The M.A. Khader committee on school education has recommended a change in school timings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The second report of the committee, set up by the government against the backdrop of the Right to Education Act to study various aspects of school education from preschool to higher secondary, was handed over to the government on Thursday.
The report says the recommendations should be implemented only after reaching a consensus based on social debate.
Another recommendation is on teacher education. The committee suggests a five-year integrated postgraduate course that includes a teacher qualification and specialisation course that is intended to equip teachers with the changes in education in a world that places a premium on knowledge.
Teacher training
It recommends a comprehensive change in teacher training to address the second generation challenges of education. The change should be effected in training before one begins service or that during the course of service, it says.
The report calls for timely changes in approaches to learning so as to imbibe progressive thoughts academically and socially.
School education phase should be in the mother tongue. To realise the objective of knowledge society, students should have the ability to link the knowledge acquired to their surroundings and learn from it. The language used for communication where one lives is critical in this. Hence, making mother tongue the medium of education is necessary to achieve quality education.
Study of English
Since English was important for flow of information, study of English in schools had to make significant strides. The study of languages such as Hindi, Arabic, Urdu, and Sanskrit too had to improve.
The report stresses the need for a shift from evaluation to assessment. Evaluation at present was a mechanical exercise. Without a change in this, no fundamental changes were possible in the education sector. Students should become free of examination fear.
The first report of the committee mostly pertained to structural changes in school education such as merger of the three directorates under the department. The second report focusses on academic matters.
