Kapil Sibal bowled over by teaching methodologies

Updated on: Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Amazed by ‘democracy' and ‘empowerment' in classrooms ushered in by the Tamil Nadu government through activity-based learning (ABL) and active learning methodology (ALM), under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday wanted other States to emulate these methodologies.

“There is real democracy in the classroom. I think this needs to be emulated by other States,” Mr. Sibal told reporters after observing the impact the teaching methodologies had on primary and secondary-level students at the Thuvakudi panchayat union school.

State Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu and top officials of the SSA accompanied him.

Mr. Sibal congratulated Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Mr. Thennarasu on implementing the methodologies successfully.
Reform initiatives

To a query on States' reaction to the Centre's reform initiatives, Mr. Sibal said they were responding very well. Asked whether the reform process could be taken forward with higher education in the Concurrent List, he said there was full support from State Education Ministers.

“Representatives of the State Education Ministers in the CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) Committee are unanimously supporting the reform process. The ultimate objective [of education] is to empower children. Which State will oppose empowerment of children?

“The process of reform is for the future of India. It is not about the Congress party or the Opposition or any other political party. The political process must be kept away when we need to empower our children.”

Asked to comment on the contention of universities that regulatory bodies were impinging upon their autonomy, he said that the power for control and regulation of standards in Entry 66 of List 1 vested with the Centre. No State had opposed the Medical Council of India and the All India Council for Technical Education that were set up long ago.

“What has been happening is that the process of quality has been devalued through certain procedures that have crept into the system which are inconsistent with the principles of transparency. What we need to do is to remove the procedures which do not bring about quality.”

Mr. Sibal favoured cross-disciplinary research in universities and said there was no hurdle for universities in carrying out research in multi-disciplinary areas.

Kapil Sibal bowled over by teaching methodologies

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