Dulloo reviews performance of School Education Deptt
Srinagar: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo here on Saturday chaired a review meeting focused on the School Education Department in the Union Territory, emphasizing the need to enhance the quality of education in government schools.
With a substantial budget of approximately Rs 11,000 crore, he highlighted the importance of aligning financial resources with educational outcomes. Dulloo stressed the critical role of teachers, asserting that improvements in infrastructure and technology would be ineffective without dedicated and creative teaching. The Chief Secretary called for strict monitoring of teacher punctuality and classroom engagement, proposing the use of IT tools to identify underperforming teachers. He directed that teacher salaries be linked to attendance and authorized leave, noting the implementation of the JK Attendance App, which has seen 1.14 lakh employees actively marking their attendance. He also urged senior officials to conduct surprise visits to schools, particularly in remote areas, to evaluate staff presence and teaching effectiveness. Dulloo highlighted the need to utilize modern educational infrastructure, including ICT labs and smart classrooms, and instructed the IT team to create a dashboard for monitoring usage in schools. He addressed vocational education, advocating for ongoing support for vocational learners until they secure job placements, with over 141,000 students currently enrolled in various trades. The Chief Secretary discussed the planned integration of pre-primary education with childhood care, emphasizing careful preparation and collaboration with the Social Welfare Department. Pre-primary classes are set to begin in 15,550 schools, with 13,804 AAYAs/helpers engaged in ECCE sections. He reviewed progress on various educational schemes, including the establishment of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and modern infrastructure projects. Secretary of the School Education Department, Ram Niwas Sharma, provided insights into the educational landscape, revealing that J&K has a literacy rate of 77.30% and a total of 24,137 schools with an enrollment of 2,617,817 students. The budget allocation for FY 2025-26 is Rs 11,356.43 crore, with an expenditure of around Rs 1 lakh per enrolled student in government schools, significantly higher than the national average. Additionally, 396 schools have been selected for the PM program, and the Vidhya Samiksha Kendra in Jammu is operational, enhancing data-driven decision-making in education.
