Open the Flood-Gates of Learning in Schools

“The future of a country lies in its schools”. “Today’s children are tomorrow’s nation-builders”. Prime Minister Sri Manmohan Singh has rightly emphasized that the future of India will be prosperous only when the children of our country are provided with proper Education. So, the parliament, on April 1, 2010, affirmed Right to Education Bill. April 1, 2010 is an historic day for the children of India. Education has becomes the Fundamental Right for all the children aged 6-14 years age. Accordingly, no child will be denied admission, no child will be asked to take any admission tests, and even children with disabilities would be given admission.

Are the children of our country deriving any benefit out of this ACT? Is education really free and compulsory? Have the states implemented RTE in all the schools and even in the remotest villages? Have the private schools in all the states allotted seats to the poor children? The answer to all these questions is simply, “NO”.

RTE ACT has paved way for compulsory free Education to all the children across the country. But it is not reaching the children in every nook and corner of the country. The ACT has given facilities and provisions for educating children belonging to the weaker sections. But it is not reaching them in toto.It is really unfortunate that we know to make rules and laws but we fail to implement them effectively.

Let us see, how the school system works and what the conditions of teachers and students are. The present system of schooling is not flexible. It is a mixed bag of studies, tests, exams, activities-curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular. All the activities of the schools revolve around some kind of a fixed format or a schedule. Teachers are busy preparing their lessons, question papers, or assessing children’s answer books and evaluating their performance. Schools work as per the directions of the Education Board.

Children are busy learning by rote. They like their teachers and friends but not their studies, Examinations and marks. Their minds are full of Whys and Hows. They are not getting answers for all the queries that they ask either academic or non academic.

The present day schooling is very rigid and has fixed timings, time table, prescribed text books, uniform code of conduct for all the students, and fixed pattern of examinations etc. If the child misses a lesson due to illness the child has to depend on his classmates or his parents. The teacher has no time to revisit the lesson again for the sake of the child. On the whole the present day schooling is absolutely not learner-centric.

The present day schooling is biased, not objective. Since human elements are involved, schools cannot avoid conflicts in inter personnel relationships. Children feel that the teachers are partial and they are not getting what they deserve. Teachers feel that some of their students are boisterous, dominating and notorious. The inter personnel relationship is weakened and learning process is slowed down.

Schools and the Education Board should become more flexible. The Govt should direct all the schools to go online and periodically upload their lessons and assignments in their web portals. These lessons should be made freely accessible to all the students. Even children working as laborer or a peon or an office boy in some remote village should be able to access the lessons, learn easily and write their assignments and submit them online. Similarly, tests and examinations should be conducted. Evaluation can also be done online. Children may be asked to attend their face to face sessions as and when required. Now, education becomes learner-centric.

When schools go online, learning becomes OPEN and has several advantages for students.

• School timing is no more rigid. Children who are working for their livelihood can access their lessons during their free time from anywhere and anytime.
• Children are saved from the drudgery of carrying heavy load of books in their bags.
• Both studies and examinations are online and interactive. Hence there will be no failures in the examinations in future. The student will be repeatedly prompted to get the correct answers to questions. This will boost the confidence of students in examination system. They will no longer fear their examinations.
• Children need not have to travel to their schools, hence save their time.
• Children need not spend money for buying books or study materials.
• Children’s performance can be easily measured and monitored by the teachers effectively.
• Inter-personnel relationship between teachers and the students is strengthened.
• There is no failure in Examinations. Children will not be the victims of pass-fail syndrome. The psychological fears about exams and suicidal tendency will be eliminated.
• This system will be cost-effective provided children are given free laptop or PC and free internet.
• This type of web enabled technology will open the learning system to all children including earner learners.

• In this system of learning, they are competing with themselves. So, there are no hard feelings and comparisons with their class mates. Children will grow with stable, steady and sound mind.

· School dropouts will be drastically reduced.

· Teachers will not face behavior and discipline problem of children.

· Children will not face corporal punishments from their teachers.

· Web enabled learning makes the school system geographically INCLUSIVE reaching even the remotest village in the farthest part of India.

The advantages are too many when schools go online and open their learning programs to students. Millions of children who are not attending schools will be benefited by this step. This type of Blended Learning and Learner-centric Schools will produce citizens of high caliber. It should be noted that the present day children are living in the era of Technology and Internet. But Education is outdated and not in par with the progress in technology. Such technology and Internet enabled schools are the need for the day to impart Quality Education to our future leaders.

Is Education FREE?

After independence, we have gone through several literacy drives. Only 75% our total population is literate. That means we have not achieved cent percent literacy in our country. It took sixty three years to declare free and compulsory education for all the children of India as Right to Education bill became an ACT last year.

Right to Education Act emphasizes that all the private schools that are taking plump fees should also give admission to disadvantaged, underprivileged, weaker sections of the students. So, eight years of elementary education becomes the responsibility of the states. This Act has also set several norms and standards for all Educational Institutions in India to nurture poorer and weaker section of the society and to prevent young children from dropping out of the schools.

Govt of India has directed all the states to implement RTE ACT. But several states are hesitating to implement the ACT because of large number of private schools having vested interests. Private schools are not willing to admit children with lesser fees or no fees. Though Education is the Fundamental Right of all children, it is alarming that a large number of children are either dropping out of schools or they are not enrolled in any schools.

Several states have not implemented the RTE ACT. Education Boards are not insisting on the schools to implement the ACT. It is very clear that politicians want certain percent of our country’s population to be illiterate and uneducated for the sake votes. ASER, facilitated by NGO Pratham has released several alarming but interesting facts with respect to children not attending the school or dropping out of schools; the number of children leaving govt schools and joining private schools, etc.

The statistics by Pratham, an NGO, shows that either many children are dropping out of the schools or not joining any schools. Another finding by Pratham is that children living in the rural areas are leaving Government schools and joining private schools. Government and the concerned boards of Education should analyse the situation and speed up the implementation of RTE in schools.

The following table gives us a complete picture on the number of children not attending schools.

Age Group in years	Sex	% Not in Schools (Not enrolled and dropped out)
7-10	Boys	1.8
7-10	Girls	2.1
11-14	Boys	4.4
11-14	Girls	5.2
15-16	Boys	14.6
15-16	Girls	16.1

Children not joining any school or dropping out of the schools should be of great concern for the nation. Dropping out of school or not joining school implies poor economic background. Many a time children drop out of their schools not on their own but they are pushed out of the system because of certain rules and regulations laid down by the schools and concerned Education Boards.

Extremely poor class manual laborers or workers are not sensitive to the need for education of their children due to abject poverty. They push their children also into a work culture for earning a few more rupees. Schools are not supportive to child laborers. So, poor working children do not feel comfortable and do not have the sense of belonging to their schools. Schools also in turn want to get rid of such children to improve their Board Exam pass percentage. So, Children dropping out of schools and not joining schools are mainly due to poverty.

Children are the building blocks of a nation. In our country children are the most neglected lots. What will be the condition of our country after a decade or two if children are not given proper education and training? Govt of India should appoint officials and separate governing bodies to inspect schools in villages and towns to ensure proper teaching and instruction in schools. They should also verify whether RTE ACT is implemented in spirit and NOT in paper.

Revitalize and Enrich School Education

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela. This statement is true as far as our country is concerned. The Indian School Education system has undergone several changes over the last few decades. Primary Education and Secondary Education still need several changes with respect to class room teaching, methods of teaching, learning outcomes, the method of evaluation, etc.

Many private schools have come up all over India. Schooling fees vary from school to school and region to region, generally unaffordable for the large number of poor students. Each school insists on different visions and missions of Education and ultimately the students who are the receivers of Education are not receiving Quality Education. Therefore, School education is lacking luster and interest for both teachers and students.

School Education lacks the following:

• Well designed spacious, ventilated, bright class rooms.
• Good, competent and tech-savvy teachers interested in understanding the learning process.
• Well written text books and the courseware.
• Well equipped activity oriented syllabus for all the subjects.
• Video and audio communication tools essential for teaching-learning activities.
• Failure to utilize technology in Education.

The design of class rooms in several schools has not changed at all. The class rooms do not have natural daylight. The arrangement of furniture is also traditional and not flexible. Pupils are arranged in horizontal and vertical rows and columns. This type of arrangement cannot promote any group activity. It has created several health problems to our school children.

Teachers are using black board and chalk piece as a visual communication tool in schools. In a class of fifty and odd students, not all children can see the black board clearly. There is no 180 degree view for all the children seated in the class. This has caused defective eyes, short sightedness for students. Most of the children use spectacles. The use of chalk piece has created health problems like skin allergy and asthma for both children and the teachers.

Since we are not using technology, we are unable to get rid of heavy school bags that children carry. School bags are loaded with note books, text books and all other day to day requirements. As a result, children suffer from severe head ache, shoulder pain, stiff neck and back ache at the end of the day. Most of the children end up their day with health problems. They find it difficult to do their home work and other school related work. So their performance is poor. Over a period of time they develop hunch back and spinal disorders.

The schools and the Education Department have not taken any measure to rectify this. Both black board and school bags are creating health hazards. School children will perform better in their studies if some of these draw backs in the Education System are removed. School Education will have to change for the better and become children- friendly. The Education Department should do away with school bags and black boards in the schools. How?

The method of teaching should be changed. The class room teaching should cater to the 5E’s of Education: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Children should be motivated to learn by self. Self study habits with a facility for interface and interaction with their teachers make the children curious and they learn and explore on their own. Moreover, it is important that they become self-styled independent learners by methods best suited to them. As far as possible “Learning by Doing” should replace “Learning by Rote”. Group learning facilities should be encouraged because children learn better in their group and they develop team spirit. Brain- storming and Group Discussions should be encouraged to make learning interesting.

We have to revolutionize Education through technology. The teachers should use multimedia to do their class room teaching. Multimedia uses text, sound, animation and graphics in proper proportion. Learning outcome of high percentage can be achieved only when children are made to visualize. Teachers should design their lesson plans in PowerPoint presentation format. Teaching through multimedia will have a lasting effect in the memory of children. This type of teaching through multimedia will cater to all the types of learners at all levels.

Ministry of Human Resources has introduced low cost Tablet PC for school students. The Education Department and the schools all over the country should make use of this golden opportunity. Each student should be given a free tablet PC with subsidized internet. The courseware and the activity sheets of all the subjects should be fed into the tablets in Word and the Excel format for the entire year. Children should type their answers in the activity sheets, which teachers can access through networking facility of the school. School tests and examinations can also be conducted online.

Education and Technology should go hand in hand. Technology should be a tool of learning to impart Education in schools. It is ironical that education has helped technology to evolve and grow, but technology is not being used to promote and improve education.

Enriching Education with Technology will certainly make teaching-learning process joyful experience for both teachers and students. Then school education will become more meaningful and purposeful. Let us remember John Dewey’s Quote-“Education is not preparation for life. But Education is life itself”

We should not forget that India is a poor country lacking “Inclusive growth”. Inclusive growth requires Inclusive Education. Inclusive Education requires Inclusive Technology. Technology and Education are interdependent variables. Each should promote the other. They are not competitive but complementary.

School Projects —Aid or Hinder Learning!?!?!?

Recently, eminent professor C. N. R. Rao said that India has Examination System and not Education system. He also said desperately, “When will the young people stop taking examinations and do something worthwhile?” This outburst of Prof. Rao was due to several Entrance Examinations at various levels that are prevailing in our country today.

The students of today are very busy preparing for some Examinations or the other. This applies to all the age groups of students, right from KG class till PG course. The system of Education is dominated by Examinations. The intelligence of students is measured by a few hours of these Examinations.

Today, in schools, the number of working days allotted for examinations is more than the number of days allotted for teaching the subjects. Students are interested to learn only in the capsule form, in the form of work sheets or notes or guides. Teachers are also not interested in elaborate and extensive teaching. They have ultimately become very brief and precise in teaching and simply hurry to complete the portion in hand to fit the tight schedule of examinations.

Teachers have become more monotonous because of continuous assessment of answer books, practical records, and home work books for internal assessment, individual projects and group projects of students. There is absolutely no time for them to increase their knowledge. It is very difficult for teachers to venture into teaching by new methods, or to conduct any remedial coaching for weak students.

Today passing an examination is considered more important than acquiring knowledge. Students and parents are only interested in the examinations, home work, and project work as they all add weightage to their final results. Now the situation is that students, parents and teachers are sapped mentally because of tests and examinations.

Few years ago, the focus of education was student and now the focus of education is examinations and the scores involved in it. Class projects are compulsory and students have to actively participate in it to get good grade in the final examinations. The main idea behind the school projects is that the children should learn by doing using their hands and brain simultaneously. But this objective has failed.

Students of all age groups from KG class to twelfth standard in schools across India must compulsorily do the projects. However, only their parents or some elderly persons in their family are forced to complete the projects so that their wards do not suffer in the exam. Alternatively making and selling standard projects has become a commercial adventure for some.

In the past, the project based evaluation was compulsory only for students doing professional courses and not for school going kids. But today project based evaluation has become a compulsory method of assessment of pupils. The method is as follows:

In the Lower Primary classes each kid is assigned a specific project in the form of home work which ultimately becomes parent’s home work. The child simply submits what the parents prepare without understanding the underlying values of the project. But in the upper primary, secondary and in the higher secondary classes projects are given in two forms: Individual project and group project.

In the individual category the child selects any topic that interests him and do some copy paste work. Many of the students take the old note book from their seniors. Only one percent may do something new with some interest. In the group project, teachers give them various topics and divide them into groups to enable them to do the project. But all students are not well equipped. They have to spend money for doing their project or purchasing their projects from the market. Rich parents only can afford the cost.

In case of few students who are not equipped with money and knowledge or educated parents, they struggle and do a shabby work. In a group project all students cannot afford to spend time and money. There are fights and quarrels amongst these students. Some of the students dump the work on other students and leave their group.

Do the schools and the concerned Education Department know about this? What is happening to the completed projects of the students? Does the school keep them? There is no space to keep the children’s projects. These projects are sold off as scrap. A large sum of money, effort, and knowledge is thrown in the dustbin.

The project based evaluation in schools is of no use either to the pupils or to the schools. Those projects which are prepared by the parents or the professionals stand out and get better marks but those projects that are done by the pupils without any help do not stand a chance for good marks. This is gross injustice to the poor students.

Ultimately, only the middle men and the traders who sell standard projects benefit. The students, who buy the project just to get marks, may or may not know anything about the preparation and the execution of the project. Hence, the very purpose of project based learning and evaluation is defeated.

Educators must think of reforming this aspect of school education. Education Department can insist schools and teachers to take up the project work in their regular teaching sessions for teaching a lesson in their curriculum. The project work of school pupils should be a tool for teaching-learning process and it should not be a tool for measuring the knowledge and skill. Here is a suggestion:

Let the teacher decide the projects based on the syllabus for her class. Let the class be divided into groups. Let the children bring the necessary materials to prepare their project. The children should do their projects using their hands and brain together inside their class in the presence of their teachers. Let the weekends be utilized for the project work. Based on their project work the next week’s lesson can be planned. Teachers can now easily assess the performance of each pupil by careful observation.

In this method of group project work in the class room, the school children learn to adjust with their friends. They learn to use their hands and the brain simultaneously. They are happy because they are discovering knowledge. Moreover, involvement of parents, any other elderly person or any professional agency is totally eliminated. Education now becomes child centric as he is fully involved in searching for knowledge and acquiring it by his own efforts.

Students enjoy learning and feel satisfied because they are learning by doing under the guidance of their teacher in the class. The learning objective is achieved fully. This modified form of school projects may be implemented for better teaching-learning practice and will strengthen teacher-pupil relationship.

Now the students will say:

“Tell me I’ll forget; show me I may remember, involve me I will understand”.