This article takes off from my
previous article here:
This year, many of my friends’
and relatives’ children took the 12th Board exams in different
streams and the anxiety, excitement, disappointment was palpable when results
were announced. The media did its job,
stressing on how the pass percentage has gone up (marginally) and how the top
score is breaching the 100%. Before
discussing the effects of placing excessive weightage on marks, let me make
this submission: Whatever is given below as a criticism of the system does not
in any way take away the credit due to the children who scored good percentages
or their parents who undoubtedly played a big role in their efforts. You absolutely deserve the accolades, the
twitter trolls not withstanding!
According to a research paper (on CBSE
assessment) by a National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT)
official “Assessment focuses only on cognitive learning outcomes and in the
process, co-curricular domains are neglected, even though co-curricular areas
are an equally important and significant part of child development. Even in
curricular areas, the focus is on rote learning and memorisation, characterised
by a neglect of higher mental abilities such as critical thinking, problem
solving and creative ability.”
This is doubly damaging.
Our educational system seems to have taken
a ‘Maximising’ approach in content and depth of syllabus, with disregard for life
skills. True, there may be kids who are able to
balance both – academics and co-curricular; but my suspicion is that for every
such kid, there are scores of other kids who are forced to choose one for the
other. Not with standing peer pressure,
parents’ pressure and their own judgement on what will give them a good career
(versus life?). While we may argue that
the examination phase is temporary for just a few years, I beg otherwise. This system of focusing only on syllabus
changes the mind set of kids, particularly
at that age when they should be exploring and not choosing a career based on
their marks alone. No doubt we will get
our doctors and engineers and professionals, but is their heart in it? Would you go to a doctor who is passionate about what she is doing versus one who scored gold medal and is in it for the profession for the name, fame and money?
Let us help our kids listen to their
hearts, along with their brains! Even if
the system does not do it.
