New Delhi: The Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry is making a conscious effort to shift the focus in schools from content to skills.
As per the recommendations of the Draft National Education Policy (NEP) committee, the ministry has decided to modernise the evaluation process by scrapping school examinations from 2021.
The HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has given his approval to work on the evaluation module and the ministry is likely to soon communicate to the boards to work on this new format.
Reacting to the news, Deepak Sharma, father of Rohit, a Grade 8 student of Delhi Public School, said: “I will be one of the most relieved parents if examinations in schools are scrapped. The cut-throat competition and ranking have absolutely stressed me out and created unnecessary friction between my son and myself. The importance attached to marks has become such a burdening factor on parents that often the pressure has resulted in children under performing in exams.”
An official of the HRD ministry told Gulf News, “Marks play a key role in deciding the future of children. This is very unfair. So, instead of making an assessment on a three-hour long exam, the focus will now be on classroom participation, communication skills and extra-curricular activities by a student.
“The purpose of education should not be about becoming rich and successful but being compassionate towards society. It’s not about faring well in examinations. Educationists need to tutor children on how to learn the good things of life. The new system will take such points into consideration so that India attains the best education system globally.”
A nine-member committee, headed by eminent scientist Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, recommended the policy document in May-June. It underlines the prominence of ancient Indian universities and their liberal approach to education.
“The drive is to bring in the rich Indian knowledge systems and emphasise on traditional Indian values of seva [selfless service], ahimsa [non-violence)], swachhta [cleanliness] and satya [truth],” the official said.
THE NEW EDUCATION POLICY
The new module has been structured on the lines of an international school-based evaluation process. It emphasises class-based assessment and follows the 5-3-3-4 structure. The NEP-recommended design comprises five years of foundation stage (3 years of pre-primary school and Grade 1 and 2), three years of preparatory stage (Grade 3 to 5), three years of middle stage (Grade 6 to 8), and four years of secondary stage (Grade 9 to 12).
WHEN WILL IT BE IMPLEMENTED?
The government intends to soon notify the boards for their recommendations on the new exam structure. After receiving suggestions from the boards and educationists, the ministry hopes to finalise the National Education Policy by October 2020. It will be implemented in 2021.
WHAT WILL CHANGE?
The 10+2 format will be replaced and schools will proceed with the new system. The draft policy proposes State Census Examinations in Grade 3, 5 and 8 to track students’ progress throughout their school experience. The policy recommends restructuring the board examinations to test only core concepts, skills and higher-order capacities on a range of subjects. For instance: the Grade 3 census exam would test basic literacy, numeracy and other foundational skills. Each year of the secondary stage will be divided into two semesters. Each student would take five to six subjects in each semester. The students will have the option to choose the courses, exit them mid-way and resume the semester and take the exams when they prefer at fully autonomous public and private institutes.
OTHER CHANGES PROPOSED
The ministry is deliberating extending the age of free learning under the Right To Education (RTE) Act from 14 years to 18 years. This will now not only include early childhood education, but also secondary school education.
AFTER SCHOOL
The panel has suggested that the higher education system be brought under a single regulator — National Higher Education Regulatory Authority (NHERA). This will help reduce the functions of too many controllers and benefit the colleges and universities to take independent decisions. The University Grants Commission will become a purely grant-providing body. NHERA will also assist in limiting the role of All India Council for Technical Education, Bar Council of India and University Grants Commission.
The committee has also recommended setting up higher education institutions through a Higher Education Institution Charter from NHERA, limiting the role of Parliament or state legislature. It will become mandatory for the newly constituted institutions to receive accreditation as mandated by NHERA within five years of being established.
WHAT ARE THE EDUCATIONISTS SAYING?
Professor Raj Pandit, CEO, Institution of Eminence, University of Delhi
There’s no doubt that the current evaluation system leaves much to be desired. No stakeholder seems happy with the system — the students, parents, and the teachers have all been concerned for quite a while. In that sense, the response in terms of the NEP is a progressive and welcome step forward. The stress levels among students and parents created by the existing system negatively impact students’ creative faculties. As a result, they are unlikely to unravel their true potential.
As teachers, it is our experience that a student may have many other talents than merely cracking the way to write an examination and score well. History is witness to innumerable cases of renowned persons who may not have scored high at their examination, but went on to make significant and distinguished contributions to the cause of mankind. Therefore, the alternate system must find ways to offer avenues and opportunities to the students to channelise their respective talents so that they can contribute to society at large.
Alka Kapur, Principal, Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi
It is said, ‘Education is a passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.’ Keeping this in mind, the new education policy will certainly change the present classroom scenario. Revamping the system will promote both quality and affordability in education. This learner-centric approach will propel the interactive and fun classroom picture. The outcome is bound to be creative, collaborative and exploratory for deeper and more experiential learning. The torchbearers will focus on the right skills and knowledge, with a blend of integration in subjects.
But, while I believe the policy will establish a myriad of ideas, it has its limitations as well. Highlighting more liberalised and flexible techniques might land up students in a dilemma. So, to ensure the new education design succeeds, the experts need to ensure that the real purpose of education vis-à-vis the holistic development of the students is not ignored.
WHAT ARE THE STUDENTS SAYING?
Nadya Garg, Grade 11 student, Birla Vidya Niketan, New Delhi
Education will be treated like a welfare tool rather than a profit-making activity by bringing public and private institutions to a level-playing field. Restructuring higher education institutions and establishing a National Research Foundation provides for better accommodation of research culture, a much-needed step. All these policies would deliver an environment where potential that was earlier misspent, can be put to a holistic advantage. Furthermore, extending the Right to Education for high-school students is sure to inculcate the culture of learning and even encourage higher studies.
Taira Bhargava, Grade 11, Shri Ram School, Gurugram
The overarching themes in the policy are set to achieve innovation and equity through academic, administrative and financial autonomy under ‘light and tight’ regulation; focus on outcomes and not just inputs and move from rote learning to knowledge transfer. However, it has some sore points and is quite radical in its approach and might give rise to hostility from a few sectors. For instance: Integrating pre-school with government school systems may pose infra and logistics challenges. Additionally, it may give the private institutions a lot of power thus leading to commercialisation. This needs to be reviewed.
Anshita Gaur, Grade 11, Scottish High International School, Gurugram
Scrapping exams and assessing students on the basis of their development and understanding of a subject in class might not make them college ready, as all national and international university admissions are based on some form of entrance exams. Not used to the exam system in school might create hurdles for some to suddenly fare well in university level exams. On the other hand, the decision to extend the RTE age of children from 14 to 18 years is a good move. It will benefit children from economically weaker sections to pursue higher studies and better their career opportunities.
Gul Mathur, Grade 11, Birla Vidya Niketan, New Delhi
It will benefit us in the future by eradicating rote learning and instead have more comprehensive learning of subjects. This will encourage students to not only refer to the textbooks, but also study from various other sources. However, a smooth transition from the current system to the new one must be ensured so that students can cope with the changes and adapt to the new system.
