The Arunachal Pradesh government is looking for ways to improve the quality of education in the state after being among the low-ranking states in the NITI Aayog SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020-21 Report.
At a meeting regarding “Mission Shiksha” on December 9, chief secretary Naresh Kumar stressed on quality education, asking the state education department to prepare an action plan using new technology to strengthen the teaching-learning process.
Education commissioner Niharika Rai, urban development special secretary Sachin Rana and other officials were also present during the meeting.
The chief secretary identified that the state’s educational institutes need urgent infrastructure development, stressing that the delivery of quality teaching must be the primary aim of the education department at this point of time.
Kumar said the learning process must be upgraded with the advancements in technology, asking the education department to utilize modern digital teaching tools to make learning more exciting and feed the curiosity among students.
He also suggested different measures, including a performance evaluation system for both teachers and students in keeping with the indicators of NITI Aayog and the Union ministry of education.
Kumar asked the department to analyse gaps in the sector and plan actions accordingly to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
The major points suggested by the chief secretary to improve quality of teaching were the in-service teachers’ training and conducting of tours to the best performing states in education.
The education system in Arunachal Pradesh had begun to collapse since the pandemic. The number of government schools in Arunachal Pradesh increased from three since Independence to more than 3,000, but the quality in education did not improve desirably. The state had to close down about 400 zero-enrolment schools. The chief minister also took a call to merge schools with lesser students and teachers.
The scenario in colleges is not any better. According to a report presented by the state government in November, about 478 assistant professors are teaching in the 19 government colleges, whereas about 400 more are needed. There is a shortage of about 110 staff in these colleges.
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu has already held various meetings regarding the education shortfalls of the state.