BANGALORE: The state government has decided to undertake a state-wide critical study of Secondary and Pre-University educational sectors to make better policies and prioritise resource allocation for these sectors.
The study will be undertaken by the Forum of Karnataka Retired Educational Officers (F-KARE) at an estimated cost of `18.27 lakh.
Speaking to Express, chairman of the core study group and former DSERT director, D Jagannatha Rao said that the study was critical to understand the current scenario of Secondary and PU education in the state.
“The state has seen unprecedented expansion in education, which has created a significant demand for these sectors. The study will help us ascertain the true picture,” he said.
“We have data from the past 10 years. We know how things were earlier. The question now is, where do we stand today,” he added.
The decision was taken by the Planning Department, Government of Karnataka, after F-KARE submitted a draft terms of reference (ToR) for the critical study. The duration for the study is 6-months and will cover 11 education blocks- Siraguppa, Kushtagi, Gulbarga North, Shahpur, Deodurga, Chamrajnagar, Hoskote, Belur, Mundargi, Chadchan and Aurad.
“We will visit 50 educational institutions in each block to determine the progress. We will gather opinions from headmasters, teachers, lecturers and also the locals to understand the quality of being imparted education at these places,” said Rao.
Apart from the main study, many sub-studies on issues relating to these sectors are also planned.
The study group will closely look at gaps in links to elementary and higher education, professional training of teachers, minority education, incentive schemes, curriculum and textbooks and many other issues relating to residential schools.
The study is funded by the Karnataka Evaluation Authority of Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics Dept.
“Preliminary work has already started. We will submit the final draft to the government in March,” Rao said.