Srinagar, September 11 (CNI): Principal Secretary School Education Alok Kumar, today inaugurated 02 days workshop on Shaala Sidhi*, a transformative initiative aimed at enhancing the quality of education in schools across the region at Srinagar, through virtual mode. The workshop was organized by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi in collaboration with Samagra Shiksha, J&K, where experts pitched for teaching and performance improvement in a focused and strategic manner. Project Director Samagra Shiksha, Deep Raj, Director School Education Kashmir, Tassaduq Hussain, Professor Pranati Panda, Professor and Head, NIEPA, New Delhi, Prof. Rasmita Das Swain, A.N. Reddy, Assistant Professor from NIEPA, besides CEOs, DIET Principals, ZEOs and HOIs of various districts attended the workshop.
Principal Secretary, Alok Kumar in his inaugural address, said that Shaala Sidhi empowers educational institutions to take charge of their own development by providing them with a structured framework for self-assessment. He reiterated that, Schools can systematically evaluate their performance, identify areas in need of improvement and create actionable plans to address these areas. This initiative facilitates data-driven decision-making at multiple levels, ranging from the school itself to district and union territory administration, he said. He said that, the “Workshop on Shaala Sidhi” marks a significant step towards the region’s commitment for improving education and ensuring every child receives a quality education. School Evaluation’ as the means and ‘School Improvement’ as the goal has been adopted as key to success in J&K. Kumar reiterated that in tandem with Shaala Sidhi, the Jammu and Kashmir government has taken significant steps towards realizing a holistic approach to ensure equitable and high-quality education. SAMIKSHA, is an innovative program designed by Samagra Shiksha under the ambit of School Education and has been launched to gather invaluable feedback from students on classroom interactions, he said. The insights gained from SAMIKSHA aim to improve learning outcomes and inform the development of tailored training programs for educators. Alok also said that, introduction of the School Complex System seeks to optimize the allocation of resources, both human and material, with the ultimate goal of enhancing student achievement. Project Director, Samagra Shiksha Deep Raj, welcomed all the participants and other Guest Speakers and in his Key note address eloquently briefed them about the context and significance of this trans-formative workshop. He said that, the primary objective of Shaala Sidhi initiative, an integrated web-based school evaluation system, is to comprehensively assess and enhance various aspects of school functioning. This encompasses everything from the quality of infrastructure to the effectiveness of teaching-learning processes, the evaluation of student progress and the engagement of the community in the educational ecosystem, he informed the house. Aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-2020), Jammu and Kashmir has also launched STEER, a web-based mentorship program known as Student Teacher Engagement for Educational Re-enforcement, to elevate learning standards at the primary level, ensuring that every child receives an excellent education and every teacher can excel in their role. He reiterated that, Jammu and Kashmir has made remarkable progress in infrastructure development within the realm of school education and recently the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor J&K, dedicated assets of worth 164 Crores to Students and Teachers of the J&K. Upgraded Infrastructure like school buildings, Girl Hostels, KGBVs, laboratories, Play Grounds and kindergartens are under progress, besides no. of projects are in pipeline including digital infrastructure, with the introduction of ICT Labs, Astro Physics Labs, Astronomy & Virtual Reality (VR) Labs. He said recent launch of initiatives of Samagra Shiksha shall help in improving the Education System to its desired level. Director School Education Tassaduq Hussain, said that, Shaala Sidhi stands out as a comprehensive and holistic endeavour, which is not only to assess, but to transform schools into vibrant centres of learning. He informed that, School Education Department is keen to bring the transformation in the Education System and such workshops shall definitely help to explore the new avenues. Five sessions were taken by the Experts from NIEPA during the first day of the workshop. Assistant Coordinator, Fayaz Ahmed, presented the vote of thanks and expressed gratitude to Professor Pranati Panda and all members of NIEPA for the Expert talks during the workshop.
