Making new sense (nuisance) of Indian Education

A recent decision by CBSE to replace the existing Class X Board exams by a grade-system would probably have a profound effect on Indian Education. Many state boards may fall in line with the decision. Some may even opppose as it could very well threaten the existence of education boards. Whatever it may be, for sure it's not the interest of students or infact the interest of the country that anyone is worried about.

Not to surprise that the decision didn't invoke enough debate and discussion within the country. After all who has enough time in India to think about such topics. Parents who don't have sufficient means to send their children to school need not bother, they are busy trying to meet ends. Many parents probably rejoiced as they could now save money by not sending their children to tutions. Some probably did think about it, but neither had the willingness nor the time to debate it. Others were busy making the Indian tv shows successful. The Indian media has already captured people's hearts with well scripted reality tv shows and people of India feel a responsible impulse to make such shows hit.

The decision ultimately affects the students. The students who would shape the future of the country. They should realize that this isn't an escape for them as they will feel the heat in class XII board exams. Further they have to face the stiff competition of other entrance exams. If the students were too premature to handle the stress of Class X board, one of the reasons in favour of moving to a grade-system, would they be ready in Class XII?

The grade-system we are talking about is round the year assessment of students on variety of academic and non-academic parameters. Our existing system of year-end examination had perfected the technique to screen the student's skill in three hours from an academic perspective. Once the student got through the system, his academic credentials were in place to be tapped by institutions of higher education. The current system forced the students to study the subjects that they were to be tested in. This had positive effects on their higher studies. It created a breed of Indian students who were academically better than their counterparts in the world.

Are the Indian Schools ready to access the non-academic parameters of the students? The answer is no. Schools will be looking forward for directions from CBSE on this. If CBSE was to include sports and athletics in its non-academic parameters, how many schools in the country today have proper infrastructure? The ones which have are mostly private not public. So through his decision Mr Sibal has ensured that education remains in the hands of private players. And who knows what else is cooking in the dark corridors of politics.