General

...Initiated into the rat race at an age when they have barely learnt to walk, the expectation to perform — and perform well and out-do others — shadows children right through with many a parent turning them into little showpieces they can flaunt. And, some of the biggest names in the school industry are no better.

It is a perennial issue. But for all the debate that it generates annually, during the examination and admission time, the issue of pressure on children has seldom provoked a sustained dialogue in the country; even within educational circles.

When this is the nature of discourse, it can hardly be expected to usher in any kind of change. The system, no doubt, has yielded on some counts. But, what Yash Pal, the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee — set up by the Narasimha Rao Government in 1992 to suggest ways to reduce the academic burden on school students — said a year later still holds true. Submitting his report, Prof. Yash Pal said in a letter to the Human Resource Development Minister that he was unable to "persuade myself that the `state' of our school education is an independent variable — that it could be altered without altering a lot of things in our social set-up!"

Despite the Central Board of Secondary Education doing away with the practice of announcing national/regional/city toppers, many schools are quick with claims of success stories when the board examination results are declared. Why, some schools even spend a considerable amount to advertise this. Similarly, parents of high-scoring children are known to pull strings just to ascertain their wards' `national' position. This, in fact, is a perfect example of society refusing to change even when the monolithic system has budged.

In fact, the academic burden on students and related problems have preoccupied the Government set-up for some decades now, and has seen the setting up of several committees. There was the Ishwarbhai Patel Review Committee in 1977, the National Council of Educational Research and Training Working Group in 1984, the National Policy on Education Review Committee in 1990, and, of course, the Yash Pal Committee.

Needless to say, all made recommendations, but still the country is faced with a situation when different levels of education work at cross-purposes. Though various boards have evolved a grading system to put an end to scores where competition often comes down to one mark, it is yet to be implemented because universities are reluctant to change.

The current system is so stressful, reforms that are child sensitive are an urgent need...

...the number of students appearing for the Class X examination has increased from 4,33,760 in 1992 to 9,01,426 in 2003. An impressive record, no doubt. But how many of these students actually passed that crucial school final examination? The figures speak for themselves. 2,80,268 in 1992, and 5,49,321 in 2003. The rest simply fell by the wayside.Now, if 50 percent of students taking an examination are declared failures, unfit for higher studies or job prospects, can we honestly say thatthis type of schooling is meaningful? It is high time — after nearly five decades of existence — that the CBSE reformed itsevaluation methods as well. The existing system that leaves students high and dry because they cannot cope with the stresses related to one concentrated public examination must yield to something more pertinent that assesses their cumulative progress throughout the school years.
Let it be through any method of evaluation other than one single intense school-leaving examination that is self-defeating in view
of the rigours it imposes on students.Perhaps, a standardised test conducted in tiers to accommodate students of differentabilities as is done now in many countries) would allow students to obtain grades that lead to universities or vocational collegesor workplaces. Every student should feel free to take these tests any time and improve his chances of getting better and bettergrades. As for that school leaving certificate, the Board loses nothing by certifying all of its students as having completed ten or twelve years of schooling as the case may be. In fact, it would enhance its own image which takes a beating every time it declares 50 per cent of them as failures.

- So, where should we hide our less clever children ?, KABIR MUSTAFI, CIVIL SOCIETY, 01/01/2005, /eldoc/n20_/01jan04csy1.pdf

- Too much, too early?, S. ANANDALAKSHMY, Hindu, 19/01/2003, /eldoc/n21_/too_much_too_early.html

- Toppers, at what cost?, Arthy Muthanna Singh, Humanscape, 01/08/1998, /eldoc/n00_/01aug98HUS3.pdf

- The mystery of the disappearing childhood, Kalpish Ratna, Humanscape, 01/08/1998, /eldoc/n00_/01aug98HUS5.pdf

- India's pre-school rivalry isn't child's play, Molly Moore, Third World, 01/02/1995, /eldoc/n00_/01feb95thw1.pdf

- Schoolgirl’s death: Initial report points to stress, Deccan Herald, 08/06/2002, /eldoc/n21_/08Jun02dch1.htm

- Toddlers are subjected to gruelling interviews for KG admission, Times of India, 15/02/2001, /eldoc/n21_/15feb01toi1.pdf

- 'Pre-schools amount to child abuse', Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre, Asian Age, 26/06/2001, /eldoc/n21_/26jun01aa1.pdf

- Toddlers are subjected to gruelling interviews for KG admission, Times of India, 15/02/2001, /eldoc/n21_/15feb01toi1.pdf

the authoritarian conquest of the child is completed with the extremely powerful device of the examination system. Marks, grades, pass/fail, honors, distinctions are very powerful devices to make children conform, to make them do what they dislike intensely. The effects of the examination system are so well known that it needs no elaboration.

Pedagogy and Authoritarianism: Consequences of Educational Practices for Individual Emancipation and Democratic Polity, Pradeep Barthakur, Social Action, 01/10/2002, /eldoc/n00_/01oct02SOA.pdf

Link between Democracy, Education & the Acquiring of Knowledge, Romila Thapar, Vikalp, 01/04/2001, /eldoc/n00_/01apr01VKP.pdf

- Spare the rod, save the child, Lakshmi Balakrishnan, Hindu, 29/06/2003, /eldoc/n22_/29jun03h6.html

- UNFULFILLED DREAM Tagore's Model For School Education Still Relevant, ALOKENATH SENSARMA, Statesman, 27/12/2001, /eldoc/n24_/27dec01s1.pdf

- Schoolgirl’s death: Initial report points to stress, Deccan Herald, 08/06/2002, /eldoc/n21_/08Jun02dch1.htm

- The system has failed not the student, SAKUNTALA NARASIMHAN, DECCAN HERALD (BANGLORE) 29 JUN 1992 N20