RAIPUR: In the tribal-dominated district of Jashpur district in Chhattisgarh, as many as 51 of the 143 government schools and 27 out of 77 private schools scored 100 per cent results in Class 10 and Class 12 state Board exams. The success rate, though decent, is hardly worth going to town about. But it’s a big achievement when one considers that till 2016, rarely any higher secondary or high school in Jashpur, 300 km from Raipur, achieved hundred per cent results.
In fact, the pass percentage in the district was 89 per cent for Class X and 93.5 per cent for Class 12 exams while the overall pass percentage in Chhattisgarh for Class 10 and 12 was 68 per cent and 77 per cent, respectively. The state topper in Class X, Yagyesh Singh Chouhan, who scored 98.33 per cent, is also from Jashpur. So, what changed in just two years that the backward district left rest of the state way behind?
It was ‘Yashaswi Jashpur’, an initiative launched in July 2016, by the district administration under Mission sankalp that helped script the success story.
The initiative was launched with the aim to enhance quality education in all higher secondary and high schools under the direct supervision of District Collector Priyanka Shukla.The collector set out to make effective use of district mineral funds (DMF) to bring in a systemic transformation in school education. DMF, generated through mineral royalty, is meant for benefit of the people in mining-affected areas.
“Several activities were introduced in the annual calendar of events for the government higher secondary and high schools under the guidance of Team Sankalp and the education department officials. There were monthly reviews and the next course of action was planned based on the feedback”, Shukla told The Sunday Standard.From the beginning of academic session, the shortage of teachers in every subject was taken care of. Orientation sessions were held for Class X and Class XII teachers and school principals where action plan and schedules were discussed. The collector attended the sessions to inspire the teachers towards achieving the goal.
The performance of every student of Class X and XII were uploaded on web portal ‘Yashaswi Jashpur’, making it convenient for the collector and her team to assess the progress of the initiative on regular basis.
The entire curriculum had a month-wise schedule and syllabi fixed for monthly, half-yearly and two pre-board examinations. Question papers were prepared every month and circulated to all the principals.
Special focus was given to children who required more attention. Problem solving sessions for teachers of all subjects were held every week through video conferencing. School attendance for both the students and the teachers remained a priority.
Facilitators and moderators were appointed for every school to physically verify the given information and they sent the reports to the district education officer and the collector. And finally, a special ‘Mission 40-days’ (40 days ahead of final exams) was followed to ensure proper revisions conducted by principals and teachers in every school. The efforts resulted in a sweet success—for students, schools as well as the administration.