Former Lok Sabha member from M Ramadass on Thursday called for a separate Board of Education to ensure a quality school education in the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Reacting to the School Education Quality Index (SEQI) prepared by the NITI Aayog in which Puducherry is placed fourth among 7 Union Territories and 9th among 15 small states, Ramadass said this dismal picture is quite surprising, shocking and unexpected, especially, in the backdrop of several new positive measures initiated by the Government of Puducherry to tone up the quality of School Education and high success rates in X and XII Public Examinations.

However, a deeper disaggregated category and domain-wise analysis reveal the underlying factor for poor quality education of Puducherry which needs to be addressed seriously, he added.

The Chief Minister who often boasts of high achievement of the UT on the education front should really ponder on this data based appalling performance of Puducherry. The educational administrators and Government School teachers should seriously introspect on this worrying facet and address it immediately so that all students may gain the opportunity to receive education of quality and become really useful to the society in all aspects.

He said the Government of Puducherry should radically redesign all curriculum and pedagogy school education to give the students a sound foundation in reading, writing, speaking, counting, arithmetic, mathematical and logical reasoning, problem solving and in being creative.