Is SSSA appropriate mechanism for private schools in Telangana?

Hyderabad: Can the State School Standards Authority (SSSA) under the National Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020) act as a viable mechanism for continuous evaluation and assessment to fix school fees?

The SSSA mechanism emphasises establishing a system of transparent school ratings by establishing a “State School Standards Authority (SSSA)” in each State and Union Territory.

According to NEP-2020, this agency is responsible for developing a School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework (SQAAF). The SQAAF’s purpose is to objectively evaluate every school to publicly disclose the performance of their schools, apart from promoting accountability and quality improvement within the education system.

As part of the operational mechanism of the SSSA, it ensures that public disclosure of basic regulatory information about schools is publicly available, allowing parents and the community to access details about school performance. Besides, the SSSA has to conduct holistic assessments by considering various factors beyond just academic achievement, including infrastructure, teaching practices, student well-being, and inclusive practices. As each state will have its own SSSA, it allows for “tailored assessment frameworks based on local needs and contexts”.

The purposed goal of school ratings by the SSSA under NEP-2020 is to promote continuous improvement by identifying areas of strength and weakness and encouraging schools to take necessary steps to enhance quality. This dynamics mechanism could serve and hold hearings of all the stakeholders, like parents, teachers, school management and students and give appropriate directions to the schools.

Schools are also charging additional fees by citing providing other services like swimming and horse riding, mandating that the students take their lunch only provided by the school, mandatory purchase of books, school uniforms and the like.

These were some of the complaints that the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) has been highlighting, how schools have been fleecing parents by charging high school fees and demanding effective legislation to curb the private school menace in the state.