Enhancing Quality and Equality of Education

“Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man; woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”……………Kofi Annan. Access to education and learning is crucial for development but ‘equitable’ access and learning is vital for sustainable development. The various dimensions of inequality (gender, socio economic, rural – urban), if not taken into account can result in skewed and lopsided growth that has the potential to do more harm than good to the larger fabric of society. Such development stands the risk of strengthening the current power structures and relegating the already marginalized, further down the abyss. These inequalities do not exist in isolation- one form reinforces the other. This means that there are common causes, functioning through multiple mechanisms, inflating the gross inequalities in the education sector. The major challenge before the Indian education system is to enhance the quality and bring equality in education system.
Quality education which is essential to learning and human development is influenced by factors both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to enabling the transfer of knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a profession and break the cycle of poverty, quality plays a crucial role in closing the gender gap in basic education. Quality Education includes:- * Learners who are healthy, well nourished and ready to participate and learn and supported in learning by their families and communities. * Environments that are healthy, safe, protective and gender sensitive and provide adequate resources and facilities. * Process through which trained teachers use child-centered teaching approaches in well managed classroom and schools and skillful assessment to facilitate learning and reduce disparities. * Outcome that encompass