JEPC set to launch School Certification Scheme to promote Holistic Education

In Jharkhand, a strong step has been taken towards adopting education as a holistic thought and approach, instead of limiting it to just bookish knowledge. To realise the excellent education and visionary dreams of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the School Certification Scheme is being started by the Jharkhand Education Project Council.

Under this scheme, a total of 750 schools of the State will be evaluated in the first phase which will be conducted from May 5, 2025 to May 8, 2025 and will include 80 CM Schools of Excellence, 325 block level Adarsh Vidyalay and 345 PM Shri Vidyalayas.

To give a new dimension to the quality of government schools of the State and to develop healthy and transparent competition among the schools, the work of school certification will be done twice a year- the first will be in April and the second in October. This evaluation of 1000 marks will be based on two main components. The main objective of this certification process is to evaluate the educational environment of schools holistically, so that a healthy and motivating learning environment can be ensured. The scheme aims to certify 7000 schools in the next 5 years.

For the successful implementation of school certification, a letter has been sent by JEPC to the District Education Officer and District Education Superintendents of all the districts. In the letter, the districts have been directed to ensure all preparations before school certification and to provide necessary technical support to all the schools participating in the certification.

The letter also states that JEPC is committed to providing strong, inclusive and quality education to every child of the State. This scheme is an important effort towards improving the educational environment of the schools of the State and promoting inclusive innovation in the field of education.

Regarding school certification, Departmental Secretary Umashankar Singh said that the main objective of school certification is to make the educational environment in schools excellent so that better educational and co- educational facilities can be made available. The department had earlier conducted a school certification program in which a large number of schools participated and on the basis of the results obtained, schools had been selected in Gold, Silver and Bronze categories.

Singh further added that the school certification program is being started again through a third party where the schools will be evaluated keeping in mind the academic evaluation of the students as well as other aspects. Detailed standard operating procedures have been developed to ensure excellence in certification. Teachers of all concerned schools are requested to ensure minimum 75 percent attendance in their respective schools.

Jharkhand Education Project Director Shashi Ranjan said that special emphasis has been laid on school environment and management in school certification. Gold category schools will become an example for other schools. School certification is a continuous process and with this schools will be able to continuously participate in healthy competition. Attendance of children in school is an important component of certification as they are at the centre of this. All teachers should participate in school certification with enthusiasm.

In school certification, students will be assessed class wise. Assessment of students from class 1-8 will be done in Hindi, English and Mathematics, students of class 9-10 will be assessed in language, mathematics, science and social science whereas students of class 11 and 12 will be assessed in science, commerce and arts subjects. All assessments will be done on the OMR sheet. Students of classes 1 to 3 will write the answers on the question paper only.

The principals of the schools will ensure that they themselves are present in the school on the day of assessment and inform all the teachers and staff about the timetable and their roles. On the day of assessment 75% attendance of students is mandatory in the school and there should also be proper seating arrangement for the students.