Ashok Sharma
There is no gainsaying the fact that academic inspections play an important role in bettering the functioning of schools by affording opportunites to the teachers to voice their grievances and get them redressed on the spot or recommended for their redressal by the higher authorities.Inspectors also get a chance to interact with the students to have a firsthand knowledge about their academic standard, socio -economic background, psychological and emotional problems etc the knowledge of which is so vital for the smooth conduct of effective teaching learning process.But, unfortunately, the practice of conducting annual academic inspections of schools is not being followed for the last few years.Gone are the days when officers accompanied by one or two clerks would visit schools and conduct detailed inspections of school including auditing of the accounts, classwork of the students , supervise the tutorial work of the teachers and themselves deliver model lessons to the students. It was followed by the preparation of a comprehensive inspection report containing minute observations of the inspector, shortcomings in the manner/method of teaching and suggesting methods to bring improvement in the school, alongwith submission of one copy with recommendations to the higher authorities for provision of infrastructural and other facilties to the schools.But with the unprecedented expansion of education as a result of centrally sponsored schemes such as SSA and RMSA, the officers are too overburdened to spare time for inspections of schools falling under their jurisdiction.
It is high time that this useful practice is revived without delay in order to improve the deteriorating standard of education and to ensure quality education via strict monitoring.Keeping in view the fact that over the last few years the whole country including our state has witnessed unprecedented expansion of education, there is an urgent need to reorganise the Directorate of School Education by carving out separate Directorates for elementary, secondery and higher secondery schools for better monitoring and effective supervision. Two posts, each of the CEO and ZEO should be created at district and zonal level respectively for effective supervision of the schools falling under their respective jurisdiction.At present CEOs and ZEOs,are heavily overburdened with official work including preaparation and consolidation of information for submission to the higher authorities . So it is better that committees at Zonal and District level are formed.Senior principals, HODs and lecturers should be given the responsibility of conducting detailed inspections of schools at zonal and district level.The inspectors need to be teachers of repute well versed with the paedogogical practices and child psychology.Inspections should be conducted in relation to availability of infrastructural facilities, quality of education being provided, receipt of funds and their utilisation, followup action taken by the school in the light of observations and recommendations of the last inspection report etc The inspectors should also see whether the school has prepared and implemented the institutional plan and whether the children with special needs and those with low achievement are given due attention, whether the school is maintaining close rapport with the parents and community and whether the optimum use of available resources is being made.No of inspections should depend on the performance of school in the Board results.Schools showing poor results need to be inspected frequently for close monitoring.Hard worded warnings need to be issued to the erring staff to improve their working.Inspection proforma should be carefully devised and inspections should be carried out in such a manner that all schools are inspected at least once a year.Inspectors should also interact with the students and their parents for initiation of steps for improvement in teaching learning process.It will be better if inspectors are provided with proper means of transport to facilitate their visits to schools.
The inspection report should reflect the assessment of the learning levels of students in different subjects , point out deficiencies and recommend concrete action plan for improving and achieving the target of performance.A threadbare analysis of the marks obtained by the students in unit and terminal tests should also be made to draw the conclusion as to why the school’s performance fell below the benchmark.The report should also suggest measures needed to be taken to make the students competitive keeping in view the changing national and international scenario.It must be remembered that the students are the most valuable resource of a country and focussing all our attention on bettering teaching learning process in the schools alone can help in preparing them to face the challenges of the fast changing and fiercely competitive world and catapult our country to Himalayan heights of academic excellence and glory.
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