Our Ailing Education

Notwithstanding the lofty claims of the state government, the scenario regarding qualitative education remains bleak. Apart from some improvement in infrastructure, the SSA has benefited meagrely though the claims have been highflown. In fact, we seem to be moving from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty. And now it’s the turn of the RMSA to play the same role.
On paper, the SSA and the RMSA seems to be panacea for curing our ailing education. But the hard ground realities have a different story to tell. In fact, the problem lies in poor execution, casual monitoring approach, inadequate training, lack of competent RP’s and disregard of teachers’ views and suggestions.
Doing away with the marks-based examination system might be blessing for many, but at the same time has discouraged the spirit of healthy academic competition. Examination is a stress for shirkers not for studious and hardworking children. It cannot be logical to ignore these a few brilliant brains for the sake of shirkers. As is the mentality of the children, they will find no attraction for getting marks. Let me be not misconstrued as being anti-reformsist. Nodoubt, the innovations are welcome but only if they have reasonability keeping in view the ground realities.
The CCE should be only one part of examination, but to lay major emphasis on viva-voce or oral examinations will only degrade the quality of talent of succeeding generation. This can clearly be discerned from the fact that the student of 10+2 or BA standard cannot write a single sentence correctly in English. And the dissemination of knowledge and information is widely done in black and white for which the writing skill is of utmost importance. The excessive emphasis on CCE will undermine the possibility of producing talents of high standard. This means that we would be limiting the scope for the development of creative urge.
Unfortunately, we are operating is such a system wherein new education policy is for the sake of money whereas money should have come for the sake of policy.
The present form of written examinations and evaluation may have its drawbacks, but to shun them completely for the sake of another system, which in its turn is not free from faults, will be like getting out of the frying pan into the fire.
Another sad part the latest policy is that the teachers are being burdened with those activities that do not fall in the ambit of his teaching acumen. They are in catch22 situation and his responsibilities are hanging between teaching and fetching data. He looks at himself more as record keeping babu than a teacher. Becoming frustrated, he takes his responsibilities as completed by just fetching the paper work.
The height of the matter is that even the executing agencies are not clear about the results of the new CCE policies. And the bosses in the government does not seem to be showing real seriousness.