Ahmedabad: A fresh controversy has emerged over School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework (SQAAF) and the baseline survey being conducted under Nipun Gujarat Abhiyan in private schools across Gujarat. Self-Financed School Management Federation has issued an urgent circular directing all private schools not to provide any information related to the surveys until govt holds a direct discussion with school management representatives.Nipun Gujarat baseline survey is being conducted in line with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to assess foundational literacy and numeracy among children from Balvatika to Class V. Students are assessed on Gujarati reading, writing and mathematical skills, and classified into levels such as emerging, progressive and proficient, enabling remedial teaching for students requiring additional support.SQAAF, meanwhile, aims to assess school infrastructure, teaching practices, administration and learning outcomes to improve overall educational quality.According to information available, an online meeting of federation office-bearers from all districts was held on Aug 19. The meeting reportedly discussed several concerns regarding SQAAF and Nipun Gujarat baseline survey, following which the federation unanimously decided to boycott the exercise.In the circular issued by federation president Jatin Bharad and general secretary Manhar Rathod, school managements have been instructed not to submit information for the surveys. The federation has claimed that several provisions of the surveys were inconsistent with the functioning and requirements of private schools.The federation, which represents around 17,000 private schools and is associated with more than 5 million students across Gujarat, also alleged that it was not taken into confidence before the survey was initiated. It said questions and concerns previously raised with govt had not received satisfactory resolutions. School managements have therefore been asked to submit the federation’s circular to their respective district education officer (DEO) and formally record their objections.
