The two-shift system can provide quality educational infrastructure to all

By: Major General (retired) Ashok Kumar

There are some educational institutions with good infrastructure which are not able to utilise their existing facilities in a single shift; there is adequate scope for using this infrastructure in the two-shift system.

Empowerment through education is the primary and under-acknowledged facet in the creation of a nation. The very substrata, superstructure and consequently soul of a nation depends on the mode, quality and quantum of education provided to prospective adult citizens of a country – a quality that as easily distinguishes India from the US as it does from Somalia. Free and accessible primary education, therefore, correctly forms one of the fundamental rights of our country, a fact realised late by our lawmakers. However, this utopian dream, of free access to quality primary education, faces a few obstacles, seemingly as it forms part of the ‘positive rights’ aspect of the State.

Lack of facilities
While adequate budgetary support is one of the more essential components in refocusing towards education, it is equally important to have a de-nuovo look at existing arrangements, especially in terms of infrastructure which may be leveraged by the progressive adoption of some successful models already in vogue in our own country. Currently, it is a common sight to see children studying under trees, in thatched-roof huts or under similar circumstances. Though proactive policies by several state governments have led to the mushrooming of many playschools, kindergarten, and primary schools, they exist with deficit infrastructure.

Additional need
As per the ‘World Talent Ranking Report’ by the Institute of Management Development (IMD), India ranks 35^th on educational expenditure and 62^nd in overall quality among 104 nations in the world. This is not good news for a country that aims to be one of the most influential powers in the world in the coming years. Notwithstanding this, our relative performance should serve as a motivating factor for us to improve ourselves. Therefore, a two-shift-based system for education for schools and colleges across the country, minimising the additional need for infrastructure besides providing quality education to all is necessary. This means taking into account the rotation of teachers and administrative staff. Empty buildings, after classes get over, don’t contribute anything towards nation-building. This two-shift-based schooling is already in vogue in a number of institutions and is not a new phenomenon. Mandating it for all institutions is the only change that needs to be adopted. Even some government schools adopted this practice almost 40-50 years back with positive results.

During informal discussions, some queries regarding the practical implementation of this idea surfaced. These were:

• It will affect the exclusivity of institutions.
• It will give lesser time for extracurricular activities.
• Quantitative edge will affect qualitative edge adversely.

The two-shift system approach can also facilitate in bringing the entire category of school-going children nearer to quality schooling infrastructure, fulfilling the real and evolved aim of the Right to Education Act. While operational modalities can be further fine-tuned, its broad parameters for institutions for daycare scholars, institutions having both daycare and residential scholars, and institutions having only residential scholars are:

• It needs to be made mandatory for all Government, private and minority institutions. New institutions — schools and colleges — must confirm the adoption of this model before they are granted recognition and affiliation.
• A recalibration of syllabus, extracurricular activities and related personality development programmes is required so that holistic growth is not compromised. ‘Online’ empowerment could also be clubbed in the overall modelling.
• As the basic proposal relates to utilising the existing infrastructure, no additional residential capacity is recommended though other considerations may lead to capacity enhancement.
• Implementation of mixed attendance modules to include day scholars as well can result in double shift module. One shift can be dedicated to resident scholars while the other can be for day scholars. A mixed model of both resident scholars and day scholars in both shifts is also practical.

There are some institutions with good infrastructure which are not able to utilise their existing facilities even in a single shift. There is adequate scope for using this infrastructure in the two-shift system where one shift can be utilised to impart education in the current form while the second shift can be utilised for skill development, addressing another need of our population.

(The author is Major General, VSM, retired, visiting fellow of CLAWS)