National Awards for Innovations and Good Practices in Educational Administration

National Institute of Educational Planning & Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi has instituted National Awards for Innovations in Educational Administration for District and Block Level Education Officers with the objective of recognising, awarding and disseminating innovations and good practices in educational administration at the field level.

About the Award

The Scheme was launched in 2014 with the following objectives

• To recognize innovations and Good practices in educational Administration at district and block level;
• To award those who conceived and implemented innovations; and
• To document and disseminate innovations in educational administration at district and block levels.

Areas of Innovations covered for the award

The National Scheme of Awards for Innovations & Good Practices in Educational Administration covers different aspects of educational Administration. Some of the indicative, but not restricted, areas of innovations and good practices in educational administration may include the following:

• Improving access and participation of children in schools and schooling process.
• Promoting innovations in teaching- learning process and improving quality of school and learning outcomes in the framework outcome based approach of education.
• Teacher management including teacher deployment, ensuring regularity and punctuality, professional development, teacher motivation etc.
• Effective management of academic support mechanism.
• Enhancing community participation in school management.
• Effective and innovative supervision and monitoring of the functioning of the schools.
• Distribution and management of Mid-Day Meal and other incentive schemes
• Resource mobilization & partnership with private/corporate sector/NGOs
• Promoting equity and managing diversity.
• Education of children from disadvantaged groups
• Administration and management of schools in difficult and left wing Maoist affected areas.
• Administration and management of schools in natural disaster stricken areas.
• Transparency and accountability in Educational administration etc.
• Promoting ease of governance
• Use of ICT in educational administration and management.
• Creating overall public trust on government schools

Who can participate

• Serving district and block level education officers (District Education Officers/DDPI/DDSE/Deputy Directors posted in district, Deputy Education Officers/
  Block Education Officers/ Assistant Education Officers/ Mandal Education officers/ Deputy BEO’s or other such officers working at district or block levels designated differently in different states and UTs)
• Recipients of award during a particular year shall not be entitled to receive the same again for the next three years. However, they may send the details of innovative works done in subsequent year of receiving award along with evidence. Based on the merit of innovative work done, they may be given chance to participate and present their work with other participants in the National Conference on Educational Administration and Management which is organised as a prelude to National Awards Presentation Function. All Such participants will be given certificate of participation.
• Officers placed under suspension/ any vigilance case initiated or pending against them/ disciplinary proceedings in progress or disciplinary action taken
  against them are not eligible to apply.

How to apply

The eligible applicants may send their applications for the consideration of the award. Applications for the awards should be duly forwarded by the state level educational administrators (Principal Secretary/ Secretary/ Commissioner/ Director, School Education/ or SPD of SSA and RMSA) and routed through the department of education of the state/ UTs.

All such applications of district and block level education officers, forwarded by the above mentioned state level educational administrators, shall be treated as the nominee of the state/UTs for the consideration of award/ certificate of appreciation. While forwarding applications/sending nominations of district and block level education officers, the nominating/ forwarding officers are requested to keep in mind the integrity and credibility of the officers besides the value and significance of the innovation made.

Previous awards

• In the first year of the launch of the Scheme in 2014, 33 District and Block Education Officers were awarded for their innovations and good practices in different areas of educational administration and management. 
• In 2015, 62 District and Block Education Officers were given awards.
• 23 and 20 district and block level education officers were given awards and certificate of appreciation respectively during 2016-17.
• 49 District and Block Level Education Officers were given Awards/ Certificate of Appreciation for the year 2017-2018 

Click here to view the compendium of awardees.

Source : National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration