I want to ensure smooth functioning of schools

KOCHI: Assessing quality of students and improving the standard of education are his  prerogative. Ranveer Singh, deputy commissioner of the newly formed Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Kochi Region said that quality matters more than quantity. “We will be concentrating more on Std X and Std XII with the aim of sending a majority to IITs and other prestigious professional colleges. I intend to visit all the schools and take stock of the situation,” he said.The 37 schools in the state that are under the region have been divided into seven clusters and through the cluster-in-charge information will be collected on academic and non-academic performance, said Ranveer who was KV director at Gwalior and Jabalpur before coming to Kochi.When asked about the teacher-student ratio, he said that it was high and would be addressed. Normally the strength is 40 to 45 in each class, but most sections have more than 50 students. As education is turning more child-centric with focus on continuous comprehensive evaluation,it will be hard for teachers to handle all students. This necessitates an increase in sections and teachers.“We will be sending proposals regarding this to the headquarters. We also have a system of employing teachers on a contract basis,” he said.Teachers will be monitored and extra training given if found necessary. There are different modules of training - either given at workshops or at five zonal institutes of training.About RTE implementation he said that 25 per cent of seats in all KVs were already being given to the economically and socially backward. Admission to Std I is open to students aged between five and seven, he said.  But admission is given according to priority - first for the children of central government employees, then state and the general public.On infrastructure he said that he would try his level best to get permanent buildings for newly-opened schools.As for opening new KV schools, he said that the proposal should come from the respective district collectors. They have to earmark a temporary set up for the school, at least 5 acres of land. If all the requisites are satisfactory, we will forward the proposal to the headquarters. Right now we have forwarded a proposal for a KV school in Kakkanad, Kochi.The region office on KV campus, Kadavanthra, has become full-fledged with the appointment of seven staff members. “With the help of Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kadvanthra, C M Sreekumari, I will ensure the smooth functioning of the schools in the state,” he said.

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