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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Restructuring education system
Outdoor activities boost classroom performance
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Restructuring education system WHEN India became a republic, unlike the Railways, posts and telegraphs and the three services, our Constitution makers placed education on the concurrent list. With fourteen officially recognised languages at the outset, the framework of the future of education was tacitly laid out so that while the Centre could adopt a pattern of education for all-India needs, the states were free to evolve their own systems of education to suit local conditions. The CBSE and ICSE systems developed at the Centre primarily for the wards of the central government employees, whereas the states evolved their state education boards to conform to local needs. It was on the same lines that the concept of central and state universities developed. Experience has shown that a single system of education is unlikely to succeed in a country of India’s size. Over the years, few shortcomings have developed in the education system that needs to be rectified. The amended Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2008 has been cleared by both Houses of Parliament and the President too has signed it to be an Act. It is not clear as to how the central government will co-opt the state governments into implementing the Bill on a subject, which is on the concurrent list. In India, a large number of children have to work in homes, factories and shops to fill their stomach. Under the Act, all of them will be debarred from undertaking any form of employment. The number of affected children will run in crores and the new measure may lead to chaos when implemented. The infrastructure necessary for implementing the Bill is still non-existent. Cost sharing on 50:50 basis with states will no doubt reduce the financial burden of states, but earmarking 25 per cent seats in all schools, which are already educating much larger number of students than their designed capacity, will result in overcrowding of these schools. Some schools are already working in two shifts at their full capacity. Without additional teachers and buildings, these schools will add to the chaos. The new amendment will no doubt make middle-class education compulsory for all children in 6-14 age group, but this may not suit our country where many children are still without a roof. If any system is to succeed, basic needs of survival must be ensured. Therefore, the children should be made to learn skills which could go on concurrently with literacy programmes. The Kothari Commission (1964-1966) too had visualised inculcation of ethics, values, morals and character through education in our children, but the same has remained illusive. Rampant corruption and murder of values is the order of the day. So, if we wish to make education more meaningful, the education system should take care of development of skills and building up character qualities in our children. On the one hand, the HRD Ministry wishes to de-stress education with a view to make teaching-learning a pleasure and childhood enjoyable by scrapping Class X Board examination; on the other, it is also considering the institution of a new board to conduct an all-India examination for admission to higher institutions of learning. Obviously, the measure, if taken, will postpone stress and not remove it. Thus, the scrapping of Class X Board examination may prove to be a retrograde step as no other suitable system of evaluation has been found so far. The creation of a new all-India Board at the 10+2 level may give rise to a conflict between the Centre and the states as the CBSE and ICSE can adapt themselves to the new system, the state boards which cover almost 90 per cent schools with majority rural population will find it extremely difficult to adopt the new system. Since regional languages are now encouraged as medium of attempting IAS/IPS and allied services examinations, the liberty of holding board exams by state boards in regional languages should not be interfered with. Assessment and accreditation of schools and colleges should be resorted to with a view to improve quality of education as envisaged by the National Policy on Education 1986. College education should get a fillip, which presently is neither related to practical life nor benefited from universities. College education can improve tremendously if university teachers give them the exposure of university education. Thus, college education should be made relevant to the national needs, which it lacks presently. Our universities too need serious reforms. Over the years, they have lost their luster of autonomy, and have been reduced to the status of running education departments and examining bodies. This can be attributed to many reasons: political, governmental and bureaucratic interference, mushrooming of research institutions, which are out of the ambit of universities, emergence of institutions like UGC, AICTE, NCTE, councils of medical, dental pharmacy, nursing and law, etc., which impinge directly on the basic functions of universities. The system of awarding UGC grants to universities also requires a review. The HRD Ministry should create an organisation to restore the autonomy of universities. Universities themselves should undergo an assessment and accreditation process and only those universities/deemed universities, which could be resuscitated to attain desired standards, should be allowed to survive. Education reforms are long awaited and the need to revamp and rejuvenate the education system is a national necessity. These above-mentioned suggestions should be implemented with prudence and care lest we mess up our education system. The writer is a former Colonel Commandant of the Army Educational Corps
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Outdoor activities boost classroom performance
THE more time kids spend outside, the more they are likely to perform well at school, according to a new American study. National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) new report suggests that the increasingly indoor lifestyle causes several
factors that work against high performance in the classroom. “Today’s indoor kids are distracted, less fit, more aggressive, and hard to manage in the classroom. Some don’t relate well to other students or adults on a personal level,” said vice-president for education and training Kevin Coyle. “Outdoor time can improve overall health while lengthening attention spans, diminishing aggressiveness, improving test scores and ultimately advancing learning,” he added. The lack of outdoor time is likely to affect learning readiness. NWF’s Back to School guide includes case studies that bolster the fact that outdoor education improves classroom performance. Environmental education (EE) creates more motivated and competent students. Schools with EE programmes showed higher scores on standardised tests in maths, reading, writing, and listening. Researchers at the University of Illinois report that exposure to natural settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities may be “widely effective” in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children. According to an analysis of federal data representing more than 6,000 children, low vitamin D levels are particularly common among girls, adolescents, and people with darker skin. The report suggests that school administrations and educators have a critical role to play in reversing the negative impacts of the increasingly indoor childhood and helping children to experience, understand, and appreciate nature and the outdoors. Parents can alleviate overly packed schedules and offer sufficient outdoor time to lengthen attention spans, diminish aggressiveness, improve test scores and
ultimately advancing learning. — ANI
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Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak THE university has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), New Delhi, to promote studies on Indian culture, languages and civilisation, and other related subjects to facilitate academic exchange between the university and American scholars. The MoU was signed by MDU registrar and AIIS vice-president Dr Pradeep Mehendiratta at a function held in the Vice-Chancellor's office recently. Notably, the Academic Council and the Executive Council of MDU in its meetings held on June 19 and June 27, respectively, had approved this academic tie-up. The MDU authorities said it would help broaden the academic horizons of the university while the faculty, research scholars and students would also get international academic exposure. As part of the MoU, AIIS will help MDU in developing database, library and archive for the study of Indian civilisation and culture. AIIS will also cater to the training needs of university students, besides facilitating exchange programme(s). MDU will provide the certificate of association to foreign scholars for their work/research on India. Induction programme The Department of Psychology of the university organised an induction-cum-micro lab workshop recently. The newly admitted students of the department were briefed on various aspects of departmental activities, course curriculum, and importance and scope of psychology. According to head of the department, the induction programme will help the new students learn about the traditions and functioning of the department. Senior faculty member Prof Rajbir Singh expanded upon the career opportunities in the discipline of psychology while faculty member Dr Deepti Hooda conducted the session. Department alumnus Ashima Batra, who was recently selected to the Indian Administrative Service, was felicitated on the occasion. Sharing her reminiscences of the department, Batra exhorted the students to keep the flag of the department flying
high. — Contributed by Bijendra Ahlawat |
