Evaluating shift in public perception of U.P. govt primary schools: DIET teams to conduct assessment
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has entrusted the responsibility of this pan-U.P. study to District Institutes of Education and Training.
In an effort to gauge the change in perception of government-run primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh in recent years, especially after a widespread infrastructure push and a boost to facilities and teaching quality worth crores implemented by the Yogi Adityanath-led state government, a dedicated study has been commissioned by the state government in the Hindi heartland state.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has entrusted the responsibility of this pan-U.P. study to District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET), including the one in Prayagraj. The team of experts will assess if and how much people’s outlook toward these schools has changed compared to private schools, especially after steps taken under ‘Operation Kayakalp’, initiated in 2019 by the U.P. government, aimed at transforming the primary schools of the state. Under this scheme, efforts are being made to provide a clean and safe environment with modern facilities for children studying in over 1.5 lakh government-run primary (classes 1 to 5) and upper primary schools (classes 5 to 8) in the state, according to officials of the state basic education department.
All DIETs have been asked to undertake this exercise in their respective districts. The help of experts from leading educational institutions will also be sought for this study dubbed ‘Comparative Study of Changes in the Attitude of the Society Towards Government Schools in Comparison to Private Schools after Mission Kayakalp,’ they added.
“For this research work, which is going to start next week, the changes in the infrastructure of these schools under the UP Basic Education Council, their educational quality, and the changing attitude of society towards schools will be studied,” said DIET-Prayagraj Principal Rajendra Pratap, confirming the development.
“For this, we will survey 200 teachers and children,” added Pratap.
DIET-Prayagraj Principal, along with the institute’s senior lecturer Shivnarayan Singh, will lead the team comprising lecturers including Shabnam, Nidhi Mishra, Rajesh Kumar Pandey, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, and Pankaj Kumar Yadav, who will undertake this study.
“To undertake this study, we will be signing agreements with Allahabad University, CMP Degree College, Indian Institute of Information Technology-Allahabad (IIIT-A), Uttar Pradesh Rajarshi Tandon Open University (UPRTOU), and other universities and colleges to seek help from their experts in this exercise,” shared Pratap.
Along with studying society’s attitude toward government schools, the DIET team will also conduct a comparative study of teaching effectiveness among primary and upper primary level teachers. Additionally, the availability of science laboratories and mathematics kits in upper primary schools and their impact on educational achievement, as well as the impact and usefulness of art subjects on children’s learning, will also be studied, he further shared.
