Bumpy ride for single education board

Updated on: Friday, January 27, 2012

The Indian government may be deliberating over the introduction of a single education board system, but in Mumbai the debate refuses to die out. In a country with 35 different education boards including ICSE, CBSE and more recently, the IB, the transition is not going to be easy. Educationists, teachers, principals and even parents and students are divided over whether a single board will be effective.

Rakesh Joshi, principal of Apeejay School at Nerul said: "India is a multilingual nation, which has various cultural differences. Most of the state boards and other boards have customised their curriculum according to localised nature of education, particularly in the primary section. Any major step to unify the boards may lead to differences, not only socially and culturally, but also politically."

According to Misha Bothra, a teacher from HR College in south Mumbai, the government has to address huge disparity in income. "Implementing a centralised education syllabus is going to be tough as we are a diverse nation," she said.

In August 2011, Tamil Nadu became the first Indian state to have a common syllabus, textbooks and examinations. Prior to that, schools in the state were following four boards-the state board, Matriculation board, Oriental board, and the Anglo-Indian board. While the proposal was mooted a few years ago, the government managed to merge the four boards after a long legal battle. 'Samacheer Kalvi' as the common curriculum board is called is framed on the lines of National Curriculum Framework. This, however, does not include national boards like the CBSE and ICSE.

While this was the first initiative of its kind, its success is yet to be measured in qualitative terms. Bhavna Saxena, a teacher from Bal Bharati School at Kharghar, supports the idea of a single board. "Students will stand an equal chance to get through colleges," she said.

But not everyone agrees. Anita Rampal, the Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University, said that state boards should not be eradicated completely. "They must rather come together to reflect and design a school curriculum, which is not identical but equivalent in a manner. Different states need to enhance their capacities through workshops and short-term courses so that a meaningful change is made in the curriculum and examination system," she said. In her opinion, Indian state boards should offer flexibility in the curriculum and introduce "creative courses".

Lopamudra Sen, who teaches at an ICSE school, suggests that instead of introducing a single curriculum, the government could standardise the grading system. "The most appropriate approach, in my opinion, should be to allow the state boards to remain, but ensure a uniform evaluation system. The government can introduce a regulatory authority to oversee the content of the syllabus keeping in mind the cultural and economic diversity of each state."

If a single board promises to offer best quality education, then it is a welcome idea, believes Nandita Das Gupta, Principal of Avalon Heights, an IGCSE School. She said, "If it keeps in track of what the international boards are offering and bench marks itself to the best of the world's standard, then yes, everything is positive."

The recent Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) report, which tests education systems on the basis of reading, science, literature and art, ranked Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh at No 73, better than only Kyrgyzstan. In this context, the question of suitability of the 'single education system' becomes all the more relevant.

So what do students make of this hotly debated issue? Shehaab Roshan from Jai Hind College said, "At this moment, the prerogative of the government should be to ensure basic education for every single child, rather than focusing on the intricacies."

Kanchi Shah, a student from HR College, said: "Implementation of a syllabus that is going to be 'suitable' to all political parties will be the greatest roadblock. Tomorrow, if we don't see Marathi or Bengali as a part of the syllabus, it's going to concern ministers more than students." Mamta Varma, a faculty member at Utpal Sanghavi International School in Juhu, says that the along with the central board, state boards should work together to frame a curriculum and the questioning pattern during exams, which focuses more on "application of knowledge and less on rote learning".

Times of India

Bumpy ride for single education board

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