The HRD ministry has said it will set up a committee headed by an educationist to finalise the new education policy. The policy will incorporate feedback from stakeholders, ranging from states to the citizens.  Times NIE spoke to students and teachers on the changes they wish to see in the system.

Say No to rote learning: It’s unfortunate that our education system still relies on rote learning. It’s time we changed our attitude towards this.  Our exam pattern should examine how much we have grasped rather than checking how well we can mug from a book.

Aeshna Jain, class XII, Carmel Convent School, Chd

Bridge rural-urban divide: It’s ironical that even after 69 years of independence, India still faces a huge rural-urban divide. It extends to the educational sector as well. Schools in rural areas still lack basic infrastructure, poor educational facilities and this impacts our overall literacy rate. Therefore, there is a strong need to provide basic facilities to schools to avoid drop-outs. Moreover, there should be more vocational training institutes, technical and research areas of study for people to explore.

Adhiraaj Roy, class IX, DPS Vasant Kunj, Delhi

Change the method of teaching: Our teaching method is still archaic. There should be more interactive sessions. Emphasis should be given on nurturing the creativity of the students. Practicals should be given priority. Schools should be more open to innovation. 

Kriti Ahuja, class X, DPS, Noida

Digitalise the mode of teaching: With the PM dreaming of a digital India, it’s the best time to digitalise our education system as well. Students like us should be given tablets instead of notebooks. It will solve two purposes: One, the weight of bags will be minimum and second, students will be focused more on digitisation. 

Tithi Agarwal, class XI, Hislop College, Nagpur

Talent should be tapped from the beginning: The kind of education we want to pursue should be based on what we want to do and where we excel. As kids, we may not know where our talent lies. Most schools in India purely focus on academics, hardly paying attention to a kid’s strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, our education should focus more on our innate skills. Moreover, we should treat all subjects as equal. Subjects like pure arts shouldn’t be neglected so that we can study what we really want.

Tanvi Kulkarni, class X, Bal Shikshan Mandir, Pune

After the 42nd amendment of the Constitution in 1976, education was moved from the State to the Concurrent List.

Experts Speak

Rote learning is one of the biggest faults of our education system. We should come up with a method that encourages a child to know how he can realise his potential. Efforts should be made by our policymakers to do away with a system that relies on mugging up answers and getting marks. Our education should help in moulding a personality of a child. A child shouldn’t be judged by marks alone.

Anjali Deshpande, teacher, SGVP, Ahmedabad 

No detention policy should be reviewed. Only those students who are giving their best should be allowed promotions. Filtering of talent is a must till we reach the class X Boards. Marking system should exist as it filters average students from the bright ones.

Nisha Saraf, director, CDS-KR, Nagpur 

Schools must be student-centric. As students have varying degrees of intelligence, they do not all learn the same way. To serve all students effectively, learning should be both personalised and customised. Focus should be on kids’ potential. Our education system should ensure that our teaching method emphasises more on the subject which students like from the very beginning.  

Abira Sarkar, teacher and Activity Coordinator, GG International School, Pune

Students should be offered art, commerce and science streams at the class VIII level. It will help them to spend more time learning the fields in which they want to make a career. At the same time, languages and other generic subjects can continue to co-exist with such specialised subjects. However score should not be counted; only passing should be made mandatory.

Hema Nair, principal, DAV Intl School, Mulund, Mumbai

The current examination pattern makes students compulsorily read textbooks so as to facilitate them in remembering the basics. Students' creativity, memory power, reading, writing skills, intelligence quotient and above all curiosity to know and to learn things will be enhanced only through a better examination pattern of education. 

Uma Maheshwari, teacher, The HSS School, Chennai 

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