Schools (and colleges for that matter) have been sprouting with alarming alacrity throughout the length and breadth of the country. As we struggle to shake off the shackles of illiteracy, shouldn’t the news be greeted with — if not wild cheering — at least some applause? Yet, why do we continue to shake our heads in doubt at this unprecedented growth in the education sector?

The reasons are all too obvious. For one, education has made a rapid transition from the social to the commercial realm. Many educational entrepreneurs will tell you that their business is indeed profitable. That alone need not set off alarm bells. After all, as they say, some competition is always healthy. The more unsettling reason is the lack of quality checks on these mushrooming institutions, says Avik Mitra, Advisor, Quality Council of India (QCI). But that may be set to change soon, he said while in Bangalore last week to attend the National Summit on Quality in Education, organised by the CII.

The QCI is an autonomous body operating the National Accreditation Structure in accordance with international standards. Quality control in the education sector, especially in schools, is a matter that the QCI has taken up quite seriously. It all began at its National Quality Conclave held in February this year when the then President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, exhorted the QCI to develop benchmarks for schools even as he gave the Council a seven-point action plan.

Immediately the QCI began to work on developing a standard for accreditation. It is well known that an accreditation mechanism can control quality to some extent. While we do have such a system in the field of higher education, it is woefully lacking in the school sector and this was something the QCI decided to tackle headlong. After a series of sessions with educationists, administrators, quality experts, teachers, parents and other stake-holders, the education committee of the Board under QCI drafted the Educational Quality Management Standard for schools (EQMS). Now, for the first time in the country we have a standard against which the quality of schools can be assessed and accreditation granted, says Mr Mitra.

Since accreditation is voluntary, any school in the country - private, government or run by Societies - can approach the QCI and if these schools meet with the standards stipulated in the EQMS, accreditation is granted.
Mr Mitra says there are four core components in a school that the Standard is concerned about:

*Governance and management: Are the expectations of the stake holders being met with regard to curriculum delivery? Are the developmental needs of the students being met?

*Resource management: How does the school manage its financial and human resources? Does the infrastructure meet with the stipulated requirements, what is the work environment like?

*Education service realisation: How are admissions conducted? What is the kind of administrative support services available, is the curriculum chosen helping the development of students? What is the teaching quality, How are examinations and assessments conducted etc

*Processes and management analysis and improvement: The school should periodically monitor and measure the effectiveness of the quality management system. The school may identify suitable indicators like parent/teacher interaction  to monitor and measure its performance.

The Standard also has an accreditation checklist which can be used by schools as a self evaluation exercise. A validation exercise of the Standard carried out in select schools showed encouraging results, Mr Mitra said.
These checks are expected to help any school adhere to quality principles all the time. Quality is not something that can be achieved and forgotten. It calls for a continual process of improvement. This is something the Standard may just help achieve in the long run.