CBSE’s school accreditation hits roadblock

MUMBAI: The School Quality Assessment and Accreditation ( SQAA) is on hold due to a conflict of interest between the schools and the agencies enrolled to assess

MUMBAI: The School Quality Assessment and Accreditation ( SQAA) is on hold due to a conflict of interest between the schools and the agencies enrolled to assess them, said officials on Saturday.

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SQAA is India’s first mandatory accreditation programme for schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). It was launched two years ago

The board had entrusted 12 agencies with inspecting infrastructure, results, admission procedures, staff recruitment procedures and uses of technology. However, those in the education sector objected as most of the agencies are private education solutions providers, which might influence their assessments.

Sugandh Sharma, additional director, academics, training, research and innovation, confir med that the programme is “under review”. “The programme’s future depends on the findings of the review,” she said.

Industry experts said the programme is likely to be scrapped. “It is also a conflict of interest for the education board to offer accreditation to its schools,” said A Senthil Kumaran, principal counsellor, Institute of Quality during a discussion organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on Saturday.

Schools complained that CBSE did not inform them of the programme’s status. “Our school accreditation process has been stuck for the last few months. We have been wondering why,” said the principal of a CBSE school who did not wish to be named.

Avnita Bir, who was part of the drafting of the manuals for the SQAA and the principal of RN Podar School, Santacruz, said the board scrapped the concept of empanelled agencies for other programmes too.

Some schools said they will continue to use the listed agencies to get self-assessments. “We are zeroing in on firms. We will do the audit as it will help us,” said Deepshikha Srivastava, principal, Rajhans Vidyalaya, Andheri,

A few city schools suggested t hat t he gover nment must make independent accreditations, such as the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training compulsory. “The government should at least conduct an audit of the schools that are interested,” said J Vas, senior advisor from Jamnabai Narsee School, Vile Parle West.