The art of schooling

"Sri Sri Ravishankar has a bizarre logic for privatisation of education — that students from government schools become naxalites and take to violence. Foolish though they are, such assertions prop up the falsehood that government-funded education is a ghettoised ruin, while private sector institutions uniformly make the cut. Genuine thought leadership must dwell on questions such as improving the skills of teachers in public schools."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : The art of schooling: Contrary to the pernicious logic advanced against public education, the beneficiaries of that system work harder to overcome their social disadvantages, compared with well-to-do counterparts in private institutions. As Noam Chomsky has pointed out, elite education is oriented more towards preserving the status quo, which is antithetical to the concepts of freedom of thought, challenge and inquiry that are the core goals of education.

India's public education lacks adequate human resources and infrastructure, and it evidently needs supportive policies to achieve its potential. What it does not need is a sermon on things that it is not.

Taking the trauma out of tests

"If the common national examination that has been agreed upon in principle for admission to engineering courses in 2013 lives up to its promise, it will eliminate two major problems: traumatic stress for students taking multiple examinations, and high costs. "

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Taking the trauma out of tests: The task of implementing a less expensive, academically sound and student-friendly eligibility test deserves the support of all States.

What you lose when you 'buy' an education

"The gruesome murder of a Chennai schoolteacher by her 15-year-old student should serve as a wake-up call to educators and parents to focus on what is missing in the way we approach schooling."

Every school should have a qualified counsellor who is accessible to students, teachers and parents. Value Education curricula need to be revamped to address real issues that students contend with. Programmes on anger management can be introduced so that children learn acceptable and unacceptable ways of expressing negative emotions. Teachers should be trained to identify children at risk of various psychological problems. In this digital age, schools must allot time for Media Studies, where children are taught to discern and critique the information that bombards them from various channels. The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : What you lose when you 'buy' an education:

The consumerist view of education is counterproductive as teachers feel belittled in the process and do not receive the respect that is due to them. Teaching is, indeed, a very taxing profession that is not accorded the status it deserves.

We, as a society, have embraced a very utilitarian model of education. For most Indians, the main aim of education is to get a good job that pays a lucrative salary. As a result, parents put undue pressure on their wards and teachers to obtain stellar results on examinations. Schools have also succumbed to this unidimensional perspective and advertise the number of rank holders and professional college placements. In the process, education has lost its soul.

Students have to be equipped with skills and techniques to cope with life's strains and stresses.

Murder in the classroom

"The murder of a school teacher by a 15-year-old boy in Chennai who was angry at being reprimanded for his poor performance in class has thrown up deeply disquieting questions on parenting, teaching, and social and cultural mores."

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Murder in the classroom: Many factors are at play, some of them at larger societal levels that are not easily controllable. Blaming parenting is easy, but this is no more than a way of absolving the rest of society of all responsibility.

The teacher's murder is indicative of a collective failure of society — our schools cannot remain untouched when the world outside is not peaceful, fair and just. We need also to pursue remedies at the school level itself

Don't tie down the India of ideas

"We need to free our universities from the stifling rules and quantitative targets which govern academic hiring and promotion."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Don't tie down the India of ideas: The point about the current rules is that when it comes to performance appraisal, it quantifies activity without sufficient correction for quality. Quantitative output targets that ignore the quality of outcomes in the university can be disastrous for a society. Quantitative targets, mindlessly implemented, are no answer to the very serious challenge the Indian university faces today, which is to compete in the global forum for ideas.

Needed Urgently: An Education Revolution

Needed Urgently: An Education Revolution

"The results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009+ test, which Indian students from Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu took, are an indication of the abysmal state of our education system."

If India is to be counted as a developed nation, it will have to undergo, at first, an education revolution.

-The Times of India, February 4, 2012 

Blackboard bungle

Stop asking whether education is about trick or teach

Blackboard bungle

-The Times of India, January 24, 2012

Madhumita Gupta, in a glorious satirical prose, has our education system "found out." Personally, it is a must-read for those who have an interest, let alone passion, for matters relating to education. 

Brick In The Wall

Emphasis on universal schooling is fine, but the discourse must now shift to quality


Brick In The Wall

-The Times of India, January 18, 2012

Recent reports have shown India's dismal performance in the field of education. Quality needs to be given top priority if India is to rise from such abysmal standing in primary, secondary and higher secondary school education.  

Four People's Principles

"Only modern science can solve the many problems that India's masses face."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Four People's Principles

Today India faces huge problems; only science can solve them. Some 80 per cent of its people live in poverty, with unemployment, sky-rocketing prices, problems of healthcare, education and housing, and so on. Forty-eight farmers commit suicide on an average each day. And 47 per cent of the children are malnourished. Our national aim must be to abolish these evils and make India prosperous for all.

To address the problems, Markandey Katju presents Four People's Principles (following Sun Yat Sen's Three People's Principles).

"These should be our guiding principles: Science, Democracy, Livelihood, and Unity of the People."

Cracking The Kerala Myth

Kerala's image as a state-led success crumbles in the face of hard facts


Article - Cracking The Kerala Myth

-The Times of India, January 2, 2012

Light Hand, Please

Single higher education regulator a step forward

Article - Light Hand, Please

-The Times of India, December 22, 2011

Bureaucratisation comes to JNU

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2721182.ece

Quality education still elusive

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2717948.ece