Addressing challenges and improving teacher support to overcome learning gaps in J&K schools
A resource person is an expert who provides additional support and information to enhance teaching and learning, bringing real-world expertise and practical insight.
Resource persons in school education are key performance indicators in assessing the implementation of the policies envisaged in NEP 2020. Therefore, the approach of NEP 2020 is to strengthen this important performance indicator.
A resource person in the teaching-learning process plays a pivotal role in uplifting education standards for both students and teachers. The key aspects of their role are:
– They assist in developing lesson plans and creating effective educational materials.
– Resource persons, in the form of Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs), often possess specialized techniques and knowledge in their subject areas. They provide guidance to deepen understanding.
– Resource persons facilitate workshops and discussions and encourage critical thinking.
– They help in providing access to various educational resources (books, articles, online materials, etc.), enhancing the learning environment.
– RPs ensure that learning objectives are met by developing evaluation tools.
– RPs promote a more integrated approach to learning as they foster collaboration among educators, students, and the community.
One of the aspects of NEP 2020 is strengthening cluster resource persons. Resource persons are the main unit for training and providing on-the-spot support to schools and teachers.
The government of J&K has started an exhaustive exercise for the implementation of NEP 2020. The functioning of these resource persons should be revamped to align with NEP 2020.
There should be proper filtration of the people deputed as RPs at the zonal, district, and state levels. Some teachers have been resource persons for a decade, regardless of whether their credentials are doubtful or not. Some are satisfied with doing clerical jobs in offices, neglecting the roles assigned to them. An RP who is supposed to be in the classroom helping develop study materials is instead arranging Zoom meetings on behalf of offices for population surveys, etc.
The selection of RPs should be properly handled. The resource person at DIET and SCERT should be a researcher and highly acquainted with new pedagogies of learning, more so than a teacher working at school. But unfortunately, in some cases, it is the other way around.
At zonal and other levels, there should be screening and proper selection of RPs, keeping away the echelons of power, interference by teachers’ forums, and undue influence. The selection should be made every two years, as envisaged in government policy, in letter and spirit.
Over the years, national surveys like ASER 2024 have depicted a grim picture of the learning outcomes of students in government schools in J&K Union Territory. For this, resource persons are mainly responsible for failing to overcome the learning gaps of students. The outcomes have shown, and it is widely believed, that most teachers are not well-trained or acquainted with new pedagogies and technologies.
The resource group should be in constant touch with teachers. They should visit schools and monitor academics continuously. In the context of NEP 2020, the Government of India lays stress on resource groups visiting schools to monitor and provide on-site academic support and send reports on a periodic basis. As per the policy, each block and cluster resource coordinator is supposed to be in the school.
In the context of NEP 2020, stress is laid on formulating institutional plans, village knowledge registers, and school development plans in schools, for which resource persons receive substantial training. They must impart the same knowledge to the grassroots level by giving firsthand information to teachers.
A resource person should be a researcher in the subject area for which they are deputed. But unfortunately, in some cases, it is seen that a resource person of science (for instance) in J&K is an excellent computer operator rather than being proficient in science, perhaps selected for performing non-teaching work.
Last year, a circular was floated by a top research and training center about resource persons taking ownership of schools and executing their full potential to overcome learning gaps. However, this remained mostly on paper.
The periodic visits of resource persons to schools should be monitored at the UT level through technological intervention, without allowing them to misuse their presence in offices. The most important aspect of Block Resource Centres (BRCs) and Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs) at the zonal level is their presence in schools to help overcome learning gaps.
Being a teacher at one of the reputed schools, I have hardly seen any resource person visiting our school or providing academic support in the last six years.
Only a few RPs work with dedication and follow the norms set by the Government of India and J&K. However, a large number of so-called resource persons have turned it into a messy state of affairs.
DIETs and SCERTs should revamp the RP system. Resource persons should be selected by a committee of national-level educationists and researchers through proper filtration and screening. These initiatives will set a strong foundation and restructure learning outcomes at the ground level, ensuring the proper implementation of NEP 2020.
The writer is a teacher at the Government Secondary School, Narabal