Page 40 - EW JULY PDF

Cover Story

in which the Central and state govern-
ments formulate education policy, op-
erate government schools and tightly
regulate private schools, and proposes
separation of powers. Contradictorily,
it dilutes the institutional autonomy
of private schools by decreeing an al-
phabet soup of regulatory bodies. “The
four distinct roles of governance and
regulation, namely (a) policymaking
(b) the provision/operation of edu-
cation (c) ensuring professional and
quality standards in education and (d)
academic work (sic) will be conduct-
ed by separate independent bodies
in order to avoid conflicts of interest
and concentrations of power, and to
ensure due and quality focus on each
role,” says NEP 2020 (para 8.6). Kingdon: SSSA backsliding Raju: over-regulation, mirco-management
F OR SEPARATION OF THESE fees” by private schools. Acts and 101 corresponding Rules,

functions, NEP 2020 man-
However according to Prof. Gee-
thousands of GOs and now NEP
dates an elaborate schema
vate school managements to run
Chair of Education and International
in the states comprising ta Gandhi Kingdon, professor and 2020-mandated SSSAs, require pri-
the Department of School Educa- Development at the top-ranked Uni- through a gauntlet of rules and regula-
tion for “policy making and continual versity College, London and president tions. The Modi-led BJP government
improvement” of school education; of City Montessori School, Lucknow, at the Centre has shown commitment
Directorate of School Education for the government is already backslid- to improving ease of doing business
regulating “operations and provision ing on the issue of independence of and reducing the compliances burden
of the public (government) schooling SSSAs. for business entrepreneurs.
system”, and the all-important State “Division of the role of the state On Feb. 1, in her Budget 2023-24
School Standards Authority (SSSA), Directorate of Education as operator, speech, Union finance minister Nir-
“an independent statewide body” to assessor and regulator of the school mala Sitharaman announced that
“establish a minimal set of standards education system and appointment of the government has reduced 39,000
based on basic parameters (namely an independent SSSA is perhaps the business/industry compliances and
safety, security, basic infrastructure, most important systemic reform pro- decriminalised over 3,400 legal pro-
number of teachers across subjects posed in NEP 2020. However, three visions. Indian K-12 education needs
and grades, probity and sound pro- years after the policy was approved by to be similarly liberalised and dereg-
cesses of governance which shall be Parliament, there’s been no progress ulated. Complying with regulations is
followed by all schools).” on this front. On the contrary CBSE, a time-consuming and distracting for
The critical importance of the SSSA subsidiary of the Central government private school managements, prin-
in particular, is underlined by the wide which has 25,000 affiliated govern- cipals and teachers who should be
powers conferred on this independent ment and private schools for whom improving governance and teaching.
authority to direct private schools to it prescribes governance standards Moreover, the uncertainty of an over-
make transparent public disclosure and conducts board examinations, bearing and discretionary regulatory
of all regulatory information (i.e, fi- has been appointed SSSA for Central environment is driving investment
nancial accounts) on a public website government and CBSE schools. And away from education. Not only does
maintained by SSSAs and to adjudi- there is every indication that state every regulatory mandate impose a
cate “any complaints or grievances governments are set to follow its ex- direct compliance cost, it also has an
arising out of the information in the ample and appoint state examination unseen opportunity cost.
public domain”. The prime function of boards as SSSA. This will surely com- Praveen Raju, the Hyderabad-
the SSSA spelt out in para 8.7 of NEP promise their independence and per- based co-chair of FICCI Arise (Alli-
2020 is “protecting parents and com- petuate discrimination against private ance for Reimagining School Educa-
munities from usurious practices, in- schools,” warns Prof. Kingdon. tion), the private schools advocacy
cluding arbitrary increases in tuition The RTE Act, 2009, 145 State wing of the Delhi-based Federation

40 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2023