Ensuring quality in the school education system: A primitive analysis of key school quality assurance programs of India

This article studies three key school quality assurance programs used to assess and improve the standards of education from class 1 to class 12 standards in India. The author notes that the Indian education system is rising rapidly and becoming increasingly diverse, with a variety of contexts, school sizes, and challenging conditions. In India, there are different school quality assurance program frameworks that assess, evaluate, or accredit schools governed by state government, central government, and private agencies. The author’s goal is to study the standards of three key school quality assurance programs in India: The School Quality Assessment and Accreditation (SQAA) by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the National Program on School Standards and Evaluation (NPSSE) by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), and the Accreditation Standard for Quality School Governance (ASQSG) by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET). These three measures are discrete and do not compete with each other, offering multiple benefits to the schools and their stakeholders. The results of the quality assurance and accreditation processes carried out by organizations such as NIEPA, CBSE, and NABET have a substantial influence on enhancing the quality standards of school education. Through these quality assurance frameworks, the strengths and weaknesses of schools are identified, making institutions take appropriate actions. The agencies, government, parents, students, and employers all benefit from the outcome and analysis of institutional performance covered under these quality assurance programs. The goal of quality assurance frameworks is to give stakeholders confidence in system. The research is grounded in a qualitative methodological framework analysis, and the author gains insights and understands these quality assurance frameworks through comprehensive reading and interpretation.