A Way Forward

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in Jammu and Kashmir has embarked on a commendable initiative to foster closer collaboration with its associated District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). This move, aimed at strengthening the educational ecosystem in the region, holds immense potential to improve the quality of education delivered to students at the grassroots level.

Traditionally, SIEs upgraded to SCERT has functioned as a centralized body, developing training materials and preparing Master Trainers/ Key Resource Persons, while DIETs have implemented the same training in their respective districts. However, this approach has limitations. It can led to a disconnect between the needs of the field and the resources provided by SCERT. Moreover, due to limited human resources at DIETs there are challenges and issues to effectively implement a good number of initiatives of teacher education.

Under the initiative of collaboration, recently faculty from SCERT visited various DIETs to share their expertise during capacity building training programmes at the district level. It's pertinent to mention that Dr Sajad Hussain Mir, Mr Masood Ali Mir and Mr Farooq Ahmed Najar, Sr Academic Officers from Division Office, Kashmir delivered sessions in CBP on School Safety, Security and Social cum Academic Audit conducted by DIET, Anantnag. While Mr Riyaz Ahmad Dar, Dr Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, Mr Nazir Ahmed Najar and Mr Azad Ahmed Bukhari, Sr Academic Officers from SCERT, Kashmir provided  support to DIET Shopian in CBP of Heads of Complex/Cluster on Efficient Resourcing and Effective Governance.

In another such stride, Mr Riyaz Ahmad Dar, Sr Academic Officer from Central Move Office of JKSCERT made deliberations during a CBP on Mental Health Literacy at DIET, Kupwara.

Actually, this initiative of human resource sharing at SCERT level formally commenced some 2 years ago first under the banner of School Leadership Academy (SLA), JKSCERT initiated by its State Nodal Officer, Dr Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, and then under the National Level programme of Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN)/NIPUN Bharat Mission when its Divisional Nodal Officer, Mr Sheikh Gulzar Ahmad along with other faculty members from SCERT provided onsite training support at districts during online and offline training at DIET, Baramulla, Shopian, Budgam, Ganderbal and  Srinagar. Then from time to time, some faculty members from SCERT visited DIETs to deliver sessions in various Workshops, CBPs and Training programmes.

Thus, by fostering collaboration, SCERT and DIETs can leverage each other's strengths. SCERT can tap into the ground-level experience and insights of DIETs to tailor its interventions to the specific needs of each district. DIETs, in turn, can benefit from SCERT's expertise in teacher training, pedagogy, assessment, research and other aspects of Teacher Education.

Let hope that this two-way flow of knowledge, skills and resources can create a more dynamic and responsive Teacher Educational Ecosystem; thereby making a positive impact on the overall educational landscape of J&K!

By Dr Jan Mudasir Gul

Dr Jan Mudasir Gul, Sr Lecturer (English), School Education Department, J&K