The State government is considering allowing schools to set up their own independent boards for Class X examinations, so that they could function on the lines of autonomous universities to devise their own syllabus, subjects, and exam system.
Core focus areas
Education Minister Vinod Tawde said a proposal to this effect was put forward by the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, a group of over 700 rural schools with a focus on agriculture. He said independent syllabi would help schools develop their core areas of choice.
“Schools like Rayat Shikshan Sanstha could focus on agriculture, others could focus on skill development, urban schools could place emphasis on polytechnical or industrial education, or schools from Chandrapur could focus on forestry,” he said.
More options
Mr. Tawde said the regular State school certification board could not offer such a wide spectrum of subjects or methods of teaching.
“The schools could form a cluster board, hire their own teachers and maintain their own standards of education. If institutions like the Symbiosis and D.Y. Patil universities can be autonomous, why can’t schools do that?” the Minister asked.
Quoting educationist Ram Joshi, Mr. Tawde said people should have the option to pick and choose their own system of education from those available in the market. He felt that students could be evaluated on a common percentile system. The Minister said the idea was still in the conceptual stage, and academicians and educationists were working on it.
Girish Prabhune, who runs 13 schools for tribal children, including one specialising in skill development, said the current school curriculum does not enhance a student’s job prospects, and kills their creative abilities.
“In my school, I train students in skills like carpentry, masonry, instrumentation, plumbing, painting, welding, agriculture and dairy farming. While my students know the skills well, they are unable to fare well in the existing exam- oriented system, which isn’t fair to them,” Mr. Prabhune said.
