12 Educational Administration: Structure, Functions and Processes at State Government Level

Dr. Parwinderjit Kaur

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  1. Introduction

    1.1 Department of Higher Education

 

1.2 Department of School Education and Literacy

 

2. Learning outcomes

 

3. Educational Administrative Setup of Higher Education at State Government Level

 

4.Educational Administrative Set Up of School Education at State Government Level

 

5. Responsibilities of the State Government regarding School Education

 

6.Structure of Educational Administrative Set Up of School Education at State Government Level

 

7. Functions and Processes of Educational Administrative Set Up of School Education

 

8. Summary

 

1.  Introduction

Educational administration is concerned with formulating general plans and policies for education. Educational administration is a discipline within the study of education that examines the administrative theory and practice of education in general and educational institutions and educators in particular. The field ideally distinguishes itself from administration and management through its adherence to guiding principles of educational philosophy. Educational administration is the study and practice of managing the resources, tasks and communications involved in running a school. The goal of the administrator is to keep the school’s overall process flowing smoothly, making decisions that facilitate successful education. The administrator identifies and articulates a school’s mission and goals and makes them happen by implementing programs, delegating tasks and allocating resources.

 

At the national level, MHRD feels that there should be close and continuous consultation between the Central and State Governments in the true spirit of partnership. As the present administrative set-up believe in decentralization, but in order to keep a balance, there should be delegation of responsibilities and powers from the centre to the state in order to bring equality of educational opportunity.

 

The Human Resource Development ministry plays a significant and remedial role in balancing the socio-economic fabric of the country in education sector. Since citizens of India are its most valuable resource, our billion-strong nation needs the nurture and care in the form of basic education to achieve a better quality of life. This warrants an all-round development of our citizens, which can be achieved by building strong foundations in education. Currently, the MHRD works through two departments:

 

1.1  Department of Higher Education: The Department of Higher Education takes care of what is one of the largest Higher Education systems of the world, just after the United States and China. This Department is engaged in bringing world class opportunities of higher education and research to the country so that Indian students are not finding any lack or face an international platform. For this, the Government has launched joint ventures and signed MoUs to help the Indian student benefit from the world opinion.

 

Department of School Education and Literacy: The Department of School Education & Literacy is responsible for development of school education and literacy in the country. This Dept. has its eyes set on the “universalisation of education” and making better citizens out of our young brigade. For this, various new schemes and initiatives are taken up regularly and recently, those schemes and initiatives have also started paying dividends in the form of growing enrolment in schools.

 

2. Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, you will be able to

1.    Know the educational administrative set up for higher education in the state

2.    Explain the educational administrative set up for school education in the state

3.    Explore the responsibilities of the state government regarding school education

4.    Enumerate the Structure and Functions of educational administrative set up at secondary and elementary level

 

3.  Educational Administrative Setup of Higher Education at State Government Level

India is the seventh largest country in the world in terms of area and the second largest in population comprising 29 States and 7 Union Territories. The Indian Union presents a complex picture in terms of diversity and heterogeneity of the states and union territories in terms of geographical area, climatic conditions, population size, density and social and economic characteristics. The Constitution of India defines administrative and other responsibilities of the States and the Union. Under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution the legislative matters have been put into the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. The 42nd amendment of the Constitution placed education in the Concurrent List, while before it education was in the State List except for certain specified items in the Union List. The objective of incorporating education in the Concurrent List was to facilitate evolution of all- India policies in the field of education. States, however, continue to exercise main responsibility for planning and administration of school education.

Higher Education is the shared responsibility of both the Centre and the States. Following bodies determine and maintain standards for higher education and funding at the national level:

 

●     UGC (University Grant Commission): The UGC, however, was formally established in November 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India. In order to ensure effective region-wise coverage throughout the country, the UGC has decentralised its operations by setting up six regional centres at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore. The head office of the UGC is located in New Delhi, with two additional bureaus. At present, the main categories of University- level Institutions are: Central Universities, State Universities, Private Universities, Deemed Universities, UGC Affiliated colleges and Autonomous Colleges.

 

●     All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE): The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) was set up in 1945 as an advisory body and later on in 1987 given the statutory status by an Act of Parliament. The AICTE grants approval for starting new technical institutions, for introduction of new courses and for variation in intake capacity in technical institutions. The AICTE has delegated powers to the concerned state governments to process and grant approval of new institutions, starting new courses and variations in the intake capacity for diploma level technical institutions. It also lays down norms and standards for such institutions and ensures quality development of technical education through accreditation of technical institutions or programmes. In additional to its regulatory role, the AICTE also has a promotional role which it implements through schemes for promoting technical education for women, handicapped and weaker section of the society promoting innovations, faculty, research and development, giving grants to technical institutions. The technical institutions under the AICTE include post-graduate, under- graduate and diploma in the whole spectrum of technical education covering engineering/technology, pharmacy, architecture, hotel management and catering technology, management studies computer applications and applied arts and crafts.

 

●     National Council for Teache r Education (NCTE): National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is an Indian government body set up under the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 in 1995. The main function of the NCTE is to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system throughout the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education system and for matters connected therewith. This council functions for the central as well as state governments on all matter with regards to the teacher education.

 

There are some other national bodies which are responsible for providing education in their own field like Medical Council of India (MCI), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Veterinary Council of India (VCI), Council of Architecture (COI) etc. Except these national level bodies, some states also have Higher Education Councils as also senior government functionaries (Secretaries) for higher education at the State Government level to affect higher education administration in their respective states.

 

4.  Educational Administrative Set Up of School Education at State Government Level

The structure of school education refers to the ladder of education at school level. This can be visualized from two perspectives viz. academic and administrative. Within a state there is generally a four-tier structure of administration division: district, taluka/tehsil/block, and village. The district has been so far the most important unit of administration. Some of the states have introduced the system of Panchayati Raj, generally a three-tier structure of local self- government in rural areas at the village, block and district levels. Two recent constitutional amendments have bestowed on the local bodies in rural and urban areas constitutional status and specific functions including education, covering education upto secondary level, technical training and vocational education, adult and non-formal education. These amendments will strengthen decentralized management of education at the grass-root level. At State level the position differs at different levels. Some States have separate Departments/Ministries’ like Higher Education/ Technical Education/School Education etc.

 

   At the pre-primary stage (0-6 years) there is the attempt to establish a linkage between elementary education and other development programmes including the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), for which Balwadis/Anganwadis or Day-Care Centres vere opened. Some schemes are run by state government along with NGOs working in the field. The principle of decentralisation has been extended to the management of primary education and Village Education Committees (VECs) have been set up in many parts of the country. These Committees are responsible for the enrolment and retention of children in schools, supervise the functioning of schools, check teacher absenteeism and mobilise additional resources for the schools. Thus, attempts have been made to elicit community participation not only in the preparation of educational plans but also in the administration of education including mobilisation of additional resources. District Boards of Education (DBE) plans and administers education at the district level.

 

District-specific plans have been developed to increase infrastructural facilities, develop instructional material, train teachers, etc.

 

5.  Responsibilities of the State Government regarding School Education

●     To establish and maintain educational  institutions

●     To recognize for the establishment of schools

●     To provide grants to schools managed by| private governing bodies

●     To pass laws for different types of school education

●     To supervise school through DEO’s and Supervisors at Block level

●     To recruit and place teachers in schools

●     To prescribe the syllabus and supply books

●     To establish school boards to conduct examinations

●     To provide special assistance to poor and backward students

●     To organize training programmes for teachers and supervisors

●     To initiate action against teachers and schools in case of any lapse

●     To feed information to the centre about schools.

 

  1. Structure of Educational Administrative Set Up of School Education at State Government Level

 

7.    Functions and Processes of Educational Administrative Set Up of School Education

Education Ministry: The highest authority of education at the state level is the Minister of Education appointed by the Chief Minister of a state and is duly elected as the representative of the people. He is accountable to the legislature. In some states the Minister of Education is assisted by a Deputy Minister. The Minister of Education formulates the policies in consultation with the cabinet. He is responsible for the implementation of the policies. He is assisted by education secretary and DPI (Director Public Instruction). Functions of Minister of Education are:

  • Formulation of education policies and providing leadership to the educational programme of state.
  • Framing of policies, procedures, rules and regulations to determine standard of education.
  • Coordination of the education programme of the states in order to promote efficiency.
  • Inspection and evaluation to determine efficiency of the operations.
  • Providing consultative and information services.
  • To run schools established by government.
  • Promoting research activities related to education program.
  •  Advising the legislature on certain issues and matters and satisfying the legislators about the efficient conduct of educational administration by replying on the questions asked by them.

    Usually the education minister is the person related with education and have experience in the concerned area but many times he lacks technical knowledge related with it. So, he depends on the officials for this knowledge.

 

Secretary of Education: The head of the secretariat of education is the educational secretary. He is usually assisted by one or more deputy secretaries. Education secretary is generally senior IAS officer. He frames the policies related to education and passes order on behalf of the government. All the government orders are issued on his name. Everyday routine matters of education are disposed off by the educational secretary. Education secretary acts as a link between the minister and DPI (secondary). The director’s proposals are critically examined by the staff of the secretariat before being submitted for the approval of the minister.

 

Directorate of Education: It is an executive body carrying out the policies of government. The director of education or director of public instruction is the highest officer of Directorate of Education. Generally DPI is a technical expert and chosen for his long teaching, inspecting and administration experience in the department. As the highest executive he is responsible for the administration of education in the entire state. Assisted by the number of deputy and assistant directors he performs the following functions:

  •   To present proposals of policy to the education secretary and to executive, if approved by the education minister.   keep government informed about the conditions and progress of all types of education and the people’s needs and requirements regarding education.
  •  To supervise, control, inspect and guide the educational institutions including private institutions in the state.

To supervise the work of the government officials, inspectors, teachers of government institutions and to deal with their leave, transfer and discipline.

  • To disburse funds as sanctioned by the government.
  • To determine and disburse grant in aids to privately managed institutions.
  • To organize training of secondary school teachers.
  • To provide expert advice both to the institutions and secretariat.

Circle Education Officer: Ordinarily every state has been divided into regions, circles or divisions from administrative point of view. The organization of education on regional and circle basis has been made in order to establish and coordinate the functioning of district education authorities belonging to particular region or circle and for efficient disposal of official business. These circles come under the supervision of Circle Education Officer (CEO). These circles are having their own CEO’s. The CEO carries out the administrative and supervisory work of the whole division. Important functions of CEO are:

  • To supervise the work done by district education officer.
  • To give annual increments to the authorities and the workers.
  • To inspect and supervise the functions of heads of institutions.
  • To hear the cases of master cadre, lecturer cadre persons and give judgments regarding their cases.
  • To execute the work assigned to him by the directorate of education. CEO is assisted by Deputy Circle Education Officer in all his works.

 

District Education Office r: The success or failure of the programs concerning secondary and elementary education depends upon the activities at district level. The highest level officer of education at district level is the District Education Officer or District Inspector of schools. There are two DEOs in every district, one working as DEO (Secondary) and other DEO (Elementary). There are other officers to assist them in their work. Every district of each division has the offices of DEOs stationed at District Headquarters. DEO performs almost all the functions as are performed by DPI at the state level. Important functions of DEO are:

 

To give recognition to schools in his district when the schools fulfill certain conditions

  • To issue grants to the aided schools.
  • To organize district level sports competitions.
  • To supervise the functioning of school.
  • To carry-out the annual inspection of the schools.
  • To implement the policies and orders of the highest authorities regarding education.
  • To give directions to the subordinate staff.

    To hear cases of teachers and give judgments regarding their cases. Each DEO is directly associated with the high and senior secondary schools of the district through the headmaster or principal of the school. DEO is assisted by deputy DEO in carrying out his functions smoothly.

 

Headmaster/Principal: For the administration of secondary schools there are headmasters or principals as the head of the institutions. For high schools there are headmasters, headmistresses and they get full cooperation of second headmaster. For higher secondary schools head is called principal and he is cooperated by vice-principal. The institutional head does the following functions:

  • The principal is attached to the school directly, so success of the programs of the school depends upon him. His functions during the year could be studied under these headings: (a) before the starting of the session, (b) during the session, and (c) at the end of the session.

   (a) Before the session: This is the time when headmaster / principal plans the programs for the whole session with the help of his teachers. He makes plan for academic year, to maximize admissions and other works to be performed during the year.

(b) During the session: During the session Headmaster/Principal is busy in doing routine works, discipline works and other programs.

(c)  At the end of the session: At the end he is busy for the proper conductance of board examination and other school examinations to promote the students to the next higher classes. Declaration of results and to reflect on annual report, are some of his important functions.

  • To make arrangements for the induction of new subject teachers.
  • To implements the orders, directions and decision of higher authorities.
  •  To make arrangements for various cooperative activities.
  • To make provisions for games and sports activities.
  • To make daily activities successful.
  • To maintain the school building, school furniture, libraries and laboratories are his main functions.
  • To take care of office records and to observe these minutely
  • To lead the teachers and to give them guidance in certain works
  •  To make arrangements for examination and evaluation.

 

Science supervisor: In the education office of every district, there is a post o f science supervisor. This science supervisor gets the school’s lecturer’s grade. His function is to observe the science labs of all secondary schools of the districts. The science supervisor checks the schools and sends report to the district education officer.

 

Block Education Officer: As far as the elementary education is concerned, the district is divided into Blocks. In each block there is a BEO (Block Education Officer) which makes sincere efforts to strengthen the School Management and Development Committees (SMDCs) and arrange training & orientation programmes to empower them in all respect. He performs following functions and exercise following powers in his jurisdiction:

  • To deals with matters of all teaching and non-teaching staff working in the elementary Schools.
  • To forward the matter to concerned District Education Officers if required to do so as per procedures/rules and directions Issued from time to time.
  • To deal with all Court matters and assist the concerned District Education Officer and higher authorities in proper and effective defence of various court cases pertaining to elementary Education Department
  • To deal with the matters pertaining to recognized & aided private schools and recognized & un-aided private schools at elementary Level.
  • To maintain the accounts statements, cash book and expenditure reports, etc. in respect of funds/grants received under various schemes.

Centre Head Teacher: For a group of schools at elementary level, there is one centre head teacher. The prime role of a Centre Head teacher is to provide academic and administrative leadership to the School or Centre, and to engage with external organisations on behalf of the School and Centre. This involves following general responsibilities:

  • Governance of the School or Centre and the establishment and development of its strategic direction;
  • Guidance and development of teaching and research;
  • Guidance and development of staff and the management of staff- related issues;
  • Management of finances and infrastructure through effective planning, revenue generation, budgeting and expenditure control;
  • Internationalisation of the School or Centre.

Head Teacher: Head teacher has to play seven major roles in an elementary school;

(1) Role in Planning;

(2) Role in School Organisation;

(3) Teaching Role;

(4) Role in Supervision;

(5) Role in Guidance;

(6) Role in Maintaining Relations;

(7) Role in General Administration.

 

Summary

Over the years, since Independence in 1947, there has been a shift in the process of educational planning and administration from ‘centralisation to decentralisation’, from macro-planning to micro-planning. Higher education is planned by MHRD and national level bodies but executed by the state government through the Central Universities, State Universities, Private Universities, Deemed Universities and Autonomous Colleges. While school education is planned and executed by the states itself. The district has been accepted as the most appropriate unit of planning and educational administration. The district education officer (DEO) is further coordinated by the district project coordinator for project management at district level where each district is divided into small blocks. Hence a very strong and viable administrative setup is working at all levels of education in the Indian states.

 

References

  • Kaur, J. & Kaur, J. (2016). Educational Administration in India in the Twenty- first Century. Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, VI(I), 303-309. Kochhar, S.K. (1988). Secondary School Administration. Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Mohanty, J. (2002). Educational Administration, Supervision and School Management. Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications.
  • Shukla, P. D. (1983). Administration of Education in India. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.

Web links

  • http://www.teindia.nic.in/mhrd/50yrsedu/r/2Q/A2/2QA20501.htm http://www.gnu.org/education/edu-system- india.en.html
  • http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/document-reports/AR2013-14.pdf
  • http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/45205/4/c4.pdf
  • https://www.britishcouncil.in/sites/default/files/indian_school_education_system _-_an_overview_1.pdf
  • http://arc.gov.in/15threport.pdf
  • http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2449/States- Education-STATE-ADMINISTRATIVE-SERVICES-IN-EDUCATION.html
  • http://www.educationforallinindia.com/management-of-elementary-education- in-india.pdf
  • http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2447/State-Departments-Education.html