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Special Report

Vinay Jain ing has its own drawbacks such as
Founder, Witty Group of Institutions, Mumbai poor Internet connectivity, lack of
digital devices, inadequately trained
inay Jain is promoter of the teachers, screen time effect on health
Witty Group of Institutions of children, and poor learning out-
V(estb.2000) comprising four comes. Online education is a good
schools in Mumbai and two in Rajas- temporary alternative, that’s all.
than with an aggregate enrolment of
5,200 students. Jain is also CEO and Increasing government interference in
managing director of VJTF Eduser- private schools’ fees and online educa-
vices Pvt. Ltd, an education consul- tion delivery. Knee jerk reactions and
tancy, and a motivational speaker circulars by government have caused
and trainer. severe damage to private education.
Some parents have taken undue
NEP 2020 overview. NEP is a progres- advantage and are raising the slogan
sive document which if implemented ‘No school no fees’. Government
swiftly and effectively will trans- should take into consideration that Top 3 proposals for re-inventing India’s
form India into a global knowledge private schools are entirely funded K-12 education system.
powerhouse. Though belatedly, it has by students’ fees. Even while schools • Grant loans to education institu-
finally given prime importance to are not physically open, salaries of tions under the priority sector lend-
early childhood care and education teachers and support staff have to be ing programme with tenure extend-
for developing children’s founda- paid. ing to 40 years and interest rates on
tional numeracy and literacy skills. a par with housing loans. This will
ECCE is the cornerstone of all future Witty Kids’ major initiatives. Some of result in reduction of school fees.
learning. our recent initiatives include re- • Scrap B.Ed as a compulsory qualifi-
modeling the curriculum to suit the
Transition of K-12 schools to online/ digital medium; investing 36 man cation for teaching in schools. Allow
blended learning during the current hours per week to train teachers to highly-qualified professionals such
Covid-19 crisis. For schools, the manage online classes; monitoring as doctors, engineers, lawyers to also
pandemic is nothing short of an online teaching-learning sessions to teach.
apocalypse. Schools are temporarily enable continuous improvement and • Redesign curriculums to remove
using the online medium to maintain conducting online parent orientation information-based concepts which
learning continuity. However, online programmes. encourage rote learning.

Nishi Misra response to the sudden crisis triggered by
Principal, Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior the Covid-19 pandemic. Neither individuals
nor society can survive in an entirely online
n alumna of Allahabad Univer- world.
sity with valuable teaching and Government interference in fees and online
Aadmin experience in St. Mary’s, education delivery of private schools. Govern-
All Saints and Sherwood College — all ment directives on fees and online educa-
in Nainital — and former headmistress tion expose the lack of vision of the political
of Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar, class. It’s also a pity how tax-paying parents
Nishi Misra is principal of the all-girls who are funding the huge and ponderous
boarding Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, machinery of government schools that
Gwalior (estb. 1956), consistently deliver minimal learning, resent paying fees
ranked among India’s Top 3 girls to private schools which are building the
boarding schools in the annual EW education foundation of their children.
India School Rankings.
SKV initiatives. Two path-breaking SKV
NEP 2020 overview. A single regulator initiatives are our peer observation and
for higher education and setting up national missions for mentoring system which motivates teachers to learn from
implementing education reforms are welcome prescrip- and improve each other, and parent-teacher collaboration
tions. But though the policy document recognises the which has enabled parents to get involved and participate
role of private schools, the unwieldy involvement of the in their children’s education.
government machinery in regulation is sure to demoralise
private school managements. Moreover, the three-lan- Top 3 proposals for re-inventing India’s K-12 education system.
guage formula, integration of technology-aided learning • There is urgent need to bring private schools within the
and assessment reforms in my opinion, will pose imple- ambit of organised sector industry with safeguards.
mentation challenges. • Encourage school and higher education linkages and
involve the latter in framing K-12 curriculums.
Switch of K-12 schools to online/blended learning during • Promote high-quality and result-oriented research
the current Covid-19 crisis. This shift is only a stop-gap across the education spectrum.

80 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2020