New trends in education and new terminology are becoming prevalent these days. As parents, you can come across jargons such as ‘accreditation’. Know more about it in this post so that instead of thinking it as gibberish, you can intelligently decode schools brochures and make the informed choice for your child’s education.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation by definition is an official approval or a certificate of ‘Quality’. As education plays an important role in the development of children and a nation, at large, so accreditation is the means of demonstrating confidence in the purpose and performance of the school and its resources.

This self-evaluation of schools programs are evaluated by a committee as per their own stated educational goals and standards thus ensuring that the school meets the prescribed qualitative standards.

Accreditation, thus, is a

• Process of self analysis and quality assessment of a school
• Reflection and up-gradation of a schools educational quality and offered facilities and services.
• Confidence in a school’s performance, purpose and resources.
• New identity and direction for a school

Benefits of Accreditation

Accreditation signifies different things to different stakeholders (parents, students, public, staff etc). It is an indication that the school offers quality facilities and education. Some of the benefits for each stakeholder are:

Benefits for Parents:

· It helps parents to express their individual point, give feedback, and express their concerns.

· Understand syllabus, curriculum and decision making domains of the school.

· A confidence that the school meets the standards of excellence and has a strong        vision and mission

Benefits for Students:

·  Helps Students to understand their responsibilities and duties

·  They can easily shift from one accredited school to another as the standard and quality of education will remain the same

Benefits for Teachers:

· It helps them to raise their concern, value-add in system, give feedback.

· To educate, guide and motivate students for better performance in all spheres.

· Understand school’s philosophy, quality statement, vision and mission

· Helps them to grow professionally and build their self esteem

· Learn best practices and accordingly direct their efforts.

Benefits for Principals:

· It helps the principal to identify the individual contribution and contribution of each stakeholder on the development of school

· Come up with innovative strategies and provide quality leadership in different domains.

·  Understanding the functioning and insight of each stakeholders needs.

·  Evaluate the growth levels of school in different areas.

·  Strive for excellence and quality of education

Benefits for School Management:

· Helps the management to review different domains for self assessment and for knowing school’s strengths and weaknesses through an analysis

· Have more clarity of thought, action and decision making to promote quality.

· Open new opportunities for stakeholders in further quest for quality and excellence.

·  Moving towards quality blending in all domains rather than an individual domain

Parents Tips

It’s important to ask the school authorities about the accreditation process they follow and after how many years the same is repeated. Most of the schools have to repeat the whole quality check in 3-8 years.

Apart from that, a school usually puts up the certificate of their accreditation near the office areas for parents information. Also, what are the facilities, what curriculum is followed, staff expertise and education, maintenance of the overall infrastructure etc., are certain parameters which will help you know how often the quality check of the school has been done.

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