That teachers scold students for not doing homework is not something new. What is new is that a student ends her life so easily if scolded these days (“Listen to these four girls”, December 29). Harsher punishments were meted out to students by teachers in earlier times in order to instil good behaviour. Today’s children seem very sensitive to any negative remark. Teachers, therefore, should consider the sensitivity of these children. Teachers must also realise that every student is different. It is not important to make diamonds sparkle but also polish the pebbles with patience.
A. Panneeselvam,
Puducherry
What is the purpose of education? It is to enable us to think, be creative, innovative, and understand the world and ourselves in a better manner. Unfortunately, around the world and especially in India, people study only to secure jobs with hefty salaries and nothing more. The moment a student passes her Class XII exam, her future is already decided, with some subjects like medicine and engineering being given priority by the parents. Those who choose the humanities are perceived as being academically weak. How can we call our education system successful when even some elite professionals are not aware of their fundamental rights? The focus is on cramming; there’s no place for analytical and critical thinking. We must ask ourselves: what kind of citizens are we producing? In India, many suffer from stress and anxiety for which our education system is undoubtedly one of the biggest contributors.
Karan Choudhary,
Pathankot
Education has turned into a commercial business thanks to parents’ obsession with their children’s academic performance. This has led to the mushrooming of coaching and tuition centres everywhere. In this race, gaining knowledge has taken a backseat. Neither schools nor teachers care about creativity and innovation. The entire system needs a complete overhaul. The fear of Board examinations should go — students should understand that the Board exam is like any other annual exam. We should do away with the practice of pushing students with higher marks into the science stream and lower marks into the humanities. Subjects must be chosen by students, not their parents.
Nishant Choudhary,
Ajmer
