Web-based online academic supervision for qualitative primary education
Md Bayazid Khan :
Primary education is the first and a foremost tier of overall education as it builds the basic foundation of secondary and tertiary tiers of education. So, guardians and educators are seriously concerned with attaining qualitative primary education of their children on the threshold of education journey. The discerning parents and guardians cautiously want to see their kids fit to survive in all sphere of competitiveness in daily life. But existing standard of primary education can never assure them for building kids’ bright future for survival in the competitive world. Moreover, without developing desired knowledge, skills and competencies suitable for attaining higher stages of education at primary tier, children never build themselves as valuable resources of the nation. Therefore, it is vital challenge for government to ensure qualitative primary education to all of its enrolled children as the government took the responsibility of mainstreaming the primary education.
Primary teachers and students inevitably need to provide continuous support towards ensuring qualitative primary education. As teachers are the key persons to provide qualitative primary education, they should be brought under the process of continuous professional development. And only academic supervision can contribute positively and significantly in the process of teachers’ continuous professional development instead of inspection and surprise visit of primary schools. Academic supervision is a process of supporting teachers and students to develop their performances identifying areas of development by observing teaching-learning activities and it is a process rather than an event like surprise school visit or inspection.
At present Assistant Upazila Primary Education Officers (AUEO), Upazila Resource Centre (URC) Instructors and Assistant Instructors are responsible for supporting primary school teachers as academic supervisor. They have the monthly target for visiting schools with the particular inspection form developed by the authority. Moreover, Upazila Education Officers (UEO), Assistant District Primary Education Officers (ADPEO), District Primary Education Officers (DPEO) and other concerned officers of Directorate and field level primary education offices have also to visit primary schools according to the monthly target. They also use the same inspection form to write school visit report. Uniform school inspection forms can never satisfy concerned supervisory officers and supervisee teachers for smooth implementation of academic supervision. Because of completing the whole process of academic supervision, supervisors need to use additional forms like observation and feedback forms to note down teachers and students’ performances and behaviour which are identified during observing teaching-learning activities. Moreover, the process badly needs to safe preservation of documents regarding academic supervision of individual teacher in schools and education offices. At present all field level officers are performing the vital activities of supervision or school inspection with the traditional non web-based method that are facing questions for maintaining quality and authenticity of the monitoring process of primary schools’, teachers’ and students’ performances. So, the whole process of academic supervision should be online web-based and only a few field level officers like Head Teachers, AUEOs, URC Instructors, Assistant Instructors and PTI Instructors along with the ADPEOs should be given the responsibilities of performing academic supervision. Now a days two Assistant District Primary Education Officers (ADPEO) are working at District Primary Education Offices. In addition to existing job description each ADPEO might be given the responsibilty of academic development for a specific region of the district comprising of some Upazilas. Other field level officers might be given the responsibilities of school inspection. There may be separate software-based forms for academic supervision and school inspection.
Academic supervisors might be provided Tab or Laptop or Android Mobile set with sophisticated software for recording notes of observation and feedback as the way of preserving information and details regarding academic supervision. There should be the provision of online internet networking system for using the software based forms to complete the whole process of academic supervision so that every information and timing of academic supervision activities might be informed by higher authorities. There should be separate identity numbers for teachers, academic supervisors and primary schools for using the software. This will definitely ensure effective monitoring of field level academic supervisors’ duties and performances.
On the other hand, academic supervision process needs adequate time, frequent school visit and logistic supports. But existing nature of work, additional duties of extra department activities, lacking of logistic supports etc might be the impediment to responsible officers towards performing duties as academic supervisors. So, academic supervisors should be provided with the opportunities and supports to remove the said barriers. The most senior Assistant Upazila Education Officer might be given the responsibility of assisting Upazila Education Officer to execute administrative works smoothly so that other AUEOs can perform their duties properly as academic supervisors. This will help him/her to develop knowledge and skills for performing duties of UEO later on.
Academic supervisors are the teacher of teachers. Therefore, they should have updated knowledge on curriculum, teaching-learning methods and techniques, contents of books, ICT contents for using multimedia projector in classroom teaching, contents in teachers’ editions etc to support teachers for their professional development aiming to implement academic supervision. Beside teachers they should be provided training on said areas.
Existing mode and nature of works of AUEOs, URC Instructors and Assistant Instructors compelled them to deviate a lot regarding attitude of academic supervisors. They feel proud of becoming an officer rather than an academic supervisor. This sort of attitude is harmful towards teachers’ professional development and might be changed by arranging motivational trainings at home and abroad, ensuring adequate logistic supports and showing same sort of attitude to them.
To make the process of academic supervision success, supervisory officers should have the power of giving reward and punishment to concerned supervisees. Moreover, all supervisors and supervisees should have the access of getting promotions or financial benefits timely within existing extraordinary new pay scale with justified ammendment of the old and outdated appointment rule.
In the last few years the country’s mainstream primary education enabled to achieve a lot of success in the areas of access, participation and completion of primary cycle addressing issues like gender, ethnic minorities etc. Bangladesh has exemplified in the field of primary education to the international community in ensuring basic education to its entire children as role model to follow. Now time has come to set a revolutionary instance to the world community ensuring qualitative primary education to its entire children by implementing academic supervision beside surprise school inspection. And the sincere and dedicated field level primary education officials must fulfill this commitment.
Primary education is the first and a foremost tier of overall education as it builds the basic foundation of secondary and tertiary tiers of education. So, guardians and educators are seriously concerned with attaining qualitative primary education of their children on the threshold of education journey. The discerning parents and guardians cautiously want to see their kids fit to survive in all sphere of competitiveness in daily life. But existing standard of primary education can never assure them for building kids’ bright future for survival in the competitive world. Moreover, without developing desired knowledge, skills and competencies suitable for attaining higher stages of education at primary tier, children never build themselves as valuable resources of the nation. Therefore, it is vital challenge for government to ensure qualitative primary education to all of its enrolled children as the government took the responsibility of mainstreaming the primary education.
Primary teachers and students inevitably need to provide continuous support towards ensuring qualitative primary education. As teachers are the key persons to provide qualitative primary education, they should be brought under the process of continuous professional development. And only academic supervision can contribute positively and significantly in the process of teachers’ continuous professional development instead of inspection and surprise visit of primary schools. Academic supervision is a process of supporting teachers and students to develop their performances identifying areas of development by observing teaching-learning activities and it is a process rather than an event like surprise school visit or inspection.
At present Assistant Upazila Primary Education Officers (AUEO), Upazila Resource Centre (URC) Instructors and Assistant Instructors are responsible for supporting primary school teachers as academic supervisor. They have the monthly target for visiting schools with the particular inspection form developed by the authority. Moreover, Upazila Education Officers (UEO), Assistant District Primary Education Officers (ADPEO), District Primary Education Officers (DPEO) and other concerned officers of Directorate and field level primary education offices have also to visit primary schools according to the monthly target. They also use the same inspection form to write school visit report. Uniform school inspection forms can never satisfy concerned supervisory officers and supervisee teachers for smooth implementation of academic supervision. Because of completing the whole process of academic supervision, supervisors need to use additional forms like observation and feedback forms to note down teachers and students’ performances and behaviour which are identified during observing teaching-learning activities. Moreover, the process badly needs to safe preservation of documents regarding academic supervision of individual teacher in schools and education offices. At present all field level officers are performing the vital activities of supervision or school inspection with the traditional non web-based method that are facing questions for maintaining quality and authenticity of the monitoring process of primary schools’, teachers’ and students’ performances. So, the whole process of academic supervision should be online web-based and only a few field level officers like Head Teachers, AUEOs, URC Instructors, Assistant Instructors and PTI Instructors along with the ADPEOs should be given the responsibilities of performing academic supervision. Now a days two Assistant District Primary Education Officers (ADPEO) are working at District Primary Education Offices. In addition to existing job description each ADPEO might be given the responsibilty of academic development for a specific region of the district comprising of some Upazilas. Other field level officers might be given the responsibilities of school inspection. There may be separate software-based forms for academic supervision and school inspection.
Academic supervisors might be provided Tab or Laptop or Android Mobile set with sophisticated software for recording notes of observation and feedback as the way of preserving information and details regarding academic supervision. There should be the provision of online internet networking system for using the software based forms to complete the whole process of academic supervision so that every information and timing of academic supervision activities might be informed by higher authorities. There should be separate identity numbers for teachers, academic supervisors and primary schools for using the software. This will definitely ensure effective monitoring of field level academic supervisors’ duties and performances.
On the other hand, academic supervision process needs adequate time, frequent school visit and logistic supports. But existing nature of work, additional duties of extra department activities, lacking of logistic supports etc might be the impediment to responsible officers towards performing duties as academic supervisors. So, academic supervisors should be provided with the opportunities and supports to remove the said barriers. The most senior Assistant Upazila Education Officer might be given the responsibility of assisting Upazila Education Officer to execute administrative works smoothly so that other AUEOs can perform their duties properly as academic supervisors. This will help him/her to develop knowledge and skills for performing duties of UEO later on.
Academic supervisors are the teacher of teachers. Therefore, they should have updated knowledge on curriculum, teaching-learning methods and techniques, contents of books, ICT contents for using multimedia projector in classroom teaching, contents in teachers’ editions etc to support teachers for their professional development aiming to implement academic supervision. Beside teachers they should be provided training on said areas.
Existing mode and nature of works of AUEOs, URC Instructors and Assistant Instructors compelled them to deviate a lot regarding attitude of academic supervisors. They feel proud of becoming an officer rather than an academic supervisor. This sort of attitude is harmful towards teachers’ professional development and might be changed by arranging motivational trainings at home and abroad, ensuring adequate logistic supports and showing same sort of attitude to them.
To make the process of academic supervision success, supervisory officers should have the power of giving reward and punishment to concerned supervisees. Moreover, all supervisors and supervisees should have the access of getting promotions or financial benefits timely within existing extraordinary new pay scale with justified ammendment of the old and outdated appointment rule.
In the last few years the country’s mainstream primary education enabled to achieve a lot of success in the areas of access, participation and completion of primary cycle addressing issues like gender, ethnic minorities etc. Bangladesh has exemplified in the field of primary education to the international community in ensuring basic education to its entire children as role model to follow. Now time has come to set a revolutionary instance to the world community ensuring qualitative primary education to its entire children by implementing academic supervision beside surprise school inspection. And the sincere and dedicated field level primary education officials must fulfill this commitment.
(The writer is working for primary education in Bangladesh. [email protected])
