Do you have a desire to make a positive impact on a child’s life opportunities? Do you have the ability to motivate and engage children? Are you committed to continuous self-improvement? Do you want to acquire a deep understanding of how children learn and of the primary curriculum

FAST FACTS

�  58% of children do not complete primary education in India.

�  According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, 10 crore children in India are two or more years below their grade level.

�  As of 2012, only 30% of standard three students could read a standard 1 text a drop from 50% in 2009.

�  The ASER report also estimates that only 50% of rural children enrolled in standard five can fluently read a standard two text book.

�  40% of standard five students in rural India cannot solve simple two-digit subtractions.iv

Primary education is the first stage of compulsory education. It is preceded by pre-school or nursery education and is followed by secondary education. In North America, this stage of education is usually known as elementary education and is generally followed by middle school. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education although it is permissible for parents to provide it. The major goals of primary education are achieving basic literacy and numeracy amongst all pupils, as well as establishing foundations in science, mathematics, geography, history and other social sciences. The relative priority of various areas, and the methods used to teach them, are an area of considerable political debate. Typically, primary education is provided in schools, where the child will stay in steadily advancing classes until they complete it and move on to high school/secondary school. Children are usually placed in classes with one teacher who will be primarily responsible for their education and welfare for that year. This teacher may be assisted to varying degrees by specialist teachers in certain subject areas, often music or physical education. The continuity with a single teacher and the opportunity to build up a close relationship with the class is a notable feature of the primary education system.

Quality assurance is a mechanism used to evaluate the efficiency and appropriateness of teaching and learning in primary schools so as to ensure the delivery of high quality education. It is also a holistic method of identifying and resolving problem within the educational system in order to ensure continuous quality improvement. It can also be described as means of disseminating information regarding the quality of primary education. According to Birdsall, Levine and Ibrahim enrolment of children in school, the challenges of access/quality and quality of teaching and facilities must be resolved if schools are to offer quality education. According to Bateman, quality assurance includes defined standards of achievement, documented procedures for all identified processes, established ways of responding to issues and clear accountability for outcomes. The importance of consistence and continuous quality assurance in primary education are many. Some of these benefits associated with consistent quality assurance and continuous Quality improvement measure in education include: • the establishment of establish high standards academic excellence which will go long way to enhance the schools reputation and image, • improved communication across the school system, • Improvement of outcome so that the policies and procedures are constantly revisited through analysis and the delivery of teaching and learning, • identification of systems strengths and weakness • determination of the program effectiveness and tracking of its integrity and; • increase in capacity to secure funding and refinement service delivery.

New Innovations and Alternative Strategies

Some of the major initiatives and strategies are:

1. Disaggregated target setting and decentralised microplanning, which will provide the framework of universal access and community participation. 2. Strengthening alternative channels of schooling such as the non-formal education (NFE) system for those who cannot avail of conventional full-time schooling. 3. Introduction of minimum levels of learning (MLLs) at primary and upper primary stages to improve learner’s achievement. 4. Improvement of school facilities by revamping the scheme of Operation Blackboard (OB) and connecting it to the MLL strategy. 5. Establishing linkages between programmes of early childhood care and education (ECCE), primary education, literacy and UEE. 6. Addressing the more difficult aspects of access, particularly to girls, disadvantaged groups and out-of-school children. 7. Restructuring of teacher training in view of the changed strategies and programmes. 8. Availing of external financial support for basic education.

Primary education: Low coverage, poor quality

The really critical aspect of the Indian public education system is its low quality. Even in educationally advanced States, an unacceptably low proportion of children who complete all grades of primary school have functional literacy. Moreover, the quality of `literates' of the school system is very low. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient to any mastery of basic literacy and numeric skills. This seems to be true of both the educationally more advanced States as well as the educationally backward ones.

e-learning is using the Internet to teach and learn, it includes communication, student submission of work, teacher to student and student to student communication, content delivery and enrichment, using the Internet as a research tool, and using the Internet as a publishing tool. E-Learning is a tool, like writing and speaking, that is used to teach and learn. The Internet provides a huge array of evolving tools that can enhance the teaching process, selecting and using these tools is E-learning.

1.  Eliminating time barriers in education for learners as well as teachers. 2.  Eliminating geographical barriers as learners can log on from any place . 3.  Asynchronous interaction is made possible leading to thoughtful and creative interaction . 4.  Enhanced group collaboration made possible via ICT . 5.  New educational approaches can be used. 6.  It can provide speedy dissemination of education to target disadvantaged groups . 7.  It offers the combination of education while balancing family and work life . 8.  It enhances the international dimension of educational services . 9.  It allows for just in time and just enough education for employees in organizations. 10.   It can also be used for activities like health campaigns and literacy campaigns .