When they first start going to school, they are fresh-faced, bright-eyed, bursting with questions and full of the joys of life. Take a very good look and savour their cheerful demeanour because this is short-lived. In the blink of an eye, they will change and you will not recognise them again. They start looking tense and fearful, their curiosity dries up and all they hear at home and in school is “study, study, study”. There is simply no time for free play. Working parents appoint tutors to ensure that their children are sitting down to study and that they are in competent hands. When I urge children to be independent learners, older students tell me, that they have been used to tutors since primary classes so they sit down to study only when their tutors are around.
The other day a young mother who works in a beauty parlour came to me for some advice. “How can I make my seven-year-old son sit down to study? Their school makes them study very hard and his life comprises tests and exams and there is no time to play. I have requested my sister-in-law to supervise because I feel too tired to sit down with him after a full day’s work.”
This is a common story. The little boy mentioned above was asked to go through two volumes of mathematical problems for a 10-mark test the following day. I was aghast! Why are we ruining our bright little children and depriving them of their childhood?
I am totally against the prevailing exam culture -- especially the board exam culture -- that has taken over an unsuspecting nation. The climate is that of fear -- on the part of schools, parents and governments. Statistics must demonstrate that our children are performing well. But in spite of educational reforms (on paper) and encouraging students to become “examination warriors”, we are at the bottom so far as knowledge, creativity, innovativeness and skills are concerned.
This is so simple to understand but those in power and many in the field of school education in our country haven’t kept up with the times and keep equating quality education with high scores in exams. Fancy pedagogical practices cannot be implemented unless the teachers are trained and re-educated. Assessment is extremely important but it is just a measure which is supposed to indicate to the candidates (and their teachers) their weaknesses and strengths and the areas where more work is required.
As for the board exams, the less said about them the better. Every year, without fail, this mammoth exercise is carried out and at one end of the spectrum we have schools where children are expressing themselves in their mother tongue but using the Roman script. A colleague who is an examiner told me that some examinees had not been taught how to read maps and were locating cities in the middle of the ocean. It is unthinkable but students are taught the typical steps of a mathematical problem and not the concepts or principles. The state of mathematics in our country is pathetic. But that is another story for another day.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have expensive private schools where all kinds of innovative pedagogical methods and best practices are used. But higher order thinking, or “HOT” questions, are meaningless jargon in our neglected sectors, where students have not even been taught the basic facts.
And let us not forget the tragic suicides that take place every year before, during and after the board exams.
We resent the loss of a huge chunk of teaching-learning time when our teachers are requisitioned for invigilation, supervision or marking and tabulating. This circus has to stop immediately. I think that many of the schools where the average score in the board exams is well above 80 per cent should be exempted from these exams. Their inflated marks do not mean anything. And horror of horrors, I hear now that the CBSE plans to administer two board exams a year. Either there are too many vested interests or people simply know no better.
Textbook publishers, private tutors, those who wish to indoctrinate children, online coaching institutions and others would certainly want to keep the system alive just as keeping hostilities and divisions alive are in the best interest of some political leaders. What would happen to our extremely lucrative weapons industry if we had peace on earth? Hence, these senseless exams are here to stay. Our young people have wretched lives. Learning to them is getting high scores and cracking various
Olympiads and competitive exams. Studying for exams is a different ball game to discovering for themselves, satisfying their intellectual curiosity or experimenting. It is easy to criticise and feel frustrated, but practical suggestions are needed. The following are entirely my own:
*Do away with compulsory board exams. Schools may apply for exemption by filling up forms drawn up by the relevant authorities. Exempted schools may appear for exams like SAT or AP.
*Acknowledge individual differences and bring out the best in every child.
*Do not make courses content-heavy. Introduce interdisciplinary approaches from the beginning.
*Make Class 10 the level where every student studies all the core subjects, including Mathematics and Science. Do not make courses too difficult -- in fact it is best to have a standard and an advanced track. You cannot be called educated in the 21st century if you do not have a basic knowledge of science and mathematics -- that is at least till Class 10.
It is essential to include climate, environment, community service, physical education, music, art and dance in the curriculum. Instilling of values must be ongoing. There must be space for consensus building not only for debates. The Model Parliament must be reintroduced. MUN (Model United Nations) is not enough. And everything doesn’t have to be assessed formally.
It’s all very well to keep harping on one country, one election, one main religion, one people, but you cannot fight the laws of nature. Individuals are different – education must cater to their varied needs, aspirations and talents.
Please let us rescue our children from their helpless and joyless
