Do you want the best education for your child? Are you on a school hunt? Take note. A whopping 87% of 2,718 schools in the city don’t make the cut. This isn’t a random judgment. It’s official.
According to the online assessment system of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, only 13% of the schools assessed have good premises with physical infrastructure, qualified teachers and the right focus on the overall development of students.
While 365 schools fall in the best category, it must be noted that each school has been rated by its principal. There’s no independent verification of the claims.
Introduced this year, the gradation system assesses schools on several parameters before placing them in a hierarchy of five grades — A, B, C, D and E. The system is designed to improve the quality of schools in the state.
Gradation of schools was always part of the board’s policies but was never made compulsory. This year, the board introduced the gradation tool and made it mandatory for all schools to register themselves online. The board also applied pressure on the headmasters. “We have been told that our salary sheets wouldn’t be passed if we didn’t participate,” a principal of a south Mumbai school told DNA.
The move is expected to promote competitiveness among schools. “With the gradation system in place, schools will want to improve their quality. It will give rise to competition. Schools in the lower categories will be inspected and in the coming years they will move to the higher grades,” said Mumbai divisional board chairman Shridhar Salunkhe.
The maximum number of schools in the Mumbai division — 1,296 — fall in category ‘B’,617 in ‘C’, 216 in ‘D’ and 224 schools in ‘E’.
The grading form has two sections. The first includes general information about the school. The actual markings are based on each sub-head of the second section. The sub-heads include infrastructural facilities, qualification and experience of teachers, curricular and co-curricular activities, results of various tests and examinations and the quality of management of the school. A major proportion of the evaluation is based on the overall development of students.
The total marks from each section is then multiplied with the pass percentage recorded by the school in the SSC examination the previous year. The score is then divided by 500. The percentage thus derived determines the school’s grade (see box).Turn to p2
VS Mhatre, Mumbai division’s secretary (in-charge), said: “Sports and other activities are also being given importance in the grading system. Several schools are yet to grade themselves in the division. The final figures will soon be out.’’
The system will ensure that the schools’ strengths and weaknesses are calculated and monitored continuously, he said, adding “the board will take severe measures against schools who are not graded yet”. Mhatre added that online gradation will also help the board and the deputy director’s office in all divisions to have easy access to school-related information.
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