The Role and Functions of State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in J&K

(Dr Jan Mudasir Gul)

Aerobics and bodybuilding in the sixth issue of clift – fantasticmag pro level administration bodybuilding bodybuilding – professional adviceread more.

The National Policy of Education (1986) recommended the creation of State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in each state as a measure of decentralization of functions for quality education, research and training. These are the bodies that essentially propose educational strategies, curricula, pedagogical schemes and evaluation methodologies to the states' departments of education. Though the SCERTs generally follow guidelines established by the NCERT yet the states have great freedom in implementing the education system. Fortunately, the UT of J&K also established, though quite late, its SCERT after merging the two erstwhile State Institutes of Education of Jammu & Kashmir in September, 2020.

The SCERT has the chief function of providing academic resource support to the Education Department, and Board of Assessment; in our case J&K Board of School Education, and School Quality Assessment & Accreditation Framework (SQAAF) to State School Standard Authority (SSSA), which is yet to be established in J&K, in order to achieve overall improvement in the quality of school education. It has to support various programmes which include continuing education of teachers, development of appropriate material for teachers and students and undertaking research studies on the problems related to school education in the state.
          The SCERT has to make significant contribution in the area of school education in general and teacher education, in particular. It has to perform a pioneering role in the area of pre-service and in-service training of teachers and other stake holders. Besides, to provide academic support to Department of Education in formulation of policies and planning procedures. Its other functions are development of curricular material of various types viz. Textbooks, Supplementary material, Teachers’ Hand Books, Manuals and Modules, Audio and Visual material, etc.

The SCERT should have the mission of enhancing the quality of school education by improving the attitudes, increased application of knowledge and enhanced teaching skills of teachers. Besides, it should have the vision of growing into a leading institute of resources, research, educational technology and skill development in the field of teacher education.

The following approaches have been adopted by various SCERTs in India so as to achieve their aims and objectives:

5. To function as a Research and Development institute at the state level by providing guidance, support and assistance to the State Education Department in its endeavour to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education and teacher education.
5. To identify areas of difficulty in learning and teaching, and resolve them.
5. To develop and cultivate tolerance and inclusiveness as the hallmark features of school education.
5. To explore and develop new methods and techniques for effective teaching.
6. To quickly respond to the changes in content, methodology and evaluation so as to empower teachers and other educational functionaries to enable them to effectively address the problems of students.
5. Along with the professional growth of the human component, the development of quality teaching-learning material and undertake research are some of the important tasks conductive for attaining the objectives of quality education and a responsive educational system.
5.  To develop, publish and disseminate Teaching-Learning Materials in the form of Textbooks, Manuals, Question-Banks, Handouts, etc in print format and e-TLM so as to improve the quality of school education.
5. To use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) up to the maximum level. 

Though, SCERT, J&K is still in its infancy, yet it cannot afford not to keep its pace with the demands and expectations for which it was established.

(The author is Senior Academic Officer, SCERT, J&K and can be reached at mudasirgul82@gamil.com)