initiative, "Comprehensive Quality Improvement" programme, set to take effect in the next academic year. General Education Minister V Sivankutty, speaking at a press conference here on Monday, outlined the programme's goal: to transform every government school in the state into a centre of excellence. The state-level inauguration of the project will be done by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on February 18, the minister said.

"We cannot just improve the quality of education by merely reforming the syllabus or textbooks, but we need to ensure these are properly taught in schools," Sivankutty said. Calling it the government's top priority for the next year, Sivankutty said the initiative focuses on multiple aspects of educational reform. The project aims to enhance academic processes, improve evaluation methods, and ensure their comprehensive implementation. It also seeks to upgrade technology-enabled classrooms, strengthen administrative efficiency, and reform teacher training programmes.

Additionally, the initiative will facilitate better coordination between departments to enhance overall education quality. Public outreach campaigns will also be conducted to raise awareness about the project and garner community support. Sivankutty said this is also part of a programme to ensure minimum pass percentage for each subject in higher classes, that would be implemented in the coming years. Giving a stern warning to schools that organise exams and interviews for admitting students to Class One, Sivankutty said that such practices amount to cruelty to children and that the government will not permit them.

Class 1 admissions in Kerala

"Free and equitable education for students from Class 1 to 8 is a right granted to them by law. We have heard about some schools conducting exams and interviews for children and even for parents while seeking admission to Class One. This is a form of cruelty against children," Sivankutty said. He said that instructions have already been given against collecting any fees from students in Classes 1 to 8 and that no unlisted fees should be collected from students in Classes 8 to 12.

The minister said that the vacation teacher communion is being organised with the objective of familiarising and training teachers regarding the reformed curriculum and textbooks, as well as equipping them to impart education based on the updated curriculum and textbooks. The minister emphasised that all these efforts are aimed at enabling students to achieve high scores in competitive examinations held at the national level. He further said that textbooks for 10th standard students for the next academic year would be distributed by the end of March, while textbooks for other classes would be issued from May.