We asked India’s leading educators and academicians about the reforms in the education sector that they would recommend to the Modi government over the next 5 years. This is what had to say.
Recommendation from
Dr. Ganasan V, Principal
Takshshila Junior College, Ujjain
There are many issues related to this subject which are, along with some suggestions, enlisted below:
- The entire concept of B.Ed. has to be revamped. It is currently outdated and needs modification.
- CCE of CBSE has become a formality because of which the future generation will be victimized. Having said that, I believe that the concept of CCE is good, but the approach and its enforcement is not in tandem.
- The class X board exams should be reconstituted and, in fact, there should be one board exam at class VIII too.
- Assessments is one area that has to be seriously looked into. Why do we assess? What do we assess? When do we assess? How do we assess? Where do we assess? are some of the questions that must be answered while designing and preparing tests and exams for students.
This, however, is not being done by the current teaching community, thus our competency levels are rather low. Examinations are merely a formality, or a chore. Assessments, thus, need a revamp wherein a purpose, an objective and all the factors are considered – are they valid, reliable and fair? Are they flexible?
There are many more issues that have to be taken up by academicians, administrators, DEOs and collectors. State interference in the functioning of schools needs to be seriously looked into, as there are no standard, mandatory or regulatory laws in the field of school education. Thus, every institute has its own set of norms. Given the current status, about 800 million
children will enter the employable age by 2025. Skill development and vocational education has to be given a boost in terms of preparing the children for the global market, in both the service and industrial sectors. Just preparing children for engineering and medical sectors will not solve our problems.