The success of the novel PM SHRI schools scheme will depend on the quality of educators

Source: The post is based on an article “The success of the novel PM SHRI schools scheme will depend on the quality of educators” published in The Indian Express on 24^th September 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to education

Relevance: Goals of PM SHRI scheme and challenges with the Indian education system

News: The goals of PM SHRI schools are enough to bridge the education gap caused by the pandemic if implemented properly. However, there are also challenges associated with it.

What are the goals of PM SHRI schools and how can they be useful?

PM SHRI schools promise to enclose all aspects of the NEP.

Medium: PM SHRI schools can become a medium to bring change brought by the new education policies (NEP and NCF).These schools will need to find the solution of learning losses caused due to pandemic and ensure fruitful outcomes that can help the nation’s economy.

Mentoring: Every region will have PM SHRI schools that will mentor other schools in their areas. It will also have range of learning experiences, good infrastructure among others.

Teaching methods: These schools will include a variety of pedagogies and assessment systems along with vocational education.

Employment: These schools will provide linkages with counselors and local industry to provide employment opportunities to its students.

Environment friendly: The schools will be energy-efficient with natural farming patches, equipped with rainwater harvesting systems and will enable the study of traditional environment-friendly practices.

Career guidance: Career guidance and mentoring will be provided by the alumni and parents will also be trained to become home mentors.

Community centers: The school will become community centres after the regular hours and converge with existing schemes like PM Poshan, Samagrah Shiksha and Ayushman Bharat.

The goals of PM SHRI look encouraging but improving the quality of education is challenging in countries like India that have large socio-economic gaps.

What are the problems associated with the current education system?

First, poor status, low salaries and inadequate working conditions discourage talented people from entering the teaching profession.

Second, there is also lack of investment in high-quality teachers, training and resource materials along with the lack in teacher training schools in India.

Therefore, there is need for teacher training programme to train the educators in the pedagogical practices proposed by the NEP