The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday designated the Board of School Education as the State School Standards Authority for the Union territory, in accordance with the provisions of the National Education Policy 2020.
An order issued by the Under Secretary in the School Education Department, Thanaji Bhat, said the decision is aimed at ensuring transparent, independent and effective regulation of schools across Jammu and Kashmir.
“In exercise of the powers vested in the School Education Department, the J-K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) is hereby designated as the State School Standards Authority (SSSA) for the Union territory, in accordance with the provisions and mandates of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020,” the order said.
As mandated under NEP-2020, the SSSA will oversee separation of regulatory, academic, examination and administrative functions, and will be entrusted with responsibilities related to standard setting, monitoring and ensuring compliance with norms concerning safety, infrastructure, teacher qualifications, governance and financial probity.
The order also takes note of the recommendation of PARAKH – the national assessment centre under NCERT – which suggests that state examination boards be designated as SSSAs to ensure equivalence of standards across different school boards.
{{/usCountry}}The order also takes note of the recommendation of PARAKH – the national assessment centre under NCERT – which suggests that state examination boards be designated as SSSAs to ensure equivalence of standards across different school boards.
{{/usCountry}}Several boards, including the CBSE at the national level, and the boards of Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram, have already been notified as SSSAs by the respective governments.
JKBOSE, established under the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education Act, 1975, is the statutory body responsible for curriculum development, examinations and affiliation of schools in the UT, and possesses the required infrastructure, systems and expertise to discharge the regulatory functions of the authority.