Performance targets for schools getting ADB assistance

The Department of School Education and Literacy has fixed performance targets for schools that are benefitting from the financial assistance provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).To that end, the department has come out with nine disbursement linked indicators (DLIs) that are tied to performance targets that the schools have been asked to meet by 2030. Furthermore, nodal officers have been appointed to measure the progress of schools against each DLI.ADB granted a Rs 1,750-crore loan to Karnataka with the primary objective of enabling the state to better implement its Karnataka Public School (KPS) scheme.The performance indicators set by the department insists that the percentage of grade 8 students in KPS institutions achieving grade level proficiency in language (English), Mathematics, Science and Social Science by at least 3 percentage points over the established baseline by 2030.Meanwhile, the transition rate of students between grade 10 and grade 11 in KPS and ADB programme schools must increase by at least 5 percentage points over the established baseline. Senior officials in the department such as the Director Pre University Education, Director of Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board have been designated nodal officers to oversee the scheme.Karnataka hikes 2027 SSLC examination fee by 5% across all student categoriesThe DLIs stipulate that, by 2029 the percentage of female students passing grade 12 examinations in KPS and programme schools rise by at least three percentage points, while at least 500 new KPS institutions are to be established with improved, safer gender-responsive, socially inclusive and climate-resilient learning environments.Furthermore, the professional capacity of teachers will be boosted so that, by 2030, teachers will boast greater expertise in their subjects, be more gender-responsive and incorporate socially inclusive pedagogical skills into their teaching methods.By 2030, the state assessment system must be improved so as to enable tracking the progress of learning outcomes among students of classes three, five and eight. The readiness of KPS students to negotiate the uncertainties of the future must also be assessed, as should their employability skills, alongside their attitudes to gender and social inclusivity.The designated nodal officers will be asked to convene fortnightly meetings, and similarly, the Principal Secretary of the department will convene a meeting of all the nodal officers in the last week of every month to review the results of the scheme.ADB had made it clear that it was offering financial assistance under the result-based lending programme.

Source: Deccan Herald