'The idea is to empower a group of selected people under a committee to take key academic and administrative decisions, instead of the Block Education Officers,' said Prabha Alexander, junior programme officer of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Considering a suggestion from the private school lobby, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Karnataka, is toying with the idea of scrapping the powers vested in the Block Education Officers (BEOs) under the Karnataka state draft rules of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, said an official of SSA.
A special committee is likely to be constituted by the SSA to look into the matters which were previously entrusted to the BEOs.
A BEO’s job is to manage schools in his or her jurisdiction. The primary responsibilities of a BEO under the RTE Act include keeping a close vigil of schools to know whether they are providing free education to 25 % underprivileged children, mapping of schools in the neighbourhood, framing of the academic calendar and fixing the date of examinations of schools among others.
The SSA official told DNA that most private schools in Karnataka had expressed their reservations against arming the BEO with powers to decide on academic and administrative functioning of schools.
The private school lobby includes schools affiliated to the state, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) boards.
Before the RTE Act came into force, the CBSE and ICSE schools were functioning independently and decided on their own curriculum and school calendar. However, under the RTE Act, all schools would come under the purview of BEO.
“The idea is to empower a group of selected people under a committee to take key academic and administrative decisions, instead of the BEO,” said Prabha Alexander, junior programme officer of SSA.
“We have come to the conclusion of forming a committee and scrapping the powers of BEO after receiving suggestions from several private schools,” she added.
Sources in the state department of public instructions said most recommendations and suggestions received by the SSA clearly showed that the private school lobby was determined not to lose its autonomy under the RTE Act.
According to figures available with SSA, Karnataka has about 200 educational blocks, which is further divided into 2,500-odd clusters. Approximately, 47,000 government schools with Kannada, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu and English as their medium of instruction are operating in these clusters.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}