Power for primary educationas new directorate is set up

For effective implementation of the now programme and for coordination with the concerned departments, a high-level committee headed by School Education Secretary Rameshchandra Kanadey has been set up. The committee comprises, apart from Kanadey, directors of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbooks, Educational Research and Training Council and Educational Training and Planning Centre, Aurangabad, More said.

All the schemes run by the Director of Education and funds received from the centre as well as international educational organisations will stand transferred in the name of the newly created Directorate of Primary Education. Simultaneously, the responsibility to coordinate with the local self-government organisations will also be shifted to the new directorate.On the task before the new directorate, More said the main challenge would be to draft a comprehensive strategy for imparting pre-primary education for all children in the age group of three to five years and creating necessary facilities for the purpose.

For the children in the age group of six to 14 years, it will be the responsibility of the new directorate to provide primary education and take concrete steps to halt the increasing drop-out rate. “We expect that the new directorate, in consultation with the zilla parishads, municipal councils and municipal corporations, will prepare an action plan so that every single child joins school,” More said.

More said the directorate has been asked to draft an annual as well as a five-year plan to implement the policy of universalisation of primary education. “Along with the action plan, it will be its responsibility to ensure that the grants released to the educational institutions are used properly,” he said.

More said his government has changed the existing norms for appointment of teachers in the schools run by local self government organisations as well as aided schools. “For primary schools, we have changed the norms. As a result, at least 22,000 new teachers will be recruited from the academic session,” he said.

Elaborating his contention, More said so far, the provision was that there should be one teacher for a school with a total number of 80 students. As per the revised proposal, there should be one teacher for a school with a strength of 15 students, two teachers for 16 to 80 students, three between 81 and 120 students and four between 121 to 160.

As a result of the new policy, now most schools in the state will have at least two teachers. “I feel one teacher-schools will be a thing of the past,” he said.