System error: Out of memory

Updated on: Sunday, February 05, 2012

Looking through the window of a classroom in a government school in East Vinod Nagar, one can see rows of children reading out formulae written on the blackboard. All the 50-odd students repeat the formulae as the teacher stands by, ensuring the kids learn them by heart.

With an allocation of Rs 1,301crore, Delhi is one of the few states which spend a sizeable percentage of the budget on education. Last year, the government attempted to push up standards by introducing the Right to Education ( RTE). Yet, as enrolments go up in the city's schools, the quality of education has remained static, feel educationists. Former NCERT director, JS Rajput, says, "Most schools employ an examoriented pedagogy. The education minister may have announced the implementation of continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) but teachers are yet to be trained."

A shortfall of teachers - 14,000 more teachers have to be inducted in schools to maintain the ideal ratio - has only made the situation dire as schools attempt to implement the ministry's insistence on CCE, which was meant to take away exam pressure from students . A year down the line, things haven't changed much. Rote learning or as students put it, "mugging up", remains the usual mode of learning.

Dr Saini, principal, DPS RK Puram, admits that rote learning is an important tool in the teaching process. "Though learning through practicals is emphasized, some subjects need memorization," says Saini. According to Saini, only in the primary years can children be exposed to creative thinking and to teaching that is less structured, through games, drama and songs. "In the senior classes, though, rote learning becomes imperative. You have no choice but to memorize the formulae," he says.

It's not just Saini who vouches for rote learning. Ashok Pandey of Ahlcon International School, also makes a case for memorizing, though he clarifies that it cannot be the sole methodology. "Alternative methods have to be integrated into the teaching pedagogy," says Pandey, whose school has been spearheading an alternative method of teaching in Delhi. Peer learning, where a student teaches the concept to other students is one of the best methods, claims Pandey. "We've had peer leaders who demonstrate a superior learning scale and teach their peers. I've seen students, termed shy or introvert, open up and ask questions in such classes," says Pandey.

Questioning, in such environs, becomes the impetus for learning. Adds Rajput, "Hands-on experimentation makes students life-long learners." In fact, inter-disciplinary teaching is a great tool, says Rajput. "Provide teachers with adequate support system and see the difference. Autonomy in teaching the curriculum is needed to utilize the benefits of CCE thoroughly," adds the educationist. An example in point is the "team teaching" experiment. "For instance, in poetry, a teacher with a good voice modulation will read out the content while another teacher with artistic skills will draw a pictorial representation of the poem. The children get to have an interactive, audio-visual session," says Pandey.

Dr Jitender Nagpal, senior psychiatrist at Moolchand's Mental Health and Lifeskills department, says that children learn through three approaches - audio, visual and kinesthetic. "Schools need a mix of all these approaches," he says.

"Teaching in early years has to be interactive, as observation and participation are critical at this period," Dr Nagpal adds. Handwriting or other cognitive skills are picked up through rote learning. But it cannot be the only way, he says.

"We have to create happy schools. Compulsive rote learning needs to be done away with if you want the child to not only imbibe the information but also evolve as a person," he says.

Times of India

System error: Out of memory

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