Page 20 - EducationWorld March 2022

Education News

D, general secretary, Associated state’s anganwadi centres established
Managements of Private Schools in by the Central government under
Karnataka (KAMS) and lead organ- the Integrated Child Development
iser of the two-day symposium: “The Scheme (1976).
Kasturirangan committee which While there was initial jubilation in
drafted NEP 2020 did not have even the state about schools opening after
one representative from private the unprecedented pandemic lock-
schools which educate 48 percent down, educationists and educators are
of the country’s 260 million school- dismayed by the scale of the challenge
going children. The objective of this confronting them. Media reports from
symposium is to make our voice and all over Bengal confirm that a large
opinion heard before the implemen- number of students have dropped out
tation of NEP 2020 begins. How can of primary classess — especially of
the education ministry which manag- government schools — because they
es its own schools also regulate pri- have started working. Reports also
vate schools? And, if all members of confirm that youngest children who
SSSA are nominated by government have resumed classes have forgotten
without any private school represen- what they had learnt.
tation, how can it be independent? A year ago, an Annual Status of
That’s why KPMTCC is demanding Education Report (ASER) survey in-
setting up of a truly independent dicated that the lockdown of schools
SSSA with equal representation from had inflicted a huge learning loss to
private schools. If the objective of primary school students statewide. tus of Jadavpur University, and Achin
NEP 2020, to transform India into ASER field personnel tested primary Chakraborty, professor of economics
an education superpower is to be children in 10,141 households in 510 and director of the Institute of De-
realised, the role and contribution of villages of all districts of Bengal, ex- velopment Studies, Kolkata, have ex-
private schools has to be encouraged cept Darjeeling. Their report indicated pressed deep concern about the future
and respected.” that the reading and arithmetic com- of West Bengal’s 8 million children
The well-intentioned NEP 2020 petencies of children in government enrolled in 65,000 primary schools.
repeatedly stresses the need for schools had reduced by 7-10 percent omments Abhijit Banerjee in
“tight but light regulation” and calls respectively and only 30 percent of CThe Times of India (February 10):
for a massive, concerted effort to class III children were able to read “Teachers will have to play a crucial
raise the floor of India’s education class II texts or do class II-level sub- role in identifying the shortcomings
system. But this won’t happen with traction sums. It also highlighted that of students and filling the learning
private schools which educate 48 only one out of six students received gaps. We have to find a new approach
percent of in-school children being learning material during the first eight to prevent the bond between students
denied a level playing field and suf- months of the pandemic and only one- and schools from weakening. The fo-
fering continuous discrimination. third had access to smartphones. cus should be on not leaving anyone
Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru) It is pertinent to note that if India’s behind because if we lose this op-
education sector pandemic lockdown portunity, a generation will lose their
WEST BENGAL is the world’s longest (82 weeks), future.”
Likewise in a recent op-ed essay in
Sceptical jubilation within India West Bengal’s is the the Anandabazar Patrika, Prof. Su-
longest among all states (99 weeks).
Somewhat belatedly following reports kanta Chaudhuri, wrote: “In West
ith the daily count of co- of massive learning loss of children, Bengal, about 16 lakh children are ad-
vid-19 cases in West Ben- parents, students, teachers’ organisa- mitted to primary school every year.
Wgal dipping from 24,000 tions and students’ bodies of the state The children of the last two batches
cases per day in mid-January to 500 have begun to raise the volume of pro- did not go to school for a single day.
on February 13, the state’s hyper cau- test against exaggerated caution about There is a strong possibility that more
tious Trinamool Congress govern- restarting normal schooling. than half a crore (5 million) children
ment announced reopening of all With the latest ASER survey (2021) in Bengal will remain completely il-
primary and upper primary schools confirming these apprehensions, sev- literate. And with a large number of
with effect from February 16 — after eral intellectual heavyweights includ- children growing up without learning
a 23-months lockdown. The govern- ing Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, to read and write, we are heading to-
ment also greenlighted restart of the Sukanta Chaudhuri, professor emeri- wards a catastrophe that will not spare

20 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2022