Accountability in Education

People’s access to education is increasing day by day, but at the same time it is also seen that the learning process is not yielding the expected results. Therefore, in such a situation, the authorities accountable for the delivery and quality of education have come to the center of this discussion.

The absolute first inquiry on each parent’s psyche with regards to education is whether or not his child is learning something and to know the answer of this question one should have a clear idea about the persons responsible and accountable for it. The fundamental significance of accountability means the cycle by which students, educators, and administrators give a record of their advancement. Accountability is a method by which strategy makers and parents screen the performance of educations system and students respectively. It is essential to set high standards for each child, no matter what the difficulties the child might confront and it is the responsibility of the government and the right of each child to get the best teaching and support to live up to those expectations. It is also very important to set a high bar for every teacher because they have the direct impact on a child’s success in the classroom.

Accountability in education begins with the governments which have the primary responsibility of ensuring the right to education and improve the infrastructure of the education system of the country.
Secondly it is the responsibility of the management, to put resources into classroom and support teachers in setting up a clear expectation. They should also help teachers in developing their craft, providing meaningful support that is tailored to their needs, and afterward give a fair, multi-layered audit of how well teachers is serving the instructive requirements of our students. When we talk about the management, Principal or Director is the foremost responsibility bearer and accountable person for education system prevailing in an institute. It is the responsibility of the principal to establish a safe and welcoming school culture with a lucid and convincing vision for learning and development. Good teachers are the pillars of a successful education system and therefore it is the responsibility of the principal or the director to foster excellence by recognizing top teachers and providing them every kind of support needed to improve the quality of education.

After director or principal, the most important person accountable for the quality education and the future of the children are the teachers. Nowadays teaching in schools is teacher centered where teachers are the dissemination of knowledge and the students are the receivers. They are directly. Students depend on teachers for advice and guidance. Students are not only interested in academic lessons but also in following their life lessons on how to get ahead in life. This is the reason why it is very important for teachers to encourage students to follow good habits. Teachers help us to be a good human being. A good person can contribute to the development of the society. A developed society with good people helps others to be successful and happy. But if a teacher is not fulfilling his /her duties then of course is accountable for destroying the future of the children.

Therefore, we can say that education is a shared responsibility whose sustainable progress can only be possible through joint efforts. To move in this direction, having clear lines of responsibility, knowing where these lines are broken and what to do to address them.

By Dr. Mohd Iftikhar Baig