SSSA to become operational in next 2 months

Srinagar, Dec 22: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) which has been designated as the State School Standards Authority (SSSA) for the schools across J&K is likely to start operation ahead of the reopening of the schools in Kashmir, post winter vacations.

Notably, the J&K School Education Department (SED) has designated JKBOSE as SSSA in line with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. Talking to Greater Kashmir, Secretary JKBOSE Ghulam Hassan Sheikh said the JKBOSE was working on the assignment and operations will be implemented within a month or two. “SSSA will be empowered to check the standards in terms of infrastructure, teaching and trainings in both government and private schools,” Secretary JKBOSE told Greater Kashmir.

He said JKBOSE will establish an online portal for the purpose and all the schools will be registered on it with all assets, manpower and revenue to be made public. “Everything has to be kept in the public domain be it assets, manpower, fee structure, revenue and salary of teachers,” he said. He said SSSA, through the online portal, will also have a mandate to address the grievances of teachers with regard to their salary and other issues. “If any teacher has grievances regarding the minimum wages act, that can be addressed as well. The critical gaps in terms of infrastructure, in schools, will also be addressed,” he said. He said the purpose of the SSSA is to improve the education sector of Jammu and Kashmir and the executive body will comprise government functionaries, private school representatives and parents as well. As already reported, the move aims to ensure transparent, independent, and effective regulation of schools across Jammu Kashmir.

As per the order, the SSSA, under NEP-2020, will separate regulatory, academic, examination, and administrative functions, setting fixed standards and monitoring compliance in areas such as safety, infrastructure, teacher qualifications, governance, and financial integrity for all schools under JKBOSE.

The government has instructed the SSSA to consider recommendations from PARAKH, the national assessment centre under NCERT, which advises that state examination boards be designated as SSSAs to maintain uniform standards nationwide. Similar boards, including CBSE and those in Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram, have already been appointed as SSSAs. As per the order, JKBOSE will oversee curriculum development, examinations, and school affiliations in the Union Territory, utilising its existing infrastructure, systems, and expertise to fulfill the regulatory responsibilities of the SSSA.

Meanwhile the Private Schools Association J&K (PSAJK) has raised issues over the process saying the move was not being implemented properly. “It is like a match between the Government and the private sector in which the empire is from the government sector,” president PSAJK Nazrul Islam Baba said. He said the SED has adopted the Himachal Pradesh model wherein the Board has been converted to SSSA. “They should have adopted the Rajasthan model which has constituted an independent body to assess the government and private schools,” he said. President PSAJK said there must be equal participation of private schools in the SSSA.