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Countries across the world have pledged the
furtherance of education through multilateral agreements and
international collaborations. They have been making every effort
to achieve the goals of Education for
All (EFA). Apart from its intrinsic value, education is
also recognized as a vehicle for rapid economic and social
development the world over. Endeavours
at providing access to schooling have helped increase enrollment
including that of girls and other marginalized sections of
society. Literacy rates have improved and dropout rates at
school stage have come down. However, challenges still remain
with respect to ensuring education of good quality.
Stakeholders of education have expressed concern about the
quality of education being imparted in schools.
Quality is at the core of education. It
determines what students learn, how well they learn and what
benefits they draw from their education.
These issues have pushed the countries to have on their agenda the
mission to ensure students’ optimum learning outcomes that help
them play a positive role in creating a civil society.
While it is difficult to define the quality of
education operationally due to its complex nature, it is
believed that it may be viewed in terms of the quality of
various components of input, process and out-put dimensions.
Some of these components may be: need-based curriculum,
appropriate physical facilities,
use of modern approaches to teaching, scholastic performance of
students, professional preparation of teachers, and linking
education to life skills and world of work.
Unfortunately, the prevailing system of education everywhere in
the world is marred with myriad of issues including those of
gender and social inequality. These issues need to be addressed
on a priority basis with a view to reducing
child-labour and overcoming the barriers that socially
marginalized groups face.
It
is evident from the existing literature that all stakeholders
such as policy makers, planners, administrators, educators,
parents and community leaders have realized that systematic
efforts are required to counter the multiple disadvantages such
as poverty, illiteracy as well as gender-based and social
inequities to bring about systemic reforms in education.
Different countries of the world are dealing with these issues
in their own ways. There may be some good practices being
followed in some countries which may be useful elsewhere also.
It may be extremely beneficial to all the countries if such
practices are identified, shared and disseminated. It is,
therefore, highly desirable that educationists and educational
planners from different countries sit together, discuss these
issues and share experiences. The proposed seminar is an attempt
in that direction as it will provide a good platform to review
the existing programs and ideate on ingenious solutions to
provide quality education to all children as an entitlement..
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