School association condemns government's disciplinary actions
Karnataka Private School Managements
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Expressing strong concern and disappointment, the state's school association has written to, opposing the recent move to issue notices to District Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) over poor Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) results in certain districts. Siddaramaiah on Saturday had instructed the Chief Secretary to issue formal notices to the Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) in districts where the SSLC exam results were below 60%. The CM further directed that if the responses to these notices are found unsatisfactory, strict action should be taken against the concerned officials.In a letter to the CM, the association stated that while accountability is essential, punitive actions against officials without a thorough understanding of systemic issues amount to misplaced priorities. 'Issuing notices to DDPIs may appear to be a corrective measure, but it overlooks deep-rooted policy failures and long-standing ground-level challenges,' the letter noted.'We criticise the absence of structured consultation with teachers, school heads, and education experts, despite multiple comparative studies and reports being submitted to the government. We stress that the recent dip in SSLC performance is not a reflection of individual negligence but the result of systemic shortcomings,' said Shashi Kumar D, General Secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) and Convenor of, Teaching & Non Teaching Staff Co-ordination Committee (KPMTCC). He said that these include the lack of continuous reforms at foundational levels, the poor implementation of the National Council of Educational Research and(NCERT) based spiral curriculum, the failure of the Nali-Kali framework, and the ineffectiveness of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) in providing relevant pedagogical support.Officials like CRPs, BEOs, and DDPIs, the letter stated, are often overburdened with administrative tasks, leaving little room for academic mentoring. 'When the system prioritises showing results over genuine learning, it breeds artificial performance and data manipulation—practices that endanger long-term educational integrity,' the association warned.They also raised concerns about the overuse of grace marks, calling it a band-aid solution that conceals the underlying learning crisis. Instead, they proposed the introduction of a more meaningful internal assessment system aligned with NCERT methodologies, starting from early grades. Calling the crisis 'a systemic challenge, not an individual lapse,' the association urged the Chief Minister to halt demoralising disciplinary actions and instead focus on deeper reforms.Kumar said that there is a need for review of education policy in line with the 2019 Right To Education (RTE) amendment, along with foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) programmes to revive quality education at the primary level. 'There is also a need for creation of an apolitical, consultative platform comprising MLAs from teachers' and graduates' constituencies, education experts, senior officials, and teacher associations to guide long-term education reforms,' he said.
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