nAt a time, when both Delhi and Maharashtra are battling out to deal with deadly coronavirus, Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, discussed the approach adopted by the Delhi Government in bringing out major reforms in the education system here in an online discussion with the Education Department of Maharashtra Government.
The live session, hosted by SCERT Maharashtra and Leadership for Equity (a research advisory organisation which aims to improve the education quality of Government schools in India) on Thursday, had Binay Bhushan, Director, Education and Shailendra Sharma, Advisor to Director, Education. From Government of Maharashtra, Dr. Vandana Krishna, Principal Secretary, School Education and Sports Department, Maharashtra State, Vaishali Veer, District Education Officer, Nasik and Mr Madhukar Banuri, Founder CEO, Leadership for Equity (LFE) participated.
Apart from this, around 700 participants joined the live session on Zoom, and more than 4,000 teachers watched it on Facebook.
Speaking at the session, Sisodia said, “If education officers and teachers are worried about education in these adverse times, then this is a positive thing. The idea behind this session is to open a platform for both the States to share their education models and associated ideas with each other. We have sent our teachers and principals to understand and learn from the best schools all over the country and abroad. And that is what we want to do, share our approach that we had adopted to bring about a change in the education system of Delhi and also get to learn from you about innovative practices taken up by government schools of Maharashtra.”
In response to a question from Dr Vandana, Principal Secretary Education, Govt of Maharashtra, Sisodia said, "Mindset is the key. Education does not only mean learning a new skill or cracking competitive examinations or securing good grades, it also means developing the right mindset. Delhi government focussed on transforming the education system for the need of society 20 years from now.”, added Education Minister of Delhi.
Explaining the model of Delhi Education reforrm, Shailendra Sharma, Prinicipal Advisor to Director Education said, "Delhi Education model is built has four pillars. These are- Revamping School Infrastructure, transforming teachers and Principals training and exposure, enhanced parental engagement and curricular reforms in key areas". Classrooms were revamped, labs and libraries were built, staffroom and toilets facilities created. Work in the area of Infrastructure is not merely a civil work, it goes a long way in building the faith of parents and teachers in the intent of the government.It raises the self esteem of students".
“Teachers and principals have been sent to Finland and Cambridge to learn about the education systems there. We also have tied up with the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and they designed a course on mentoring for us. The idea was not to adopt or copy what is being practised in other countries, the intent is to understand, learn and come back inspired,” added Sharma.
According to DoE officials, the Delhi Government has also worked on increasing Parental engagement by conducting mega PTMs three or four times a year. School Management Committees have been revamped and the government has ensured that they function smoothly by also providing them a budgetary allocation of Rs 5- 7 Lakhs each.
"Through Mission Buniyad, the focus was given on last child in the class by ensuring that they aquare foundational learning skills. The Happiness Curriculum was introduced to strengthen the emotional well being of our children. Children are exposed to stress from a very young age, and parents/teachers did not know how to deal with them. The Happiness curriculum addresses the well being of the students and focuses on their emotional development. All schools have implemented the curriculum in Delhi from grades, nursery to std 8. “ said Advisor to Director, Education, Sharma
Explaining the good initiatives taken by the education team of Maharashtra, Vishal Solanki said, “We have started with Mulyavardhan program which is a school based value education programme that we started some years ago. We inculcate constitutional values in the minds of our children through this programme.”