SCERT restructured to strengthen activities

Now, the SCERT will have five divisions - curriculum studies, educational research, survey and assessment, teacher education, ICT, and programme and monitoring.

Sources in the SCERT told DT Next that in order to strengthen the SCERT and its linkages with other institutions, Ministry of Human Resources Development and Department of School Education and Literacy constituted a committee to prepare a concept with an advisory group comprising of district and state representatives and NGOs working in the area.

The division of curriculum studies will look after the development of curriculum, syllabus, textbooks and additional text materials. It will have nine sub-divisions headed by five deputy directors, 10 senior lecturers and 17 lecturers.

The educational research, survey and assessment division will conduct periodic state-level and national assessment of the learning process. It will also conduct qualitative researches; study factors influencing the performance of students and design a need-specific teacher training program.

Likewise, the division of teacher education, leadership and management will focus on studying the emerging trends in teacher preparation. It will identify motivated educators and senior academicians and make arrangements for their international exposure.

The ICT will oversee the digital empowerment of teachers in tune with emerging trends. It will implement the embedding of QR code in textbooks and will engage in preparing e-textbooks, besides developing digital content like animated videos and video lectures.

The programme and monitoring division will periodically assess all programmes and activities of the SCERT and their impact in the classroom through academic supervisors. It will also supervise all training programmes by visiting and directing the DIET faculty and district-level monitoring team to visit schools and give feedback on training needs and remedial interventions to address the district specific requirements of teachers. It will comprise of a deputy director, a senior lecturer and a lecturer.