THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government’s move to bring in Lower Primary and Higher Secondary Schools under one umbrella will lead to centralisation of educational system, alleged Kerala Education Protection Council. The move will do more harm than good in the long run for the state’s education sector, it said.
While the national education system has marked schooling up to Class 5 as Lower Primary and up to Class 8 as Upper Primary, the state government’s Khader Committee report considers classes up to 4th as Lower Primary and up to 7th as Upper Primary. This is against the central education policy and educational rights law, said a Council press release issued here on Monday.
The pass, fail system in Classes 5 to 8 and reinstating detention of students are against the education rights law, the release said. The suggestion that teachers of Class 9 to 12 must possess the same qualification will diminish the importance of Plus 2, which is the basis of higher education, it said. The Council also strongly objected to the Centre’s decision to cover up the memories of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, other freedom fighters and the renaissance movement from text books.
The Council also came out against the state government’s decision not to implement UGC scheme in state which should have been enacted by January 2016. If the scheme is not implemented before March, the state’s higher education system will lose the facilities available, the Council said. The Council meeting here was presided over by Kerala Education Protection Committee president Jorry Mathew. The meeting was addressed by former PSC member V S Hareendranath.