Praveen Kumar S
With the pademic continuing to gather steam and showing no signs of slowing down, the Central Board of Secondary Education has decided, for a second year in a row to cancel the class X exams. State Boards are following suit. It is perhaps time that we asked ourselves the purpose of these exams and how better we can assess our students’ learning.
Category: Debate
The coaching centre conundrum
Ripu Daman Gupta
The demand for coaching centres is so high that every second lane we turn into has a centre proclaiming its success. But how necessary are these learning centres? With students unable to juggle both the school and the coaching centre, are there ways to reduce our dependence on these centres, while giving our students the help they need to get into institutes of higher education?
English medium schools: pragmatic or problematic?
Ramanujam Parthasarathy
It is not the first and certainly won’t be the last time that a state government announces its decision to enforce English as the medium of instruction in state-run schools. With the Andhra Pradesh government the latest to join the English medium bandwagon in order to attract parents and children, we must realize that any new measure undertaken to boost public education will have the necessary effect only when the government pulls up its socks to run its schools more efficiently.
The importance of being trustful
Prakash Iyer
Battling fake news is at the top of everybody’s minds right now, as it should be, looking at the chaos it spreads. But there is something more alarming that is brewing, a corollary to fake news—an epidemic of distrust. Are we, as a people, becoming mistrustful of others around us? If yes, what are the consequences of this?
Public schools and ‘secular’ prayers
Tushar Goel
Secularism is perhaps the most debated concept in the country today. While it has been dissected, analyzed and digested over and over in different contexts, there is one area that has received less attention than others—secularism and public schools. If public schools are secular, why then do their assemblies follow the prayers of a particular religion? Isn’t this a violation of our constitutional rights?
Beware of schools!
Ashtami Rajan
Be wary of schools for they do not inculcate the spirit of liberty, fraternity and equality;be wary of schools because they operate on a model that inhibits freedom, encourages competition at the cost of cooperation and gives unequal opportunities to students; be wary of schools because they restrict movement of children, their ability to communicate and learn from each other in the name of discipline. These are some of the arguments put forward by the author. She argues that unless schools become sites where dominant frameworks are challenged and stereotypes are broken, they will remain spaces one needs to be wary of.
What did you ask a teacher to be?
Vandana Singh
When candidates are chosen as teachers, what qualities exactly do schools look for in them? Do they choose prospective teachers based on their general knowledge? Or because they display skills that tell the school that this candidate can work with children? From her personal experience the author tells readers why the way schools select their teachers is very disturbing.
The elephant in the room?
Aditi Dhammachakra
The only way to have truly inclusive schools is to ensure that education equips children and adults with the kind of critical thinking that is necessary to dispel false beliefs. This will help teachers tackle difficult questions about caste and gender issues.
Cast(e)ing out education
Aditi Dhammachakra A recent report by Human Rights Watch has brought to light everyday instances of discrimination against Dalit, Adivasi, and Muslim children in primary schools. The report reminds us that caste and tribal status is invoked repeatedly in schools Read More …
What are truly secular schools?
Aditi Dhammachakra
What are truly secular schools? Can religious practices such as prayers that are conducted in schools be allowed to continue? In such a scenario, how can we bring about educational reform? How can we create more inclusive schools, since most of the times, the sources of exclusion are religion, caste and gender? This article puts forth some arguments on this sensitive subject.