HYDERABAD: Education is a continuous process and changes are inevitable. But changes or reforms should be brought about in a right direction to address the important issues of the system. Changing curriculum and tweaking examination pattern is not the primary issue but it is more to do with the quality of teachers and pedagogy.
What we lack, today, are quality teachers in both government and private schools. Reform should begin with teacher recruitment process to induct best minds. In a nut shell: if you want to change the education system, start with teachers, not with students.
However, educational qualifications alone cannot make anybody a good teacher. One’s ability to teach and one’s character must be examined during the recruitment process. Psychological condition of teachers has a huge effect on teaching. Amid the growing number of sexual harassment cases by teachers, their profile and background must be examined thoroughly. It’s common knowledge that there is a rise in the number of cases of male teachers abusing girl students sexually. Now, reforms give schools complete authority over awarding internal marks. It will only make girl students even more vulnerable. The government should rethink on this provision. There are many other complex issues in the new reforms. A proper mechanism needs to be built to address the issue of failed candidates and monitoring the schools from cheating while awarding the marks of internal examinations.
In fact, any changes in the system should begin with pre-primary classes, not with high school. It is very easy to adopt any change at a young age. If writing and analytical skills are taught from the Kindergarten level, they automatically get ingrained in the student’s mind and need not be taught separately at the high school level. Students might find it difficult to adapt to changes if they are introduced in SSC.
It appears the government wants continuous evaluation. Oral tests give a true idea about the learning levels. Entire teaching should be interactive.