A Diagnostic Study On The Low Performing Schools Of SSD Department

Abstract

By end of educational year, 2009, as many as 306 High Schools including 8 Secondary Schools are functioning under the administrative control of ST & SC Development Department, Govt of Orissa to cater the educational promotion of the weaker section children, especially belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. Majority of these schools ,are residential in nature. Some of these Schools in tribal areas have shown good results in HSC Examinations and some other Schools poor results. Thus this empirical study titled "A diagnostic study on the low performing schools of SSD Department" was conducted during the year 2009-10 in some of these schools with the broad objectives to identify factors responsible for such low performance and to come up with suggested strategy for improvement of results. The report includes the research findings on four aspects, like (i) to identify the factors for low/inconsistent performance of SSD Department schools, (ii) to assess the problems of school teachers as well as their contribution towards students' achievement, (iii) to assess the home background factors of student as well as role of the VEC On students achievement and (iv) 'to examine impact of inadequacy of infrastructure in school, provision of incentives and such other factors on the performance of the student and to suggest remedial measures. It is bdsed on data collected horn different schools, functionaries and stakeholders by using different interview schedules, besides obtaining information from secondary source. The study sample covers 10 SSD Department schools situated in 5 backward districts namely Koraput, Rayagada, Nawarangpur, Malkangiri, and Gajapati and marked with low performance and abnormally fluctuating results (less. than 30%) in the annual HSC examinations during the years, 2003-04 to 2007-08