Call for an overhaul

Updated on: Thursday, July 07, 2011

When Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University, released its first-list cut off at 100 per cent, the “breaking news” took the nation by storm. Interestingly, over the last few years, cut offs have been hovering around the 100 per cent mark. Yet, only when the three-figure mark was reached, the irrationality came to the fore. Some argued that with the increasing number of students achieving 95-plus, it was but natural for cut-offs to rise.

Deep-rooted

However, what many don't realise is that this is only a sour reminder of how narrow-minded our system has become. This cut-off issue is only a symptom of the underlying problem, not the problem itself. Although the government talks of dealing with the issue, the “larger issue” is not a single one, but one of the system lacking purpose. Reforming higher education system will not change the situation unless the issues plaguing school education are first sorted out.

The issues in school are compounded over a 14-year period. Looking back, you will realise that you haven't made any great strides over the years nor have achieved anything substantial. Today, our system is such that it defeats the genuine purpose of teaching and learning.

Drab routine

In school, the only goal is to hop from one class to another for 14 years. The syllabus for each subject is so vast and detailed that it requires a lot more time and dedicated teaching to make a student understand the concepts. A large part of a student's life is, therefore, spent in monotonous written exams that only expect him/her to reproduce the contents of the book, eventually suppressing and gradually subduing the ability to think out of the box.

And so we move on to the next academic year when yet another set of deadlines are imposed on teachers to ‘coach' the students to reproduce new content. A lot of time is spent in pointless memorising. The fact that one doesn't/can't really remember volumes of text in black and white pages after a few years isn't rocket science, but our system only requires us to remember them till our final written exam. More so, without emphasis on application and practical exposure, remembering volumes of text doesn't do much either.

Want of change

I believe we need to learn and be taught in a way so that we carry forward what we have learnt into the successive years. Content need not be memorised by repetition but should be absorbed by usage/application. A toddler learns simple arithmetic calculations and language skills over a period of time only because of day-to-day usage; not because of dead-line filled teaching in schools. The early part of school life should expose students to different fields of life apart from rote learning and writing, by opening avenues other than science and then capitalise on the exposure to go from strength to strength.

Only if a well-planned foundation is laid early for such diverse interests, will many students opt for the so-called ‘offbeat' courses, thereby curtailing the rise of engineering colleges in every corner with lakhs of student vying for one seat in the few prestigious ones. Also, given the 14-year stint in school, if the result of one final exam will decide your entry into college it should be credible enough to warrant such importance. For the benefit of students, such important exams can be modelled like competitive exams that are better in terms of quality of content and method of preparation.

Over the last few years, the education sector is getting a lot of attention from educationalists and policy makers, which is a positive trend. What India needs is to invest in education and proactively carry forward this revolution, while steering clear of forces that entangle them in political jargon and underestimate its rewards. If ever the government needs points to draft a bill, they know where to find the answers!

Call for an overhaul

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