Javadekar awards education officers for innovative practices

Activity-based learning through digital schools, raising competence of teachers, community support and motivating the parents were among the few ideas awarded here today by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar for innovation in educational administration.
The awards were presented to those district and block-level education officers who came up with case studies on the best practices adopted by them for effective management of educational administration.
"Curiosity is the ground for every innovation which helps in effective administration. For instance, we can use Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) to bring accountability," Javadekar said at the event.
"I had recently visited a school where the photographs of all the teachers were displayed to help identify if there were any proxy teachers. This too is an innovation in order to bring accountability," he added.

As many as 78 case studies by district and block-level education officers were received for the awards for 2016. The awards were instituted by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) in 2014.
While 23 officers were selected for the 2016 awards, 20 others received certificates of appreciation.

The award function marked an end to the three-day National Conference on Innovation in Educational Administration, organised by the NEUPA with an aim to acknowledge innovative ideas and best practices adopted by district and block-level education officers.
"The education officers at the field-level are an important link between system-level administration and institutional-level management of education.

"Their role is crucial in implementing policies at the field-level. The recognition of their efforts and innovations would encourage the officers to further innovate and help improve the quality of education at district and block-levels," said an HRD Ministry official.