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A quick-fix solution?

Photo: A.M. Faruqui

Treating the symptom: More than gestures, systemic changes are needed…

For many years now there has been broad consensus that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way we manage our school education. At one end of the spectrum are the disturbing reports that children in our primary schools, all over the countr y, are not learning very much, especially those who study in the thousands of government primary schools in rural and urban areas. At the other end is the equally disturbing phenomenon of the unbearable burden of board examinations that test little more than the ability to crack the examination system — leading to periodic pleas to reform the examination system.

Not many people remember that almost three decades ago — when the government woke up to unacceptably high drop-out rates in primary schools — it decided to adopt the no-detention policy up to the end of the primary cycle. Children were promoted from one class to the next provided they met the attendance requirement. This, it was believed, would prevent children from getting demoralised and facilitate their learning at their own pace. While this was welcomed by the larger education community, the government of that time left everything else be as it was. Schools continued to be monitored on enrolment, retention and completion data. No one tried to ascertain if schools were functioning, whether regular teaching and learning was happening, or even if the teacher came regularly, actually taught the prescribed amount of time and whether children were learning. With the introduction of international goals for “education for all” the rush to report high enrolment rates took over completely and the resource institutions created to provide academic oversight got busy collecting, compiling and even doctoring data. The government primary schools went from bad to worse and the better endowed ones were left untouched.

What was the result of this? While children in urban, better-managed, better-endowed (government and private) schools continued to learn, the bulk of our children in rural and urban schools moved from one class to the next much the way they were at the start. In 2005, the ASER report (the first independent national attempt to find out if children can read and understand basic mathematics) revealed extremely low learning outcomes. Several other small and large assessments done in different parts of the country came up with the same result — children reach grade five without learning to read!

Who was affected the most? The poor who send their children to poorly functioning government schools in rural and urban areas. Reports of dysfunctional or poorly functioning schools, absent teachers, missing text books and the growing schism between the schools that the poor access and the fee paying private schools were reported frequently in the media. With the introduction of the mid-day meal programme, the schools started reporting almost cent per cent enrolment and attendance — in fact in many of the schools I have visited in the last 10 years, the official enrolment is far higher than the children who actually come to the school. Over 16 years of central sector schemes like DPEP and SSA have not made much difference — the cumulative burden of not learning is pushing the most disadvantaged out of the education system. As a result, close to two-thirds of our children who enter grade one drop out before they reach grade 10.

Now we have another “well intentioned” move by the newly elected government in the centre. There is a proposal to do away with the class 10 board examinations. There is also a proposal to introduce percentile grades instead of actual marks and percentages. At a cursory level it looks as if the government is finally trying to do something about our education system. Is that really the case?

It is time we asked some hard questions. Is the unbearable burden of examinations the problem or a symptom of a much deeper malaise in the system?

First, it is important to acknowledge that there is a world of difference between the way our better endowed schools (Kendriya Vidyalaya, elite private and aided schools, Navodaya schools and so on) function and the run-of-the mill government schools. The burden of the boards pertains to the former and is closely linked to the lack of opportunities for post-matric and post-secondary education. This exerts a huge pressure on the children down-stream. Therefore, the race for good marks to secure admission in a desirable stream overshadows almost everything else. It is the dearth of adequate good quality forward linkages that burdens children.

On the other hand, children studying in poorly functioning government schools continue to learn little and the examination system effectively pushes them out of the race. A majority of the children drop out before they reach class 10.

Photo: Sandeep Saxena

A tough life: Revising on the way to the exams...

Will doing away with board examinations fix this huge schism between the two?

Second, the National Curriculum Framework of 2005 rightly turned the spotlight on content and process of education. Unfortunately, the writ of NCERT and NCF does not run beyond CBSE and may be a few State boards. So, as it stands today, a majority of our schools continue to privilege memorisation over understanding. Teachers teach to examinations. There is little guarantee that doing away with board examinations will make any difference to teaching process, or the attitudes of our teachers and school authorities. The so-called good schools will continue to prepare children for the 12th boards and other qualifying examinations. The greater danger of doing away with board examinations is that bulk of the schools that cater to the poor may just stop teaching and will promote children right up to grade 10. We may have thousands of young girls and boys who may then have attended 10 years of schooling without learning much.

Given the huge diversity and inequality that is embedded in our school system, should we not ask how doing away with board examinations would affect different schools?

Third, teachers are the fulcrum around whom the education system revolves. Bringing about a fundamental change in education requires a serious look into the way teachers are educated and trained, their grasp of subject knowledge as well as pedagogic practices, their attitude/ behaviour towards the poor and marginalised groups and, most importantly, their vulnerability in a complex web of rent seeking and patronage. Equally, continuing educational opportunities, need-based training and a rigorous system to monitor their work in the classroom is central to creating and nurturing teachers who are able to work with confidence, self respect and autonomy.

How can a reform that singles out board examinations fix anything when we refuse to meaningfully engage with the teachers?

There is little debate that educational reforms are long overdue. But, is announcing quick-fix solutions, geared more towards meeting the angst of the traumatised child (or more likely the parents) in the better-off schools, the way ahead?

Vimala Ramachandran is an educational resource consultant based in New Delhi.

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