JAMMU, FEBRUARY 07: With the launch of two applications today by Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, J&K became first in the country to take online monthly feedback from students of class 6th and above about the performance of their teachers and carry out the GPS based attendance of teachers on daily basis. The ceremony was attended by Principal Secretary Education; MD, Samagra Shiksha; Director School Education Kashmir/Jammu, Director Estates, Secretary JKBOSE and many other concerned officers. Dr Mehta complimented the department for developing these applications and called them the powerful tools to take the education sector towards much higher efficiency and accountability. He remarked that these applications would ensure that an authentic feedback comes from the grassroots level from the ones who are directly involved in the learning process. He enjoined upon the officers to monitor the progress at highest levels so that the results improve substantially. He maintained that the teachers in government sector are best in terms of qualifications and trainings and they just needs to focus more on academic activities to ensure improved results. The Chief Secretary advised the department to make this feedback a benchmark while analysing the annual performance reports of the teachers. He said that the teachers who perform well, and are punctual and who also receive good feedback from students should be duly recognized and rewarded by the department. He observed that such teachers should be preferred in career progression and other recommendations. The system named as “SAMIKSHA” as it will be reflecting the true performance of the Teachers with respect to their inputs in the actual classroom, leaving no space for subjectivity. It was given out that the student feedback forms are designed to get feedback from students on different teaching-learning techniques in the institution. Besides the teachers are given unique usernames and passwords to verify their input and outcomes. The comprehensive report will be visible to all levels viz-Teachers, HOIs, ZEO, CEO, DSEK/J, and at UT level in the hierarchy. The department has worked out some 25 parameters (questions) regarding teachers and school ambience, out of which 02 are optional. The school and teacher based questionnaire needs to be filled by the students once on monthly basis grading them on 5-point scale with Excellent, Very Good, Good, Average and Below Average results, as informed during the launch ceremony. Another app launched today was ‘JK Attendance-SED’ available for downloading on both Android and iOS. The application will give a peek into the daily attendance of teachers to even Directors and CEOs. The application will capture live location of the employee with Geo Coordinates and even allow his/her time specific tracking. The attendance system would reduce paperwork and save time and resources. It would eliminate the duplicate data entries and improve management of attendance across all schools. The same application would enable employees to make leave requests online. It would automatically send it for necessary approval and keep his/her leave account safe for viewing by the higher authorities. Later on the Chief Secretary also released ‘Whole School Safety’ manual. He called it a very important document prepared by the department. He observed that the safety of our children is all important and should be given priority over every other concern. He declared that this document is important and provides holistic approach for keeping children safe against hazards. The Principal Secretary, School Education, Alok Kumar revealed that all of the digital applications besides the safety manual has been prepared in-house by the department employing its own personnel and resources. He gave out that he feels immensely pleased that Directorate of Samagra Shiksha has trained Key Resource Persons in this regard. He stated that the necessary orientation of all CEOs/DIET principals and teachers as per the guidelines has also been done, which explicitly elaborate various kinds of vulnerabilities our children are exposed to and their remedies. The SOPs on current pandemic viz-a-viz the role and responsibilities of every individual concerned makes the document a comprehensive reference document. The same is also an initiative of Samagra Shiksha which has been designed for creating a safe environment for children, starting from their homes to their schools and back, says the manual.
