Under the leadership of CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s education model has been touching new heights every day. In furtherance of the same, the globally renowned University of Glasgow UK released its interim findings of an impact study on the government’s parental engagement initiatives in Delhi government schools. As per the findings, more than 90% of parents stated that they are optimistic about the future of their children studying in Delhi government schools. 90.51% of parents agreed that Delhi government schools are doing a good job and 90.71% agreed that teachers in schools care for students. These findings were shared by the University of Glasgow with Deputy Chief Minister Shri Manish Sisodia in a meeting held on Monday. The study conducted by Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow focuses on the impact of the Delhi government’s various parental engagement initiatives running in schools measured in the context of the ‘Parents Satisfaction Index’.
The study also highlighted that nearly 90% of parents agree that Head Teachers at Delhi government schools take their responsibilities very seriously. Nearly 80% of parents are satisfied with the quality of teachers and school management. 87% of parents stated that teacher performance in Delhi government schools is exceptional. A majority of parents confirmed attending a parent-teacher meeting as frequently as once a quarter.
Parents’ response on the availability of quality infrastructure in Delhi government schools:
91% of parents said that they are satisfied with the availability of water in schools and 94.4% with the cleanliness of schools. 92% of parents agreed that their children are getting quality material to study. 96.78% of parents are satisfied with the quality of classrooms in the Delhi government schools.
It is to be noted that this study has been conducted by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the researchers at Tilburg University and Kings College London. The sample size for the study was 2886 parents.
While sharing the insights from the study conducted by the University of Glasgow, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “Parental engagement plays an extremely important role in education and holistic development of children. Under the leadership of CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi government’s Team Education is working relentlessly to increase such opportunities at schools. With the various innovative programs like School Management Committee (SMC), Mega PTM and Parents Samvaad, the Delhi government schools have been emphasizing regularly on increased parental engagement in the educational journey of its students.”
He added that such kind of studies by top global Universities on our education model gives us an opportunity to assess ourselves and come up with more innovative strategies to create a conducive learning environment for children in Delhi government schools. “It is a matter of pride that top global universities are now interested in studying parental engagement models in our Delhi government schools. Earlier Harvard University had studied the Delhi Government’s School Management Committee Model. The latest study by the University of Glasgow also stated that our parental engagement initiatives at the school level have helped parents to engage better with their children at home. In the future, we aim to conduct more such studies for the benefit of our children in Delhi government schools,” he said.
University of Glasgow study is focused on the following points
-> Satisfaction Index
-> Perception about public education services
-> Awareness
-> Feedback on School Management Committees
-> Perceptions about Parents Samvaad Program
-> Parental Engagement at Home
-> Parental Mobilization at the individual level
-> Parental Mobilization at the collective level
What are various Delhi government’s parental engagement initiatives:-
Delhi’s School Management Committees
The School Management Committee (SMC), constituted under the Right to Education Act 2009 plays an important role in ensuring accountability in Delhi’s education system in Government schools. It acts as a bridge between the school and parents. This radical and game-changing initiative has brought tremendous accountability within the Delhi government schools as now school authorities have become answerable to parents. Each SMC comprises 12 elected parents of students, the school Principal, 1 teacher, 1 elected representative and 1 social worker. In 2015, for the first time, parents were elected out of eligible parents of 16 lakh children. SMC is an important pillar of Delhi’s education revolution. Till 2015, the participation of parents in government schools in Delhi was negligible. After the Delhi government came to power, work was done to connect the parents with the schools. Through SMC today parents in all schools of the Delhi Government can take decisions for the betterment of schools and are working as important stakeholders.
Mega PTM
The Mega Parent Teacher Meeting is an effort by the Delhi government to ensure the participation of parents in their child’s learning and open up a communication platform for the teachers and parents of children. This was launched in 2016 by CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Parents Samvaad
This initiative of the Delhi government connects parents of children studying in Delhi government schools with the school management so that they can work together for providing a conducive learning environment to children in schools as well as at home. This is one of its kind unique parents’ outreach program at the school level across the globe which works to connect the parents of 18 lakh students directly to Delhi government schools.
