(1782.pdf) SCHOOL QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION (SQAA) - A REFORM PROPOSED BY CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION TO ENHANCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AFFILIATED SCHOOLS

摘要

School Education in India has evolved immensely in the current decade. School Quality Assessmentand Accreditation (SQAA) is a quality initiative proposed by Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) to provide global parameters of attainment as standards in schools affiliated to it. The CBSEaspires to lay down a set of standards and best practices as paradigms for attaining the bestbenchmark in an individual institution for the upliftment of learning outcomes in the domain of schooleducation imparted to children.The CBSE School Quality Assessment and Accreditations (SQAA) is holistic as it covers all aspects ofa school functioning, namely its Scholastic and Co-scholastic Domains, Infrastructural Areas, HumanResources, Management and Administration, Leadership and Beneficiary Satisfaction. These SevenDomains identified by CBSE in fact focus on the seven areas and processes of developing thecapabilities of school holistically. It is expected that by participating in the process of accreditation theinstitutions will raise their bar of excellence and move towards continuous improvement in terms ofquality.SQAA is expected to bring a paradigm shift in quality scenario of Indian Schools. The implementationof a new practice in its real essence is a big challenge for CBSE which has approximately 14,000schools affiliated to it, spread across all Indian states and 25 countries. This research paper is anattempt to analyse the expected impact of SQAA to provide quality benchmarks in the concept,establishment and running of effective systems within an institution in accordance with changing socioeconomicand cultural contexts and also identify the challenges in its implementation. As a part ofmethodology, the descriptive survey based research was conducted with CBSE school academicians,parents, students and teachers where it is proposed to implement SQAA through questionnaire andpersonal interviews. The learning inferred from the study would further encourage CBSE to administerthe SQAA reform across its affiliated schools and overcome the challenges that may hamper itseffective administration.