posted Nov 21, 2019, 12:49 AM by Prashant Bhattacharji
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updated Nov 21, 2019, 12:52 AM
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Vishnuteerth Agnihotri from GenWise very kindly shared some of the suggestions sent by GenWise.in, in response to the NEP Draft of 2019.
Response to the Draft NEP 2019 from GenWise
GenWise is a group of accomplished mentors (25+), with an excellent blend of corporate, academic, local and international perspectives. We see our role as supporting schools and parents, by bringing in contemporary knowledge and ways of thinking of researchers, experts and practitioners to young students, and we have been doing this through residential summer programs, experiential programs as well as in-school day scholar programs. Our key strength is enabling students to truly experience deep learning on contemporary themes.
We congratulate the NEP Panel on working on this very difficult task and bringing out the Draft NEP which has several excellent recommendations. In the spirit of constructive and productive engagement in the transformation of our education system, we also present a critique of some of the proposed elements. Our response focuses on the School Education section of the Draft NEP, and has 3 parts-
Overall Observations- our comments on the overall direction and focus of the Draft NEP
Specific Observations- our comments on specific sections and paras of the Draft NEP which could be considered while finalizing the NEP
Specific Recommendations- Specific implementable actions that we believe are ‘high leverage’ in achieving the goals of the NEP
For clarifications on our response to the Draft NEP below, please write to [email protected]
Overall Observations
The Draft NEP lays out the vision for the education system in India to be one that will “ensure that it touches the life of each and every citizen, consistent with their ability to contribute to many growing developmental imperatives of this country on the one hand, and towards creating a just and equitable society on the other.”. This vision appears to see the individual only from the dimension of her/his contribution to the country and not as a being whose human personality can be developed and enriched through learning. Enriched individuals will naturally make strong contributions to the country.
The Draft NEP proposes major revamps in several areas while talking very little about lessons learned from the past- why certain initiatives worked or did not work. India has extensive historical experience in education. It is crucial for the development of an effective and impactful education policy to be informed and shaped by the learnings from this experience and institutional memory.
The Draft NEP makes several excellent points that have the potential to bring huge improvements to the system. However, there are too many proposals with no prioritization. A more focused NEP will provide a clearer direction to implementing bodies.
The Draft NEP ignores the huge challenge of ‘mindset change’ among parents, teachers and educational leaders/ administrators that would be needed to promote critical thinking in democratic classrooms. It assumes that the educational leadership believes in ‘questioning, critical thinking, and teacher empowerment’ as crucially important. However, past actions of educational leaders indicate that such a belief is rare among educational leaders, and a mindset change is needed even among leaders.
For example, when one educational program is replaced by another, we rarely see an analysis of learning from the past effort and how it is informing the new one (e.g. shift in the ABL models in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu- see pages 67, 68 and 70 of https://uni.cf/2ypO0j3). What message does this send to the system on how important we consider ‘critical thinking and questioning’? Teacher involvement in important decisions about teaching-learning models and other things that affect them, is typically quite low; what does this tell teachers about our belief in ‘teacher empowerment’? (see pages 66 and 67 of https://uni.cf/2ypO0j3) . Even the extent of input of the best teachers in our country to this Draft NEP seems unclear.
Another aspect of mindset change is to recognize that learning happens not just in school but also at home and in the larger community we are part of. Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish Educator, believes that the excellent performance of Finland in PISA is influenced by the opportunity available to Finnish children to engage in productive activities outside of school- whether reading because of the ‘dense library system’ or immersion in sports, arts and culture through one of the many ‘NGO clubs’. Closer to home, experts believe that the relatively higher levels of literacy and reading ability in Kerala was influenced by the availability of reading material at low cost and the availability of reading rooms or ‘vayanashalas’ across towns. Thus the NEP should look at ways of nurturing informal networks and communities that support the work of schools in helping all children to succeed.
Apart from initiatives to bring ‘mindset change’, significant capacity building is needed to equip key players in the education system to play their role effectively. While the Draft NEP does talk about measures needed for capacity building of teachers, it does not talk about capacity building measures for educational administrators. Capacity Building refers to-
Teacher Education- This is the rate limiting factor (to use an enzyme kinetics analogy) in the creation of a meaningful education system. The NEP articulates, fairly strongly, about the urgent need to overhaul teacher education, hiring and deployment and the overall teaching and learning culture. It also provides an extremely ambitious programme towards this but the implementation roadmap (Addendum 2) provided does not reflect this urgency. The priority as laid out in the roadmap continues to be on infrastructure and administrative arrangements.
Building a Body of Knowledge on Learning and Implementing Educational Programs- A research-based body of knowledge that is robust and easily accessible is necessary. This should be built upon the knowledge of both teachers and experts. To use the medical analogy, the teacher is a practitioner analogous to a doctor, who is in the best position to help the learner learn. Just like the doctor though, the teacher too needs to refer to research journals or speak with academic experts in the area of medicine to hone her understanding and knowledge, while also contributing to this knowledge, through her on-field experience. A similar case can be made for building a body of knowledge relevant to educational administrators and leaders on areas like ‘how to build a vibrant community of teachers’.
Training of Educational Leaders- This involves providing leaders with an understanding of the context of the education system, what a ‘system’ is and principles that are important in bringing about systemic improvement. For example, all educational leaders should be familiarized with the work of Donella Meadows, that points out how changes in social structures (like allowing teachers to self-organize) can be far more powerful that changes in physical inputs. See http://bit.ly/2Ytpecn-an article by Donella Meadows on 12 Leverage Points (or places to intervene) in a system. The recommendation on creating vibrant teacher communities, later in this document, is based on Leverage Point no. 4 in Meadows’ list- ‘The power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure’. In simple words, communities of teachers who evolve teaching practices on their own (and are thus ‘self-organizing’), are far more powerful and resilient than teachers working independently relying only on ‘top-down’ inputs.
In our opinion, a more focused NEP would have Capacity Building and Mindset Change as the areas of focus in School Education. Further, the many contradictions in the Draft NEP proposals (whether real or apparent) should be addressed and clarified.
Some examples of the contradictions are shared below.
importance of instruction in mother tongue vs learning to read in 3 scripts by Grade 2
reduce curricular load by focusing on essentials vs proliferation in the number of subjects
When there are contradictions in the policy or across educational programs, the goal and approach to be adopted are unclear and leads to low adoption (see pages 67 and 68 of https://uni.cf/2ypO0j3 ). Therefore communicating a single clear goal can be very powerful. For example, to achieve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, it would be good to give a single goal along the lines of “By Grade 5, a child should be able to read an ‘unseen passage’ in her mother tongue, write a page expressing her own ideas, do simple arithmetic involved in a real-life transaction. Nothing else is more important till 2023 by when this goal should be achieved”.
Lasting change is difficult, requires time, and moving away from entrenched paradigms. In other words, the desired outcomes- like children reading, doing arithmetic, knowing 3 languages etc. will take time (a 2-3 year process which may be achieved between age 6-7 to 10-11). Because of the time lag involved in this change, such outcomes can be termed as ‘lagging indicators’.If the system is looking only at ‘lagging indicators’, the assessments will get dumbed down to ‘show’ that these goals have been achieved. This has been seen on numerous occasions when large scale assessments are done. One striking example one of our team members saw in an evaluation study, is a child reciting a story in English confidently, but being unable to explain the story in her mother tongue! This problem is exacerbated if there is an insistence that certain goals are achieved every 3 or 6 months. This issue can be addressed by having ‘leading indicators’ of change that provide confidence that we are on the right track (for example the ‘number of pushups done daily’ is a leading indicator of increased muscle strength that may take some months to develop). Possible ‘leading indicators’ would be children speaking up freely in their mother tongue, taking part in language/ arithmetic games, sharing stories, teachers being aware of what students can/ cannot do at any given point of time. In other words, the system should be clear and confident about the ‘process’ to be employed and results will come in due time.
Assessment of learning outcomes is of course important but these should be done along with the assessment of 'leading process indicators', in a low stakes manner and perhaps less frequently (say once in 2-3 years, at least in the beginning, until significant improvements are made).
Specific Observations
Leveraging Peer Learning- P 2.5 talks of ‘best performers’ in each school being selected for the National Tutors Programme, and being selected for the NTP will be considered a ‘prestigious position’ - the spirit of such language if it seeps in is likely to create unnecessary competition and a superior/ inferior mindset among students. It would be more inclusive and effective to foster an informal culture of peers helping each other learn.
Instructional Aides from the Community- P 2.6 talks of recruiting Instructional Aides , especially women, from local communities for remedial teaching during and after school hours. While the idea of community involvement and remediation is good, one needs to take care that this does not end up like the ‘para-teacher’ scheme with core teaching activities being done by these aides.
Ethical and Moral Reasoning- Ethical and moral reasoning is rightly identified as a very important goal. Values of empathy and compassion must be nurtured which will build values of acceptance, tolerance and fraternity. Empathy, compassion, acceptance will also allow children from a very young age to value diversity – cultural and social. This is critical in the context of the deeply entrenched caste differences prevalent even today in India. Such value systems are essential for the development of a just society as envisaged in the Draft NEP's vision. However, the NEP should recognize the conflict between its goal of ‘critical thinking and questioning’ and ‘getting students to adopt certain values’. For example, the value of ‘sacrifice’ could result in gender, ethnicity, class and caste inequalities remaining unchallenged and the value of ‘patriotism’ could lead to unquestioning nationalism. We believe that it is possible to manage this conflict by recognizing values development as a process that can be nurtured and facilitated through critical engagement with issues pertaining to personal and social values and behaviour, as well as ‘modeling’ of behaviour. The most important values, in any case, cannot be ‘transmitted’ through moralizing and laying down a code of conduct. Appropriate teacher education is crucial to ensure that these values are nurtured in a sensitive and thoughtful manner rather than ‘handed down’ in a moralistic or dogmatic fashion.
How teachers and school staff engage with students in day to day interactions is extremely important in nurturing values- as it has been said, values are ‘caught’, not ‘taught’. For example, impartiality and fairness in and outside class, how teachers encourage children, how they provide feedback, whether they listen to them, how they interact with their parents, how adults in school resolve interpersonal conflicts- all of these influence values development in students more strongly than lessons on ethical and moral reasoning.
Sex Education- In the context of sex education [Section 4.6.8.5] it is important to begin this process from the Middle Stage (11-14 years) to coincide with and provide emotional support at the onset of puberty. An important objective of sex education should be to inculcate a healthy relationship and understanding of gender and sexuality.
Gender Equality- In the list of inspiring leaders [P.4.6.8.7] provided, women scientists and leaders are conspicuous by their absence (M.S. Subbalakshmi is the only woman mentioned). Such an inherent gender bias in a policy document must be immediately corrected. This is in contradiction to the proposals referred to elsewhere in the policy to promote education for girls. It is also counter to the Government's push towards ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’.
Knowledge of India- In Section 4.6.9 where integration of Knowledge of India into the education system is discussed, the NEP talks about inclusion of local and tribal knowledge into the curriculum and textbooks. Does the policy propose region specific text books to be written? As indicated in 4.8.2 and 4.8.3, SCERTs will be tasked to produce State specific sections in textbooks. Does this include integration into Science textbooks? For instance inclusion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (recognised today as a distinct stream of study globally) and its relevance to taxonomy, understanding of ecological systems and adaptation to climate change.
Integration of Subjects- New subjects like 'Critical Issues' and 'Indian Knowledge Systems' are being introduced while talking simultaneously about 'reducing curricular load to essential ideas to permit nuanced discussion and understanding'. The objectives of the Draft NEP can be met much better by integration of the proposed 'courses/ subjects' with existing subjects. For example, there is plenty of scope to integrate Language with Social Studies/ EVS at the primary level, and important content and ideas of 'Critical Issues', ‘Current Affairs’ and 'Indian Knowledge Systems' can be integrated into Social Studies at the Middle and Secondary levels.
Critical Issues Course- It is appreciated that an effort towards creating greater awareness is proposed among children starting with Grades 7 and 8. However it seems rather strange to see a Government programme (Swacch Bharat) listed among issues such as climate change, water, sanitation etc. among the list of critical issues [P4.6.10.1]. Students should be exposed to various approaches / responses to managing water sustainably rather than specifically a programme.
Experiential Learning- The NEP mentions experiential learning at various points in the context of curriculum and pedagogy. Conspicuous by its absence is any reference to engagement with nature across all stages of learning. Innumerable studies from across the world have shown that the increased alienation of children from their natural surroundings has impacted physical, mental and emotional growth. Nature Deficit Disorder / Syndrome is being recognised as a legitimate problem. Together with reading and numeracy it is critical that the policy emphasize experiential learning through active and hands-on engagement with nature in the surrounding environment (e.g., learning through the senses, working with soil, creating with natural material, observing changes in the immediate natural environment around us etc.). This is essential not only for intellectual and emotional development of the child but also for developing motor skills, dexterity, observation and other sensory skills. At each learning level described in the NEP, suitable curriculum will need to be developed to deepen the engagement, exploration and learning. This is not something to be included merely as a part of Biology in the STEM curricula but as an essential component of experiential learning. See http://bit.ly/2ylRx1V .
Centralization of Development of Learning Material- P 4.8.2 mentions NCERT’s primary role in developing textbooks. While it is useful to have textbooks from NCERT given their expertise, there needs to be capacity at the state and local level to build good quality learning material including textbooks, given the wide diversity of contexts across the country. There is a wide diversity of contexts even within a state.
College-readiness by the end of Grade 12- Students should have depth of knowledge in at least one stream by the end of Grade 12, if they are to be college ready. Given the clubbing of Grades 9-12 under one ‘secondary umbrella’, a wider variety of subjects and the proposed semester based assessment system across 4 years, depth of learning in one stream may get compromised. In 4.9 it is proposed that between Grade 9 and 12, there will be 40 ‘subjects’ across all semesters, 24 of which will be assessed by board exams, of which 2 are Math, 2 science, one each in Indian and world history, one in economics, commerce etc. and other 15 + left to school assessment. Perhaps it would be better to focus on the ‘breadth’ goal till Grade 10 and focus more on ‘depth’ in Grades 11-12 (maintaining some degree of ‘depth’).
Lack of Clarity on Assessment System – P 4.9 talks about various points– Assessment of higher order thinking skills, Easier board exams, Repeated taking of board exams with two or more attempts to improve scores, Board exams every semester replacing end of year school assessments, assessments through open book exams for secondary school students and so on. There is no clarity on what exactly the assessment system will be, and some of the suggestions are not aligned with the others.
College Admission Testing- If the ‘board exams’ are being reformed is there a need for another testing agency for admissions to universities. Multiple high-stakes exams will increase stress. The school leaving exams and the college admission exams need to be thought through carefully and rationalized.
Specific Recommendations
Mindset change and capacity building are closely interlinked- changing mindsets itself requires capacity building, and building capacity requires changing mindsets. Still we have shared our recommendations under separate heads to emphasize the importance of each.
Mindset Change
Public Education Campaigns on a Massive Scale- Important messages that are well designed (remember the wide appeal of ‘3 Idiots’) should be disseminated through TV/ Radio/ Social Media/ Hoardings. These should be on different relevant themes. Popular national figures like Virat Kohli and Amir Khan or local figures can be used in the campaigns. Some important themes are-
The value of critical thinking and questioning- interesting questions can be used in the campaign (represent all numbers up to 1023 using 10 digits of our hands). Perhaps a mascot can be created (like Boojho/ Paheli in the NCERT textbooks) who signifies critical thinking and questioning and stories involving this mascot can be created to spread awareness of the importance of such thinking.
English medium is not equal to good education- by highlighting success stories of non-English medium learners and highlighting world-class regional language schools (see point no. 2)
Negatives of competitive pressure- highlighting the success/ well-being of students and schools which do not adopt a competitive spirit
Value of learning outside of school- The value of non-curricular learning (and the linkages between the curriculum and real life) can be highlighted using real-life case studies (the community learning hubs proposed below can be a source for such case studies). There are many children with significant knowledge, talent and skills who lose confidence in their abilities because of the excessive focus on theoretical learning and exams.
World Class Schools in Regional Languages- Highlight existing high quality schools in regional languages and have a goal of 10 world class schools in regional languages for all regional languages (say in 3 years). Make films on these schools and use in teacher training and in mass public campaigns for people to start believing in high quality education in the mother tongue.
Define and promote practices that lead to an organic shift in mindsets- Changes in mindset cannot be forced from the outside. However, mindsets can shift based on new experiences and how these are processed. Seemingly simple and specific practices have the power to bring about big change. For example, getting teachers to do regular home visits and discussing these in monthly CRC meetings could go a long way in creating a collaborative and inclusive school culture. Note that the teacher is not being told to be ‘inclusive’ but by helping her to experience the child’s home environment, we increase the likelihood of her taking a sensitive approach. Another example could be getting visitors to the school to wait in the school library to promote a culture of reading. The compendium, Eklavya Sari (http://www.eklavya.org/Eklavyasari.html) shares such culture building practices of one school. The ‘Centre of Evidence Based Practice’ proposed below could take the responsibility for compiling, evaluating and disseminating knowledge of such practices.
Contests and Events that promote Real Learning- TV shows like ‘India’s got Talent’ and ‘Indian Idol’ have played a big role in inspiring talent in music, dance and performing arts. Shows like ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, ‘India Child Genius’ and ‘Mastermind’ have encouraged general awareness and knowledge. Well designed contests or shows that promote application of knowledge in different contexts, creativity, design thinking, tinkering etc. have the potential to inspire a generation of learners as well as teachers to learn joyously and focus on what’s important in learning. For example, a seemingly simple activity of making a paper column with half an A4 sheet that can support the maximum weight without collapsing offers deep richness of learning while being open-ended and can easily go on for 2-3 episodes, also allowing all viewers to participate in the experience because of the ease of availability of material. Viewers could also send in the problems they need solved to the ‘contesting group of inventors’. These contests could have close linkages to the Community Learning Hubs proposed below.
Capacity Building
Community Learning Hubs- These will be high-quality learning spaces, with a library, ‘maker-space’, craft material, computers with internet etc. co-located in the same facility with adequate staffing. A lot can be done with simple tools and modest budgets, as long as there is a resourceful facilitator. The initial target could be to have several such centres at district/ block level and ultimately one per school-complex. The centre should be open to all children in the community (even if not enrolled in the school), and be open beyond school hours also. Local ‘vocational experts’ can operate in this facility; local craftsmen, electricians, plumbers etc. should play as important a role as facilitators in this space as scientists, engineers, doctors etc. This space should be used for local contests, study circles, community dialogues and celebrating festivals, and become the ‘learning hub’ for the community. Some of the best work and learning in colleges in the country is happening in such informal clubs and groups and the presence of a vibrant learning hub in each community could create a huge transformation.
This initiative is related to the School Complexes proposed in Chapter 7 of the Draft NEP. However, the Community Learning Hubs will be most powerful when the community takes ownership of this space, and the kind of energy of informal collaborations that is seen in a community during festivals, gets transferred to learning (learning here is defined in the broadest sense as any activity that does not involve ‘passive consumption’). School Complexes must look at their role as enabling the community to run a vibrant learning hub, rather than seeing this as hub as an extension of the formal schooling system.
Nurturing Vibrant Communities of Practice of Teachers- In Point 6b of ‘Overall Observations’, we pointed out that the importance of the teacher as a ‘professional practitioner’. All thriving professions require vibrant communities of practice. The school complexes proposed in the Draft NEP probably provide an opportunity to nurture such communities of practice. Vibrant communities of practice have always existed in our country. Some of these have also been nurtured consciously by educational leaders e.g. In Gujarat, during the early years of implementing ‘Pragya’, master resource persons from SCERT would visit schools in a block, capturing snippets of lessons on video, and these would be discussed by teachers across schools in the block after a couple of days, leading to a rich exchange and motivating teachers.
However, much more can be done to consciously nurture teacher-led communities of practice. The challenge of ‘scaling’ should be looked at as proliferating such networks of practice with ‘top-down’ initiatives nurturing ‘bottom-up’ communities and ideas. The Berkana Institute’s framework of Name-Connect-Nourish-Illuminate offers a different paradigm to look at scaling (see http://bit.ly/2ZtDuDr ). The work of Wenger-Trayner on communities of practice also offers relevant insights. The power of building a vibrant community of teacher practice is that it is a self-organizing system (see point 6c of ‘Overall Observations’ and pages 14-16 of http://bit.ly/2Ytpecn)
A powerful example of a self-organizing community of teacher practice is the practice of ‘Lesson Study’ in Japan, that has been in existence for one hundred and thirty years. Lesson Study involves teachers working together to design, test, and improve lesson sequences, with multiple teachers observing the session, reviewing the sessions jointly and other teachers reteaching the revised lesson plans. This practice introduces teachers to the power of collaborative inquiry and the important role observation plays in opening our eyes to alternative practice. Many good ideas come from the teachers’ own experiences, increasing their confidence in practising the craft of teaching. This practice gained international attention after publication of results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) video study.
Educational Leaders with strong context of teaching-learning- Given the complexity in education, it is important to ensure in some way that Educational Leaders and Administrators have at least 10 years of teaching experience or strong context about education. A ‘governance paradigm’ without an understanding of how learning happens is not sufficient to be an effective educational leader. A career path should be available for teachers to grow into the highest roles in educational leadership. Lateral entry could also be allowed to exceptional individuals with a proven track record. IAS officers who come into education roles should be identified at least 2 years in advance of their actual posting and should undergo a rigorous orientation of at least 15 days and be certified by a committee before their appointment in an educational leadership role. Perhaps it is time to create an ‘Indian Education Service’ under the Civil Services.
Centre for Evidence Based Practice- Constitute a ‘Centre for Evidence Based Practice’ at the central level (with representation from states), staffed with high quality researchers and teachers. This can include fellows who are part of the centre for a few months to a couple of years. This centre should collate existing evidence and do new/ further research in important areas of curriculum and pedagogy, teacher development, how to bring systemic change etc. The members from this centre should be part of committees (state and central) that define and deploy educational programs. The centre should network with educators around the country and around the world. The centre should have a high quality website of resources, start its own journal and publish high-quality research (the What Works Clearinghouse initiative in the US could guide the design of this repository- see https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ ). This centre could be responsible for training and certifying educational leaders, including those who make a lateral entry into the government education system.
Repository of good questions and projects- No effort to change the education system will work unless the ‘goal posts’ are changed. In this light, the Draft NEP rightly speaks about reforming the board examinations to assess the ability of students to think critically and reason on their own. However, such learning can happen only when teachers frame discerning questions and learning tasks and engage students in working on these. (Often it appears that there is agreement on the kind of learning that is being targeted, but on seeing the actual questions, differences in opinion surface). Initially it is difficult for teachers to differentiate between such questions and other questions, or even if they can, there is a fear that discerning questions will be too tough for students. An easily accessible repository of good questions, projects and learning tasks will go a long way towards demonstrating the kind of learning we are targeting, and catalyzing the process. Teachers and even students should be allowed to add questions and projectives to this repository with incentives for quality submissions.
Video Repository of good teaching practices- The good learning tasks repository suggested above provides teachers with engaging learning tasks that promote critical thinking and real learning. However, without specific guidance on how these should be facilitated (at least in the initial years), there is a danger that students will be taught the answers to good questions, by rote. Providing teachers with an easily accessible collection of teaching videos will help in promoting best practices in teaching-learning. Teachers can be encouraged to submit their own videos to this repository (though these will need to be curated). Examples of such videos are shared here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9VAM8yv2Ng (a lesson historical methods) https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/65013 (a lesson on getting students to think about odd and even numbers)
Lateral Induction of Teachers, Facilitators and other Education Professionals- There are several people in the country with strong capabilities in different areas of education (sometimes without formal qualifications)- teaching, teacher training, assessment, e-learning and so on. There are very few avenues for these people to be recruited into the government system at the central or state level; where these people are retained, they are hired as consultants. Given the urgent need for capacity building in the country, teachers and other professionals should be inducted at all levels, irrespective of formal qualifications, as long as they can demonstrate expertise. Independent identification of good teachers and master-teachers can be done through a process of exam + demo class + interview. Some of these people may also be used to staff the community learning hubs mentioned above.
Curriculum
Contemporary and Relevant Subject Content- The Draft NEP has already suggested new subjects/ topics like ‘Critical Issues’, ‘Current Affairs’ etc. Given the changing state of the world, some more topics should be included mandatory or optional. For example, a mandatory component should be Media Literacy and differentiating between fake news and authentic/verified news and information. Given the push for technology in education and the access that children have to the internet and other media in the NEP [P4.10.5] this should be a critical component of the learning process from an early age. Other important topics that can be offered are shared below. These could be offered as optional subjects or key ideas integrated with other subjects, or even as 2-3 days modules.
The Psychology of individuals and groups
Design Thinking and Hands-on Making
Systems Thinking
Methods of bringing social change
Cognitive Science
Linkages between higher education institutions and schools- To enable schools to help students understand the deeper ideas in their subjects and the latest happenings in the domain, a closer linkage between faculty of higher education institutions and schools should be created. Interes
Interested faculty of higher education institutions could be released for 2-3 weeks a year to work with students, train teachers and develop learning material that can be used in schools.
Gifted Students- Identification and Programs to Nurture
It is heartening to note the proposed initiatives mentioned in 4.10 on the support of students with singular talents and interests. While the goal should be to support all students’ interests and dispositions helping them to enrich themselves and fulfil their potential, identifying and nurturing gifted students has a particular relevance in nation/ world building. As Dr. Lubinski, an expert in the psychology of gifted children from Vanderbilt University says, “When you look at the issues facing society now — whether it's health care, climate change, terrorism, energy — these are the kids who have the most potential to solve these problems. These are the kids we'd do well to bet on.” We have the following recommendations in this area.
Identification of Gifted Students- Psychologists generally agree that aptitudes (or innate talent) concretize by the age of 14. This means that we are unlikely to spot new aptitudes in children after the age of 14-15. Recognizing these aptitudes early is important; if an aptitude is not recognized early enough, it will not be nurtured sufficiently. Some aptitudes may go completely unrecognized as children may have no opportunities at school or home to engage in these areas (e.g. design, playing a musical instrument).
Identification of gifted students should start by age 10 (or even earlier in some cases). Existing instruments for identification of giftedness on different dimensions (nationally and internationally) should be evaluated and a battery of quality instruments (paper-pencil tests as well as observed tasks) should be made available easily and at affordable costs (free for students of government schools). At least 10-20 master resource persons should be trained on using these instruments effectively with children. A National Gifted Talent Search Test from Grades 5-9 should be conducted annually. The test should include as many abilities that can be tested using automated scoring as possible. The existing NTSE does not test for some kinds of abilities and in any case is only available in Grade 9.
Interventions to Support Gifted Students- 4.10 mentions ‘study circles’ and ‘residential summer programs’- these are welcome initiatives and will make a difference. We have also noted through media articles that a gifted school along the lines of the ‘Sirius Educational Centre’ in Russia is being considered. Additionally, other initiatives should be explored for providing gifted students the support they need. Some suggestions are shared below-
Online mentoring- Both MOOCs and tutor-based programs can be used to provide challenging material and mentoring support to gifted students. Schools, School Complexes and the proposed Community Learning Hubs can provide the needed infrastructure.
Acceleration- Students identified as gifted in a particular subject could attend classes in that subject with students of a higher grade. Schools have been doing this informally in rare cases. A more systematic and well-defined approach will help schools to implement this more effectively.
Shorter day-scholar/ residential programs through the year- These could be 1-5 day programs during holidays, apart from longer programs in Summer. Kerala SCERT has already been conducting summer residential programs. The experience of organizations like Kerala SCERT, GenWise, NIAS etc. in India and the likes of Johns Hopkins CTY, Duke TIP and Northwestern CTD in the US would provide valuable inputs to this exercise.
Training teachers on giftedness- Gifted students can have difficulty in fitting in with their peer group, impulse control and in other areas, leading them being labelled as ‘disruptive’ or in social isolation. Many teachers are not even aware of these aspects of giftedness. Training them to do a first-level intervention will be very helpful to gifted students. Teachers should also be provided with a support system whom they can rely on for such cases. In our work at GenWise, we often come across children who have been pulled out of school at a young age because schools are unable to handle them along with the rest of the children.
This article, based on a 45 year study which tracked gifted children, is a good primer on issues related to gifted education- https://go.nature.com/332qTsU
National Level Conference on Gifted Education- An annual national level conference with experts and practitioners from around the world, will go a long way towards creating a knowledge base and awareness about gifted education. The National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) in the US is holding its 66th convention in 2019- see http://www.nagc.org/. NAGC is a major influencer of government policy and plays a key role in creating awareness about gifted education.
posted Nov 21, 2019, 12:04 AM by Prashant Bhattacharji
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updated Nov 21, 2019, 12:45 AM
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The NIOS (Open school, permits home-schooling) is an underutilized gem in India. Yes, this is the "open-school" system,
where students can take class 10 and 12 board examinations without being enrolled in a formal school.
However, we seldom find students or parents who have tried out this system.
One such parent, shared his experience with us. He took his family far from the madding crowds and lives in the hinterlands.
This is something the internet could revolutionize and change forever.
I have been staying away from the mundane world for sometime. Kind of retirement place. And it's in the hinterlands. We have homeschooled our children. I dont believe in providing children with fake information. One is an Engineer and one is a Doctor. Successfully completed their studies and are doing well in their jobs. You can apply for the board exams. There is no restriction. At present, the parents are sheeple who want their children to just succeed academically. They have forgotten to seek out all round development of the children. Children are very receptive and they are like sponges. If you truly can understand the children's psychology..its easy to sit with them..be like them as seek out what interests them. A child needs freedom to explore his surroundings in his or her formative years. They should develop a sense of curiosity about what's happening around them.
Never force them to do something they dislike. If we want to hone their skills..we should start doing things and soon that will get the attention of the kids.
Once they start to show interest..they start asking questions. Once the questions are answered to their understanding and satisfaction, gently prod them to give their opinions.
Keep track of their development. They also need to respect the balance of the nature. They need to look at the stars in the sky in the night. They need to feel the gentle breeze and clouds.
They need to experiment with the elements. They need to understand what compassion is about the other creations on this planet.
The child who can grow in such set up will tend to grow as a complete human being. Every experience is different. There are no benchmarks. I am not rich. My father was a ranking Officer and we moved across the land in our formative years.
He was a sincere officer. We just had three pairs of clothes and we all slept on the floor.
Both my parents came from reputed families but they left that reputation behind and we stayed incognito.
posted Nov 20, 2019, 12:29 AM by Prashant Bhattacharji
[
updated Nov 20, 2019, 12:33 AM
]
An email on the Gyankriti School group, forwarded very kindly by their founder, Yograj.
It describes how a visit to the zoo can be structured into an excellent learning session for primary kids.
School trips are a critical part of learning.
-- Namaste!
Today all the students went for a tour of the Indore Zoo.
Problem: During the tour of various places in past our students have seen broken or worn out display boards and it was very difficult to know the details of the venue or the items there. They observed the same thing at Indore Zoo. Despite of so many renovation work going on at the zoo there is no proper way to get information of the animals. Similarly the blind people can't get any information.
Brainstorming the solution: We discussed this problem with the Grade1-3 students and encouraged them to find a solution of this problem. While we were brainstorming, the students came to realize that their own student radio channel on youtube (Gyanvaani) can be put to some good use for this task. They then linked this to easily accessible paytm QR code at each shop.
The students have good experience of making audio and video presentations. They recently made video presentation as as follow up assignment of Maheshwar Trip.
Solution proposed: Then 6 students of Grade1, 2, and 3 met the Indore Zoo curator, Mr. Nihar Parulkar and proposed their plan of making audio tour of Indore Zoo. The students will record description of zoo animals in Hindi & English. The audio tours will be available on any mobile phone by simply scanning a QR code near all the animals. The Zoo Curator was delighted to hear this idea from students and immediately talked to his superiors at Indore Municipal Corporation. The IMC has accepted the proposal of students and very soon Indore will hear the guided tour in our student's voice at the zoo. Isn't that fabulous?
posted Nov 19, 2019, 11:39 PM by Prashant Bhattacharji
[
updated Nov 20, 2019, 12:03 AM
]
These are consolidated recommendations from students and faculty from about 80 schools in and around Bengaluru - @InventureK12 team facilitated the group discussion & synthesized all the inputs into a document; arranged the inputs and feedback. We thank Inventure Academy for consolidating all these inputs in a document; and we also appreciate the hard work done by the teachers and students of the 80 schools involved, in enumerating so many critical points.
It is always great, to know first hand, what schools and their administrators, teachers, students and parents feel about various policies.
We thank Ms. Nooraine Fazal of Inventure Academy, for forwarding us their draft of inputs in reponse to the New Education Policy Draft of 2019.
We also thank Ms. Mary Whabi for helping us process this information, to upload on the website.
All 80 schools deserves a special shout out for participating in a session like this, to make a comprehensive list of suggestions and inputs, to help mould a policy which will
be critical in shaping future generations in India.
OUR
FUTURE, OUR VOICE: FEEDBACK ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY
(NEP) 2019
OF,
FOR and BY the STUDENTS and TEACHERS of KARNATAKA
Preamble
& Guiding Principles
“Don't
limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.”
Rabindranath
Tagore
“Take
to the path of dharma – the path of truth and justice. Don’t
misuse your valour. Remain united. March forward in all humility, but
fully awake to the situation you face, demanding your rights and
firmness.”
Vallabhbhai
Patel
WE,
the children and teachers of Bengaluru, AFFIRM that:
EVERY
CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO A HOLISTIC, MEANINGFUL QUALITY EDUCATION:
which prepares the child for life in India and in a dynamic,
globalised and interdependent world.
AN
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION SYSTEM MUST RECOGNISE CHILDREN, TEACHERS, SCHOOL
MANAGEMENT AND FOUNDERS AS PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS: who spend at least
about 220 days per year at school. Therefore their motivations,
concerns and needs should underpin the essence of the NEP 2019.
EACH
CHILD/TEACHER IS UNIQUE: While it is not viable or desirable to have
individualised learning plans for every child, an enabling education
system must cater to multiple intelligences, pace, style of teaching
/ learning, different needs, strengths, areas of improvement and
aspiration.
THE
FREEDOM AND AVAILABILITY OF CHOICE IS CRITICAL TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND
KNOWLEDGE CREATION: Each individual should have the freedom to
choose the education that best aligns or reflects their philosophy
and approach to education - as teachers and students / parents. In
addition to the draft NEP 2019 guiding goals of Access, Equity,
Quality, Affordability and Accountability, we believe it should
include Freedom of Choice as a core goal and guiding principle.
‘EQUITABLE’ EDUCATION IS
INCOMPATIBLE WITH A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH TO EDUCATION: The
proposals must strive for an equitable education aligned with the
proposed vision instead of an equal one (as the detailed proposals
seem to recommend). Thus the NEP must account for the difference in
circumstances of a variety of students, rather than mandating a one
size fits all approach for all.
ALIGNMENT
BETWEEN PROPOSALS AND FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTATION IS CRITICAL:
Proposals cannot be made in isolation or separate from ability to
implement; therefore it is critical that the NEP 2019 take into
consideration the feasibility of implementation, including
availability of resources. It must be financially viable for all
stakeholders and must be scalable within the time frame specified by
the Draft NEP 2019. Otherwise, it will be a hollow promise.
These
affirmations are based on the voices of children and teachers across
almost 70 schools in Karnataka. They reflect our collective
understanding of the experiences, perspectives, aspirations,
concerns and needs of the people most directly impacted by the NEP,
i.e. children and educators. Though each stakeholder group reflected
and captured their observations separately, the issues, concerns and
recommendations that emerged from both groups were surprisingly
similar. In addition, it is worth noting that both groups, reflected
on the effect of the NEP proposals on their own interests as well as
those of other primary stakeholders. We were very heartened to see
students in particular assess the potential impact of the NEP on
themselves as well on their teachers and management.
The
Draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 - released in May 2019 by
PM Modi’s Government shortly after winning the national election -
will, in the words of Dr K. Kasturirangan, Chairman of the Committee
for the Draft NEP, “change the educational landscape” of India.
It is aimed at “preparing our youth to meet the variety of present
and future challenges”. “The Policy is founded on the guiding
goals of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability.”
The
Draft National Education Policy of 2019 (Draft NEP 2019) is a
long-awaited document for all. It envisions a society based on
knowledge and principles of equity, and aims to provide a high
quality education for all.
We
appreciate the Government’s efforts in developing the NEP and and
the opportunity to share our feedback. While
the policy document appears to be quite promising in terms of intent
and some of the recommendations, there are several aspects of the
policy which need to be reconsidered in light of the concerns and
feedback of all stakeholders, and in particular the groups which will
be most directly impacted by the NEP 2019 - the students and teachers
/ educators themselves.
Inventure
Academy (a PreK-12
school based in Bangalore) in partnership with Karnataka
ICSE Schools Association (KISA - 290 member schools), Associated
Management of Primary & Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS -
3000 member schools), Management of Independent CBSE Schools
Association Karnataka (MICSA - 105 member schools) and Management
Association of ICSE & ISC Schools (MAS - 75 member schools)
organised the Our
Future Our Voice, a
day long symposium at Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park. The event was aimed at
giving students and teachers - those most directly impacted by the
National Education Policy - an opportunity to share their views and
perspectives on the Draft NEP 2019. 460 students and 80 teachers from
70+ schools from various Boards of Education, participated in the
symposium.
Key
Findings of the Charter which reflects student and faculty responses
include:
Students
and teachers recognise the importance of being “India centred”,
but strongly feel the need
to be prepared for an interdependent global world;
Both
students and teachers wantto retain the
freedom that
students, parents, faculty and management have on the choice of
vision and culture of the education institution, its leadership and
education approach, they believe is best suited to them. Most
students and teachers do not favour a common
national curriculumcreated by a single
government agency (at the Centre or State level). They want a choice
of Boards of Education (not just Boards of Assessment), type and
level of subjects, and learning materials. Failing
which, in the words of a student group, “otherwise India will
become like North Korea”;
Many
expressed concerns regarding the impact of reducing curriculum
content - whether this would adequately prepare them for college and
beyond. Also, how viable is it to expect textbook suppliers to
provide “quality textbooks at the cost of production”?
Disagreement
with the three-language
formula was evident,
with students and teachers not
thinking it is realistic for them to learn so
many languages from the Foundation Years to Grade 12. They also want
the freedom to choose how many and which languages they learn/teach.
They overwhelmingly believed they should teach / learn English;
Students
appreciated the ability to attempt Board
Exams “on up to
two occasions during any school year”. However, faculty and
students were largely unanimous in their opposition to eight sets of
board exams over four years for Grades 9 to 12;
Many
like the emphasis of co
curricular being
given as much importance as academics;
Students
and teachers overwhelmingly agreed that as primary stakeholders,
school management /
founders and teachers, and
not the general public,
should have a say in the way that schools are run. They
expressed serious concerns about their desire to continue as
teachers in the absence of this;
Everyone
welcomed the emphasis on teacher education. Teachers welcomed their
profession being acknowledged as one needing a one - four year
degree, but had apprehensions on how everyone would be certified by
the year 2030, as there is already a shortage of teachers and
teacher education institutions. Further a B.
Ed does not ensure that a teacher has the right philosophy or
attitude for education.
Concerns
about the feasibility
/ viability of implementation
of the Policy due to shortage
of teachers and funds,
therefore making the policy a “hollow promise”;
We
hope our charter is given the importance it deserves in formulating a
purposeful and effective National Education Policy that reflects and
includes the voices of the children and teachers of Karnataka. We
look forward to an opportunity to meet with the Government and the
Draft Committee to share our perspectives and findings in more
detail, and participate in an ongoing dialogue.
Children’s
Voices on Draft NEP 2019: Chapterwise Feedback
(Important to note
that this has been written by the students, in their voice)
Vision
Statement and Founding Principles
In
the words of the Student Drafting Committee, “We believe that the
vision statement in the Draft National Education Policy is too
limiting and that we can have an education policy that focuses on an
India centred education, while also educating Indians to be global
citizens. The NEP strives to level the playing field in education
across all backgrounds, ensuring equality and social justice.
However, we are concerned that it will do so not just by increasing
quality and standards in some areas but by decreasing it in others.”
Chapter
1: Early Childhood Care and Education: The Foundation and Learning
Things
we strongly agree with:
One
value we hold dear is the right of every child to a quality
education, irrespective of their socio-economic background. This is
shown as 90% of students in the Our Voice program are in favour of
the extension of the RTE Act to include students of ages 3-18.
Our
recommendations
The
policy should aim not only to reduce inequality in education, but
also within society itself. It ignores the fact that a child’s
family background is a huge factor in his/her educational
performance. Implementing this policy does not solve any of these
other problems. The government should also take strides to tackle
these problems as well.
Chapter
2: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
Things
we strongly agree with:
Majority
of students liked the proposal of a Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) of
less than 30:1
Our
recommendations
While
the idea of a PTR of less than 30:1 is a step in the right
direction, the students would prefer a PTR of at least 15:1, which
is needed to implement the vision of the Draft NEP.
As
a result of the deficit of teachers in India, the students would
like to recommend the following solutions using government funding,
among others, to incentivise teaching;
Higher
salaries for teachers
Tax
cuts on teachers' salaries
Subsidising/
providing scholarships for teachers through their education
Chapter
3: Reintegrating Dropouts and Ensuring Universal Access to Education
Our
recommendations
Students
have serious concerns regarding the protection of data in the
proposed database system which aims to track out-of-school children.
We believe the data should not be available to the general public
and that it should be stored very safely. A similar policy to the EU
data laws may be best.
Chapter
4: Curriculum and Pedagogy in Schools
Things
we strongly agree with:
92%
of students believe in placing equal importance on both academics
and co-curricular activities and having learning assessments for the
same.
A
large number of students are in favour of studying critical issues
and current affairs.
94%
of students agree with the proposition that the educational approach
should be more holistic, integrated & flexible; build cognitive
& soft skills, rather than emphasise rote learning; focus less
on content & more on developing skills/competencies; learning
should be discovery based, experiential, personalised and
multidisciplinary.
Students
strongly appreciate the ability to have multiple attempts at
assessment (schools must provide at least 2 attempts to students
willing to improve), but most not in favour of so many Board Exams
(8 sets of exams across Grades 9 to 12).
Over
80% are also in favour of the proposals on special needs, such as
the reduction of PTR in special needs schools to less than 25:1.
Our
recommendations:
Curriculum
We
believe that "One Nation - One Curriculum" could give rise
to the following problems and thus suggest that it should not be
implemented:
One
Committee will outline what every child in the country learns.
Centralising Education to a single body could be dangerous and
unworkable.
Doesn’t
allow for creativity and diversity in teaching and learning
methods. Doesn’t cater to every child’s personal learning needs
and aspirations.
We
believe that parents, students and teachers should be allowed to
choose what and how they want to learn and to keep what the
government mandates / dictates to a minimum
The
NEP should be implemented over a period of time, first at a smaller
scale, reviewed periodically, and then scaled up eventually.
Students
taking liberal arts subjects should undergo skill based testing over
content based testing.
This
develops critical thinking and an application based approach to
learning whereas a system based primarily on memorization and
recollection does not develop these skills which are essential for
success in any field.
Assessments
Students
should not have to take two sets of board exams per year for four
years as this will:
Create
more stress.
It
will hamper students who wish to pursue “extracurriculars” as a
profession, because students will constantly have to be preparing
for board exams.
Give
way to complacency as students may gain too much comfort from the
fact that they will be given multiple attempts at board exams.
So
we suggest that: With more investment in online testing /
technology and a logistically simple retake system, a testing
system that doesn’t impede the students ability to pursue other
activities can be put in place.
Learning Materials
Students
believe that textbooks should inculcate internationalism along with
local content and flavour in order to expose students to progress in
modern society and to prepare them for a global world:
Furthermore,
students expressed their desire to learn skills they will need to
succeed in a global world rather than learning the content of a
textbook, which provides a limited viewpoint of the world based on
what the author, publisher or the government believes is right or
what we students should learn.
Private
entities should still be allowed to produce textbooks at more than
the cost price:
The
resources available for learning should not be limited.
Governments
should subsidize these textbooks rather than restrict the right of
publishers in order to make them more easily available and so the
publishing houses can make a living.
Students
believe that teachers’ choice of learning material should not be
limited to NCERT textbooks. Our teachers know best what we need to
learn and how we learn.
Students
expressed concerns that reducing curriculum content would affect
their level of preparedness for the future (admission and
performance in college and careers). Hence, we believe there should
be an option to take subjects at higher levels of specialization.
Language Policy
Majority
of students want a 2 language system from grades 9-12 rather than a
3 language system.
English
should be a compulsory language where possible and stakeholders
should have the freedom of choice.
Foreign
languages should be offered before grade 9 and from at least grade
6.
Students
would like to emphasize language acquisition skills rather than
language learning skills.
Approximately
60% of students are in favour of a course on the ‘Languages of
India’ but would prefer for it to be compulsory for one year
rather than two.
As
much as 60% of students agreed that Classical languages should not
be compulsory and prefer it to be an optional elective.
Students
don’t believe that the language of instruction should be limited
to the local language/mother tongue as this isn’t feasible in
urban cities with immigrant populations, such as Bengaluru.
Students
also feel that if the curriculum is decided by the government, the
teacher should not be held solely responsible if a student fails to
learn.
Chapter
5: Teachers
Our
recommendations
70%
of students are in favour of the new B.Ed requirement for teachers,
provided this is a reliable way to ensure that teachers learn the
best skills and techniques to teach. However, this does pose a
problem as the majority of teachers currently teaching are doing so
without a B.Ed degree. We suggest a number of ways the government
can improve this policy:
The
B.Ed program should be updated, made more accessible, relevant and
cheaper
There
should be numerous ways for teachers to prove their capabilities
without having to stop teaching and earning as they too may have
families to support. They could do this either through part time or
online programs or other teacher training programs.
Teacher
training programs should not focus just on theory and technique but
on fostering the right temperament and attitude.
The
data on teachers should not be available to the general public, as
this could risk their safety.
Teachers’
salaries for public schools should be decided by the School
Management Committee and the State government.
Probation
for teachers should be cut down from three years to one year.
Private
schools should be given the freedom to decide what their teachers’
salaries are (ensuring that teachers are well paid). This way they
can incentivise hard work and creative teaching methods outside of
what the government proposes.
Schools
should employ separate administrative staff - to decrease the
workload on teachers, and administrative work should be kept
separate. This can be completed by others who work in their
respective fields, and who are not engaged in teaching.
Chapter
8: Regulation and Accreditation of School Education
Independence
of schools from SMCs and the general public:
We
feel that the private schools shouldn’t have to operate under the
SMCs because:
Private
individuals will be less incentivised to start an institution if its
management will rest in the SMC’s control instead of theirs.
Furthermore,
it is possible that the SMCs may be less experienced or knowledgable
than the educators and management that have been trained in this
field.
Educators’ Voices on Draft
NEP 2019
Vision
and Founding Principles
“Our
students need to fit into a global interconnected world. Learning
about their history and culture is important, but we should also
equip them to deal with the global stage.”
The
vision should include a global approach / perspective.
Chapter
1: Early Childhood Care and Education: The Foundation and Learning
Points
we strongly agree with:
We
strongly believe that early childhood education lays the foundation
for educational reform and are appreciative of the fact that ECCE is
now under the education framework and the RTE has been extended
downwards to the age of three.
Oversight
of ECCE by the MHRD.
Our
recommendations:
Institute
a public private partnership to help anganwadis benefit from the
pedagogy and resources available to private preschools.
Chapter
2: Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
Points
we strongly agree with:
Schooling
in the early years does not lay enough curricular emphasis on
foundational literacy and numeracy and, in general, on the reading,
writing, speaking of languages and mathematical ideas and thinking.
Teacher
capacity also plays a central role in the attainment of foundational
skills.
Chapter
4: Curriculum and Pedagogy in Schools
Points
we strongly agree with:
Teachers
appreciated the balanced curriculum with curricular and co
curricular subjects being given equal emphasis.
Teachers
also liked the spiraling curriculum, as opposed to the previous,
more linear one.
The
restructuring and expansion to include early childhood and grades 11
and 12 in the NEP is appreciated.
Our
recommendations:
Curriculum
The
schools should have flexibility to choose curriculum and books.
Restricting
books and content to NCERT only will curb creativity and the freedom
of schools to choose the best available content in the market. Will
also limit teachers ability to teach learners based on each child’s
unique needs & abilities. Teacher autonomy is critical for us to
be motivated and do the best by each child.
English
should be a compulsory language to enable children to compete at a
global level.
Flexibility
and variety of subject choice is good but how will schools afford
staff & space for it.
Reduction
of the content to core only may lead to future generations being
generalists and not being prepared for further studies or make
informed decisions about their future.
Spiralling
curriculum sounds promising, but in senior grades if children are
doing subjects only for one semester how would the curriculum grow
and spiral/progress.
Assessments
Teachers
felt the pressure would increase on students if they had four
continuous years of ‘board’ exams, twice a year.
Formative
assessments are a good step but will need a mindset change as
students and parents consider any assessment stressful.
Board
exam subjects listed seem low on Science and Math: will this lead to
children moving away from those subjects? We need more scientists
and innovators in India.
Teachers
were unhappy with testing for 4 to 5 languages at board level
especially with so many children who migrate across the country.
Language
Home
language as a medium of instruction is difficult to execute with so
many different languages, particularly in urban cities.
Teachers
not native to Karnataka or fluent in Kannada felt at a disadvantage
at the suggestions to teach in a bilingual manner.
Some
teachers felt knowledge of the local languages will help children.
Three
languages from the Foundational years is too much pressure on the
young children, one language as the medium of instruction with
another language introduced at grade 1 would be better. The third
language can be introduced at grade 4.
Teachers
were unsure of how schools would find so many teachers for the
Classical or other languages (we are experiencing a severe crunch
for even Sanskrit & Kannada teachers).
Another
concern is that we will not have enough time to teach other subjects
or life skills with so much emphasis on languages.
Chapter
5: Teachers
Points
we strongly agree with:
Teachers
appreciated the fact that the profession was being given its due and
there was a requirement to be qualified in education to teach.
Our
recommendations:
Requiring
all teachers to be B.Ed certified by 2030, with the B.Ed being a 4
year or 2 year full time program means that many would have to take
a break from their jobs to get certified. This did not seem
practical or feasible and many teachers felt that it would add to
the problem of insufficient teachers available across schools &
will impact their earnings.
A
3 year probation seems inordinately long and will not attract
teachers to the profession.
The
pay scales and grades should not apply to private and unaided
schools. We do not want a cap in our earnings.
CPD
is a good initiative but clarity is required on what comes under the
purview of CPD.
SMC
should not have significant decision making powers in the appraisal
of teachers since parents, civil society etc may not have the
necessary qualifications/ abilities/ first hand knowledge to be
unbiased during the appraisals. We do not believe that private
unaided schools should be governed by SMCs.
Chapter
6: Equitable and Inclusive Education
Points
we strongly agree with:
Inclusive
education being a part of teacher preparation.
PTR
in schools with URG’s being at least 1:25 (we think it should
ideally be lower).
School
environments to have concerted set of actions to sensitise learners
to diverse cultures, backgrounds and people with disabilities.
Chapter
7: Efficient resourcing and effective governance through school
complexes
Recommendations
SMC’s
should not be applicable to Private and Unaided schools. Private
school teachers are accountable to parents and the PTA already,
being accountable to civil society / media and others not involved
with the day to day operations of a school is unfair and could be a
threat to security from local vested interests.
It
will act as a deterrent to people choosing teaching as a profession.
Chapter
8: Regulation and Accreditation of School Education
Points
we strongly agree with:
Regulation
to empower schools.
Separation
of functions of policy making, regulation and academic standards is
a good move.
Public
Government schools being held to the same standards as private
schools.
Recommendations
Public
disclosure of all information: Clarity on what details of teachers
are being shared. Any sharing needs to be mindful of the privacy of
the teachers.
Why and How Our Future Our
Voice initiative was created
Our
Inspiration for Our Future Our Voice
The
Draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 - released in May 2019 by
PM Modi’s Government - is aimed at “preparing our youth to meet
the variety of present and future challenges”. We were happy to see
the Government coming up with a new NEP given the changes that have
taken / taking place in the world since the last one was released.
The drafting committee headed up by Dr Kasturirangan, consulted a
number of Ministries, Institutions, Associations, Organisations and
individuals. But as per Appendix VII of the Draft NEP, it does not
appear to have taken into consideration voices and opinions of the
people most directly impacted by the policy - students and teachers /
educators.
Inspired
by our success with Our
Safety, Our Voice1which resulted in
the Government of
Karnataka incorporating perspectives on child safety from over 1000
students from diverse schools & socio-economic backgrounds in the
creation of the Karnataka Child Safety & Protection Law in 2018,
we decided to create a similar initiative - Our
Future, Our Voice,
aimed at giving students and teachers an opportunity to share their
views and perspectives on the Draft NEP 2019.
Participants
at Our Future Our Voice
460
students and 80 teachers from almost 70 schools from various Boards
of Education, participated in the symposium. The schools included
Delhi Public School East, Bangalore, Delhi Public School North,
Bangalore, Delhi Public School South, Bangalore, Inventure Academy,
Parikrma Humanity Foundation, Appollo National Public School, Auden
Public School, BNM Public School, Bunts Sangha R.N.S Vidyaniketan,
Cambridge Public School, Christ School, Citizens English School,
Elite Public School, Gem International Residential School Alipur,
Gopalan National School, Pratham International School, Ryan
International School, Shishu Griha Montessori & High School,
Shree Mahaveer Jain Vidyalaya, Shrunga Vidyalaya, Shri Krishna
International School, St. Anthony’s Public School, St. Charles High
School, St. Dominic’s School (ICSE), St. Joseph’s Boys High
School, St. Mary’s Convent School, St. Michael’s High School, St.
Norberth School, St. Patrick’s Academy, St. Philomena’s Public
School, Tapovan School, The Paradise Residential School, The
Sudarshan Vidya Mandir ICSE Academy, United International School,
Vidya Niketan Public School, Vidya Saudha Public School, Little
Flower Public School, Gopalan Twinkler’s School, Holy Spirits
School, Indian Public School, Insight Academy, KALS, Lady Vailankanni
English School, Mitra Academy, Nazareth School, New Baldwin
International School, New Horizon Public School, Prakriya Green
Wisdom School, and St. Mary’s Convent School, We also had
representatives from NGOs such as Whitefield Ready and Teach for
India, participate in the event.
Flow
of the day
Presenters
included:
Divya
Balagopal, Education Law Specialist - salient points of the Draft
NEP 2019 with a focus on areas that impact students & teachers
the most
Shashi
Kumar, General Secretary, KAMS - inclusive education &
teachers
Nooraine
Fazal, Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Inventure Academy -
assessing the NEP on the desirability of the draft vision, its
suitability in terms of meeting the aspirations and needs of the
various stakeholders and the feasibility / viability of its
implementation
Panel
discussion moderated by Nooraine Fazal - students and teachers
perspectives on the NEP. Panelists included Radhika Surendran -
Founding Faculty & Lead Curriculum Developer for Theme Based
Learning, Inventure Academy, Kabir Madan - Inventure alumnus &
Student, Shiv Nadar, Sumedha Godkhindi - Whitefield Ready lead,
Rajan Thomas Choondal - Teach for India Fellow, Anitha Brijesh -
Vice Principal of DPS (Bangalore South) and Gayethri Devi -
Secretary of KISA & Principal, Little Flower Public School.
Students
and teachers then had breakout sessions facilitated by the Our Voice
Committee comprising of Inventure students and faculty to discuss
what they liked about the NEP, their concerns, clarifications they
would like and recommendations for the Government. Each group looked
at alternatives, including resolutions, petitions, and social media
posts. They then presented their top concerns/recommendations for the
Government to the entire audience.
Based
on the feedback we received at the Our Future, Our Voice workshop, we
have produced this Charter to communicate Our (children and
teachers’) Voices. It represents our shared-experience, suggested
solutions, and our aspirations for our individual and collective
future. We trust our voices will be heard and this Charter acted on
by the Government. We would be delighted to engage in a dialogue with
the HRD Ministry about the proposed education policy.
Conclusion
The
Karnataka Government and the Learning Community benefited
tremendously from incorporating feedback from students in creating
the Child Protection Policy for Karnataka. We welcome an opportunity
to contribute to the creation of the NEP. We would be delighted to
engage in a constructive dialogue with the HRD Ministry to ensure
that our futures’ voices are similarly heard for the mutual benefit
of all stakeholders.
Note:This document has
been drafted by a Charter Committee consisting of students, alumni
and faculty from Inventure Academy, and is based on the discussions
and surveys we conducted at the NEP 2019 workshop. We would like to
place on record a sincere thank you to all the schools, NGOs and to
the heads of KISA, KAMS, MICSA and MAS, and Divya Balagopal for
participating at the Our Future, Our Voice event. We are grateful for
the opportunity to learn and contribute to the future of children
across India.
1.
Our Safety Our Voice was organised by Inventure Academy in November
2014 in partnership with the UNICEF, ENFOLD (NGO), MLP (law firm) &
Feedback Consulting (market research firm). Bengaluru at the time
was awash with policies on how schools can be made safe for
children. However, students’ views had largely not been taken into
consideration. This event was organized to provide a platform for
children of varied ages, and backgrounds to voice their feelings and
opinions on personal safety and how different stakeholders can help
to ensure all children are safe everywhere. This helped shape the
Karnataka Child Safety & Protection Law implemented in January
2018. “Our
Safety, Our Voice”, brought together over 1100 children aged 8 –
18 years. In addition to group discussions, we also conducted a
survey of 1000 children, across 18 educational institutions and
NGOs. The population sample was carefully chosen to remove any
demographic, socio-economic, culture and gender biases. For more on
this please watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92_WOeVdMj4
importtweepyimportloggingimporttimeimporturllibimportrandomimportsubprocessimportcommands# Author: Vaibhav Goel, [email protected]# Consumer keys and access tokens, used for OAuth
consumer_key = REDACTED
consumer_secret = REDACTED
access_token = REDACTED
access_token_secret = REDACTED
# OAuth process, using the keys and tokens
auth = tweepy.OAuthHandler(consumer_key, consumer_secret)
auth.set_access_token(access_token, access_token_secret)
# Creation of the actual interface, using authentication
api = tweepy.API(auth)
# Sample method, used to update a status#x = api.update_status('test 3 Hello Python Central! #Bot2.0')#print x.id#y = api.update_status("very nice to see you, handshake", in_reply_to_status_id = x.id)defdiff(first, second):
second = set(second)
secondIds = [x.id for x in second]
return [item for item in first if item.id notin secondIds]
deftweet_url(t):
return"https://twitter.com/%s/status/%s" % (t.user.screen_name, t.id)
defget_replies(tweet):
user = tweet.user.screen_name
tweet_id = tweet.id
max_id = None
logging.info("looking for replies to: %s" % tweet_url(tweet))
whileTrue:
try:
replies = api.search(q="to:learning_pt", since_id=tweet_id, max_id=max_id, count=100)
except tweepy.TweepError as e:
logging.error("caught twitter api error: %s", e)
time.sleep(60)
continuefor reply in replies:
logging.info("examining: %s" % tweet_url(reply))
if reply.in_reply_to_status_id == tweet_id:
logging.info("found reply: %s" % tweet_url(reply))
yield reply
# recursive magic to also get the replies to this replyfor reply_to_reply in get_replies(reply):
yield reply_to_reply
max_id = reply.id
iflen(replies) != 100:
break
questions = [("For a string of semi-colon separated integers, write Ruby code to sum the first N numbers (results separated by semi-colons). (1 <= N <= 1000000)? \n If Input is 1;2;4 the output should be 1;3;10 (sum of first 1 number = 1, first 2 numbers = 3.. so on)",0,"1;100;1000000;10000000","1;5050;500000500000;50000005000000")]
questionTweets = []
for quizQ in questions:
if quizQ[1] == 0:
x = api.update_status(quizQ[0] + " #TLPCodeQuizBot2")
else:
x = api.update_with_media(quizQ[1], quizQ[0] + " Respond directly to this tweet (NOT to tweets below). #TLPCodeQuizBot4")
questionTweets += [x]
scanned_replies = []
congratulatoryStrings = [ a + " " + b for a in ["Aha, that is ", "Yes! That is ", " You got it, that is ", "Yup! That's", "Well done, that is "] for b in ["the right answer", "the correct answer", "correct!", " spot on! Congratulations"]]
incorrect = ["Thanks for trying. Try a bit more!", "Thanks for taking a stab. Try again!", " Think a bit harder :)", "Not yet there ... take another shot","That's not the answer I'm afraid.", "Not really. Try again!", "Thanks for trying. Try a bit harder!", "Thx for trying. Try a bit harder!", "Thx for trying. Take another shot at it!", "Nopes :( Try again."]
solved = [0for x in questions ]
defcheckAnswer(reply, answer, query):
command = 'echo \"' + query + '\"| ruby -e \'' + reply.strip() + '\''print command
print reply
replyOutput = commands.getoutput(command) #open('outputAnswer','r').read()print replyOutput
print answer
if answer in replyOutput:
returnTrueelse:
returnFalsewhile (True):
for i inxrange(0,len(questions)):
if solved[i] == 1:
continue
x = questionTweets[i]
q = questions[i]
replies = get_replies(x)
reply_list = set(diff(list(replies), scanned_replies))
print"*** Replies**"for r in reply_list:
print r.id
print r.in_reply_to_status_id
print"**"printlen(reply_list)
for reply inset(replies):
print reply.text
for reply in (set(diff(reply_list, scanned_replies))):
if reply.in_reply_to_status_id == x.id:
try:
reply_text = reply.text
print reply_text
for url in reply.entities['urls']:
reply_text = reply_text.replace(url['url'],url['display_url'])
print reply_text
if checkAnswer(reply_text,q[3],q[2]):
api.update_status("@" + reply.author.screen_name + " " + random.choice(congratulatoryStrings) + " #TLPBot3", reply.id)
linkToRightAnswer = "https://twitter.com/" + str(reply.author.screen_name) + "/status/" + str(reply.id)
api.update_status("Congratulations @" + reply.author.screen_name + " Solved! #TLPBot " + linkToRightAnswer)
solved[i] = 1else:
api.update_status("@" + reply.author.screen_name + " " + random.choice(incorrect) + " #TLPBot", reply.id)
print"@" + reply.author.screen_name + " Thanks for trying. #TLPBot"except tweepy.TweepError as e:
logging.error("caught twitter api error: %s", e)
continue
scanned_replies += list(reply_list)
print"*** Scanned Replies**"for scanned in scanned_replies:
print scanned.id
print scanned.in_reply_to_status_id
print"**"
time.sleep(10)
defconvert():
img = cv2.imread("/home/vaibhav1994/Desktop/tweepy/test.JPG")
sketch_gray, sketch_color = cv2.pencilSketch(img, sigma_s=50, sigma_r=0.07, shade_factor=0.05)
stylized = cv2.stylization(img, sigma_s=60, sigma_r=0.07)
cv2.imwrite("test_sketch.JPG",stylized)
# Consumer keys and access tokens, used for OAuth
consumer_key = REDACTED
consumer_secret = REDACTED #'oaImVO5gCpxIV7L23ZW8TzaKkNX5LhXpG1hmqfMRws'
access_token = REDACTED #'549856297-aQCu355sQXw5YNrbaLPmOE0u2qlNspATfgH9emAA'
access_token_secret = REDACTED #'nKMSB6mKbcn6a5j4t2LbWHclPswr5vm3dBhsEKVnCVTGW'# OAuth process, using the keys and tokens
auth = tweepy.OAuthHandler(consumer_key, consumer_secret)
auth.set_access_token(access_token, access_token_secret)
# Creation of the actual interface, using authentication
api = tweepy.API(auth)
# Sample method, used to update a status#x = api.update_status('test 3 Hello Python Central! #Bot2.0')#print x.id#y = api.update_status("very nice to see you, handshake", in_reply_to_status_id = x.id)defdiff(first, second):
second = set(second)
secondIds = [x.id for x in second]
return [item for item in first if item.id notin secondIds]
deftweet_url(t):
return"https://twitter.com/%s/status/%s" % (t.user.screen_name, t.id)
defget_replies(tweet):
user = tweet.user.screen_name
tweet_id = tweet.id
max_id = None
logging.info("looking for replies to: %s" % tweet_url(tweet))
whileTrue:
try:
replies = api.search(q="#TLPSketchPic to:learning_pt", since_id=tweet_id, max_id=max_id, count=100)
except tweepy.TweepError as e:
logging.error("caught twitter api error: %s", e)
time.sleep(60)
continuefor reply in replies:
logging.info("examining: %s" % tweet_url(reply))
if reply.in_reply_to_status_id == tweet_id:
logging.info("found reply: %s" % tweet_url(reply))
yield reply
# recursive magic to also get the replies to this replyfor reply_to_reply in get_replies(reply):
yield reply_to_reply
max_id = reply.id
iflen(replies) != 100:
break
questions = ["#BotTesting Want to see your pic 'Stylized'? Follow us, reply to this tweet with the hashtag #TLPSketchPic and attach a JPG image."]
questionTweets = []
for quizQ in questions:
x = api.update_status(quizQ)
questionTweets += [x]
scanned_replies = []
congratulatoryStrings = [ a + " " + b for a in ["Aha, that is ", "Yes! That is ", " You got it, that is ", "Yup! That's", "Well done, that is "] for b in ["the right answer", "the correct answer", "correct!", " spot on! Congratulations"]]
sketch = ["Here you go!", "Here's the sketch!", "And here we have a pencil sketch for you..", "The magic of picture to sketch is right here for you!", "Here it is!", "It's ready!" ]
solved = [0for x in questions ]
defcheckAnswer(reply):
if"tlpsketchpic"in reply.lower():
returnTrueelse:
returnFalsewhile (True):
for i inxrange(0,len(questions)):
if solved[i] == 1:
continue
x = questionTweets[i]
q = questions[i]
replies = get_replies(x)
reply_list = set(diff(list(replies), scanned_replies))
print"*** Replies**"for r in reply_list:
print r.id
print r.in_reply_to_status_id
print"**"printlen(reply_list)
for reply inset(replies):
print reply.text
for reply in (set(diff(reply_list, scanned_replies))):
try:
#if (api.show_friendship(target_screen_name=reply.author.screen_name)[1].following) or (reply.author.screen_name == "learning_pt"):
media = reply.entities.get('media', [])
urllib.urlretrieve(media[0]['media_url'], "test.JPG")
convert()
api.update_with_media("test_sketch.JPG", "@" + reply.author.screen_name + " " + random.choice(sketch) + " #TLPBot", in_reply_to_status_id = reply.id)
#else:#api.update("@" + reply.author.screen_name + " - Well, you need to follow us first!", reply.id)except tweepy.TweepError as e:
logging.error("caught twitter api error: %s", e)
continue
scanned_replies += list(reply_list)
print"*** Scanned Replies**"for scanned in scanned_replies:
print scanned.id
print scanned.in_reply_to_status_id
print"**"
time.sleep(30)
posted Oct 8, 2019, 6:26 PM by Prashant Bhattacharji
[
updated Oct 9, 2019, 12:43 AM
]
Gyankriti is a new school in Indore. They've adapted various activity based ideas into their curriculum. This is how they describe their journey so far!
You can email your journey to anyone of us and if we feel there's something in it for other educators to learn, we will definitely publish it here.
Recently, similar insights were mailed to us by the founder of a montessori school.
The journey so far:
Gyankriti was founded by two IIT Bombay alumni, Akshay Gupta and Yograj Patel, in the year 2013. They opted out of campus placements to setup a chain of preschools in Indore and nearby districts. Thrusted by a small round of seed funding, Gyankriti was able to open 8 preschools in Indore and Dhar region.
However the founders soon realized that the reality is far more difficult from the media hype they were getting. The parents would see preschools only as a parking space for 6 months to 2 years and later moved on to bigger schools. Secondly, it was extremely difficult to manage high quality of education and teachers across multiple physical locations. We then rolled back to a much more conventional setup with a big school at a single location. Eventually all the preschool branches were merged and all students were offered to shift to the new campus.
The new Gyankriti school campus is ideally located, away from the hustle and bustle of Indore city. The core concept of the campus building is to keep the raw materials like bricks and RCC exposed. It conveys a feeling of warmth and character and adds texture to a large blank space. The building is being developed as a Learning Aid (explained in detail here - BaLA), it aims to use the built elements like the floor, walls, pillars, staircases, windows, doors, ceilings, fans, trees, flowers, or even rainwater falling on the building as learning resource.
Currently the school is offering classes Nursery to Grade 4, we are increasing one class every year and wish to affiliate with the CISCE.
How we are different from most of the schools in India
The most challenging part of being an edupreneur in India is that people will often ask how you are different from the rest of the schools, but they will be scared to put their children in any school which is actually different from others. The courage to be a part of any experiment is lacking in our society. However thanks to our experience with the preschool chain and many of our existing fan following continuing with us, we were able to sail through with some hiccups. Gyankriti School has developed a fresh perspective on education to enhance the value and quality of education. Here we present the education philosophy of the school:
YouTube Video
Individual Attention through education technology:
Active Learning in a child centric classroom: We enroll only 15 students per section in the early years (Nursery to Grade2) and 25 students per section in Grade3 and above. This is really helpful in implementing innovative teaching models like ‘active learning’. The students in our school don’t sit in linear pattern facing the board, instead they sit in groups of 4-6 students. The teachers are less into lecture mode while classroom discussions are encouraged. The ultimate aim is to make all the days interesting for children and totally eliminate rote learning.
Use of ICT tools: Starting from Junior KG classes children are trained to use the necessary evil of computing devices in productive ways. Ubuntu education software packages like Gcompris, TuxMath, TuxPaint, Tangram, Geogebra, Scratch e.t.c are extensively used. We are following the computer science curriculum developed by Prof. Sridhar Iyer of IITB, where children start coding from Grade3. Apart from this, the school is also adapting Google Apps for Education, where all parents and teachers get a google account. All communications to parents happen online through gmail and google groups, teachers also use Google Drive to manage their classroom planning. We are using the Google Classroom app for home assignments, sharing documents e.t.c. We believe that the job of the school is to make children ready for the future and not for present circumstances. ‘Education for tomorrow’ theme is visible in each and every process at Gyankriti. For example, the name of our google group for Grade2 is [email protected], signalling the parents everyday that their children will complete schooling in year 2030 and hence we need to think from that perspective.
Ongoing experiments: We are also experimenting the blended learning models in our primary classes. One of the objectives is to reduce the human intervention, due to the continuous crisis of quality teachers. The idea is to use tools like KhanAcademy, Mindspark e.t.c. for subjects where students generally face problems like in English and Mathematics. We are working on both Station Rotation (groups of children doing different stuff in the same room, some working on devices while some learning from teachers) and Lab Rotation Models (part of the lecture delivered in class while follow up activities taken in the computer lab).
All-round development: 50% times for core academics. 25% for Sports. 25% for Arts. Performing and visual artsare taught as an extension and integrated with the languages and mathematics. This way children enjoy the arts throughout the year instead of limited period activity for annual days.
Self-Learning instead of Spoon-feeding: No homework in preschool years. Creative assignments in primary years. No tuition policy.
No Exams till Grade2: Following the continuous evaluation process to help evaluate the child’s development better by continuous day-to-day monitoring and feedback. The core principle is that we do “assessment for learning” instead of “assessment of learning”. Only the students are not assessed, the performance of teachers is also reflected from the detailed analysis. We are also developing the ethical values in students, contrary to what we see in our society where every one is running after marks. We don’t keep any invigilators during exam hours and children follow the honour code. We have not found any significant issues so far.
Parent-School partnership: Workshop every month. Sometimes we do it through video chat or youtube, when it is done offline at the school all parents use public transport instead of personal vehicle (School Bus facility). The workshops are helpful in understanding our unique or sometimes weird methods.
Community service is mandatory: Children clean the dining hall, wash clothes, wash utensils, gardening etc. once a week. We have our own farm too.
Children own the school: The children plant trees and sell their artworkto develop school facilities. They love to come to their ‘own school’ and read from their ‘own library books’.
Enjoyable learning experiences: Diverse activities, puzzles, field visits, worksheets, projects etc. makes learning a much more enjoyable and enriching process.
Learning beyond classrooms: learning becomes much more effective and relevant through hands-on experiences, dramatizing concepts learnt, applying the learning’s in real life experiences.
Modern Gurukul: Children learn about Indian History and heritage. Starting from Grade1 they all learn to speak in Sanskrit language.
All this freedom comes with a lot of responsibility: A common problem with private schools these days is that parents interfere too much in the school curriculum and market driven schools often compromise the school syllabus to satisfy the parents. We were very clear from the beginning that parents are not our customers, the children are. Hence we should do what’s right for children and not what is asked by the parents. We have strict guidelines for discipline, quality control, safety of children, standard norms and procedures applicable to everyone in our parent community. An undertaking of the parent handbook is signed by all parents at the time of admission. Everyone is made clear at the time of joining that school will follow its own curriculum and methodology.
PS: We are also open to any edupreneur or school visiting Gyankriti and taking inspiration (or even copying) our concepts or curriculum. It is like Free and Open Source Software. We just want this virus to spread, as we know we may not be able to personally open more branches of Gyankriti. http://gyankriti.com/en/network-schools/
posted Aug 22, 2019, 2:32 AM by Prashant Bhattacharji
[
updated Aug 22, 2019, 6:40 AM
]
(An aggregation of points from multiple people)
Deciding on a stream after Class 10, can be one of the most challenging decisions in the life of a 15 year old student in India.
There is a lot of pressure on many students to opt for the Science stream. There is no-size-fits-all rule for selecting streams.
What is the best subject combination for you, could be terrible for another student. You need to account for several factors, weighted appropriately.
If you already know that you want to pursue undergrad programs in technology, computing, engineering or medicine or natural sciences
There is nothing much to ponder over: you will obviously choose physics and chemistry - with mathematics or biology or both.
Choosing the fifth subject can be a challenge at times. Try to pick something which is reasonably light, enjoyable and useful in the long run.
CS and informatics practices are understandably popular subjects at the class 11 and 12 level. There is always a lot of value in studying a new
language as well (foreign or Indian). Avoid picking subjects like economics which involve a lot of pointless workload: the economics syllabus
of Indian boards, is focused on economic history instead of the basic principles of economics. It is not of much use in the long run.
You should, however, pay attention to your grade 12 mathematics and statistics, if you're interested in a long term career in economics.
Also keep in mind, that its quite easy to switch from science to other fields after class 12. It is much harder (often impossible) to switch from
arts to a science and technology oriented field. However, there are plenty of career options, even on the technomanagerial front, for those
who pursue commerce with mathematics or computer science.
If you neither like science and mathematics, nor can manage it
You have been in school for more than ten years, and by now you have a fair idea about where you interest and aptitude lies: and where it doesn't lie.
It makes no sense opting for the science stream in this case. Pick something you like and can excel in.
If you don't like science and mathematics, but can manage it
This can be a tricky one. Having science in class 11 and 12 does give you a bit of a base required to understand the social sciences much better,
at the college level. For example: economics requires a significant amount of statistics and linear algebra. A good foundation in biology and/or chemistry
can help understand neuroscience and neurochemistry which is so very foundational to the study of human psychology.
If you scored well in science and math in class 10, you could pursue the science stream with a non-technical fifth subject (or sixth subject) such as
psychology or economics.
If you scored poorly in science and mathematics, but want to take in in class 11 and 12
This can be a tricky one. The class 10 science score doesn't reveal or indicate very much but a score less than 75 in math should be a bit of a yellow light.
Physics is very dependent on mathematics and calculus in grades 11 and 12. The jump in physics and mathematics is extremely steep, after class 10.
A lot of students opt for science out of pressure and then regret the choice when they find the workload unmanageable. They end up performing poorly
in class 12 and this restricts a lot of their choices.
Humanities
Opting for the humanities with mathematics can open doors to careers related to law, via the well regarded CLAT examination.
Journalism is also a good option after humanities. But be aware that humanities in high school will restrict various options at the time
of college admissions.
Unless you are really unable to handle it, avoid dropping mathematics, regardless of the stream you choose.
Many of the country's top colleges require mathematics as a compulsory subject, at the grade 12 level, even for fields such as commerce and economics.
This should come as no surprise: commerce requires a fair bit of commercial math and the social sciences (economics, psychology, political science) are
increasingly switching to quantitative and data-intense methods to generate truly evidence-backed research; instead of qualitative research which is often
more prone to human biases. If you drop mathematics in class 11 and class 12, a large number of doors will be slammed in your face at the time of college
admissions post-class-12. And, chances are, that even if you do get admitted to programs like economics - the lack of sufficient math background might
be a serious impediment in your mastery of your chosen college major. Try to opt for mathematics, at least as an additional sixth subject, in case you
feel that you might not manage a great score in it in your class 12 examinations. The NDA examination also requires mathematics.
Opting for mathematics at the grade 11-12 level also makes it much easier to understand the physics portion of the medical entrance examination.
Many of those who perform well in the NEET, opted for both mathematics and biology at the class 12 level.
Of course: if you have really hated mathematics and struggle with it, do not force yourself to opt for it.
There are plenty of BA programs in languages and history and fine arts, which do not require mathematics at the class 12 level.
The only thing is that you should be aware of the doors which will close because of dropping mathematics.
Try to opt for Computer Science or Informatics if your school offers it.
Try to opt for one of these subjects regardless of your stream. The software industry is seeing a massive boom and data analysts are in demand.
Often, many of these jobs do not require an intense STEM background. Basic skills in programming, data structures and algorithms, can take you a long way.
Even a BA Economics with programming skills can be a good fit for business-analyst and data-analyst roles. The programming exposure in school
is very basic in nature, but it is sufficient to make you comfortable writing some elementary code. It'll also give you a fair sense of whether you'd like to
do this for a living at some point. Some basic programming skills can be extremely useful if you choose to pursue economics or psychology or linguistics -
econometrics, psychometrics and computational lingustics are fields which involve a mix of computing, statistics and social sciences/symbolic systems.
In addition, CS has been a very scoring elective in the last couple of decades. A lot of software work is in the space of business related information systems.
So, computer science can be a great elective for commerce students as well.
Try to opt for six subjects if you are in the commerce or humanities stream
If you are in the commerce or humanities stream, you probably don't have to worry too much about entrance examinations or lab work.
If you're in a reasonably good school which offers a variety of electives, use this time to opt for six subjects instead of five. It'll broaden your horizons
and give your education a certain breadth which college may or may not be able to provide. Apart from mathematics and CS (highly recommended)
and English Core (compulsory) and 2 standard humanities/commerce electives; you may also use this phase to explore a vocational subject
or a foreign language such as French or Mandarin which could make you an invaluable asset in the international expansion plans of various businesses.
Six subjects can also be a blessing at the time of college admissions. Many colleges such as Delhi University, use the score from four subjects (the best four,
including 1-2 which need to be mandatorily included). If you end up with a low score in one or two papers, chances are that your "best four" can be computed
without using these 1-2 scores which ended up bringing down your overall score.
Commerce with a humanities elective maybe better than the humanities stream
The syllabus for commerce subjects is well structured and rigorous in both CBSE and ISC.
The same cannot be said for humanities: the syllabus is badly diluted for most subjects and many reputed universities such as
Oxford or Cambridge, don't accept school leaving certificates from the humanities or arts streams of Indian boards.
In addition, because of subjectivity, the inter-examiner variability is often high in the humanities or arts subjects; and there is a high degree of
unpredictability in what scores you'll be awarded. Of course: if the arts and humanities are what truly interest you, that is what you should go ahead with.
There is no point coercing yourself into taking a stream you're not interested in.
Vocational subjects and fine arts
Certain subjects such as computers, informatics practices and biotechnology have a fairly well developed course structure and syllabus.
It is meaningful to study this. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the hundreds of vocational and fine arts electives which CBSE offers.
Painting, art, music and engineering-oriented courses are great subjects to learn: but the syllabus is substandard and the assessment is erratic
as there are often insufficient teachers with the training to evaluate scripts of such subjects in the board examinations.
There is no one-size-fits-all rule which can be applied while selecting subjects.
You need to factor in your interests, your aptitude and the career paths opened up (or closed) via the subjects you choose in grade 11 and 12.
Avoid making a decision based on peer pressure or parental pressure because the consequences of this selection of subjects, will often last and reverberate lifelong.
Choosing a school
If you want to prepare for entrance examinations, it is best to take admission in a school which isn't too particular about attendance.
Some schools make you sit through half a dozen pre-board examinations: they serve you no purpose, avoid them.
You could also pick a school which runs an integrated program with FIITJEE Pinnacle and the likes.
Otherwise: pick a school which has a reputation for good results in the board examination. There are various benefits in being able to claim
that you're an alum of a well known school. "Dummy" schools and dummy admissions should be avoided, as far as possible.
With CBSE cracking down on the non-attending/dummy business, it is also going to be very risky to enroll in dummy schools.
There is no real need for students to switch from ICSE to CBSE: the syllabus is more or less the same and the former has a more reliable examination system.
And is perhaps more generous than CBSE in grade 12. However, some ICSE schools are very strict about attendance. Avoid them like the plague.
Here is a summary of suggestions. This is largely a consolidation of points already made by several observers of the Indian education system.
1. Repeal the Right to Education and replace it by a voucher or direct-benefit-transfer system such as the one being proposed in Andhra Pradesh. the presence of aadhaar, makes it simpler to create systems like these.
2. Extend Article - 30 to all groups to bring parity and fairness in institutional autonomy.
OR: enforce a strict defintion of a minority institution where at least half the teachers and students are from the minority community. Currently, it is a loophole being flouted brazenly to avoid regulations which are
heaped solely on honest players who don't have a route to wriggle out.
3. Do not make any tweaks in the language policy. Learning outcomes are very poor inMathematics and Science and the first language itself and making 3 languages compulsory right from 1 to 12, will take away valuable time and bandwidth and might have a retrograde impact on the subjects and languages which already exist.
4. Boards are in a race to inflate scores and pass-rates. Force them to release a percentile score or a positional grade on the marksheets as the current scores are meaningless.
5. Having modular board exams is a good idea but keeping it too open ended will create utter chaos.
Keep a few basic rules: for example, a student can take the class 10 exam for a few subjects, right after class 9. Or: a student may take the class 12 exam for 2-3 papers,
right after class 11, if he or she is prepared and wants to get done with a few subjects.
It might be worthwhile to take ideas from the conduct of the A-level examinations in the UK where students are allowed to take a few papers (AS level) before the school leaving year.
6. Avoid a centralized curriculum, except for grades 11-12. Even for grades 11-12, only prescribe minimum standards (schools should be allowed to teach over and above the minimum standards) Different parts of the country; different socio-economic groups: all of them have their own preferences. The average rural child might not be able to handle the syllabus of an IGCSE or ICSE school, for instance.
7. Liberalize the board regime. The monopoly like status of CBSE has been extremely damaging for the sector.
Allow groups of school to form their own board as long as they have in excess of, say, 20000 students per batch.
Boards will compete and better systems will emerge.
As things stand, we have an absurdity where foreign boards like IB/IGCSE are running a curriculum and syllabus which Indians are not permitted to provide in the form of a new Indian IGCSE/IB like board functioning at an Indian price point.
8. As long as institutions have basic infrastructure and security, remove the NOC requirements. No NOC should be required from the state government, for affiliation to central boards - this leads to demands for bribes and the harrassment often discourages from serious players from entering the space.
9. The NCMEI injects sectarianism in the NOC regime: this body can be scrapped.
10. Mandatory education till class 12 might not make sense in an economy like India. By grade 8 a student has been taught the basics of language, math and science necessary for real world tasks. For those in rural areas for instance, education beyong class 8 might actually have a retrograde effect, of making them reluctant to stick to agriculture which requires work with the hands rather than just the mind.
11. There should be no form of government aid to theological institutions or educational institutions run by religious trusts, or faith based schools. This is neither acceptable nor desirable in a secular nation.
12. Avoid any sort of coercion as far as the medium of instruction is concerned. Allow parents to choose the medium they find best for their kids.
While there is evidence to suggest that students learn best in their "mother tongue" this mother tongue varies from place to place and community to community and person-to-person in India.
English medium schools can be a problem if the quality of the school and the teachers is the problem: this often has little to do with English as the medium.
Waging a war on English medium education will have disastrous effects not just on our education system but also on our economy in the long run. The domain knowledge for various subjects right from sciences to social sciences and technology, is held (almost) entirely in English, in our country.
13. There is a lot of meddling in education policy by NGOs which receive foreign funds, corporates vying for PPP funds, as well as foreign citizens who often represent vested interests of various organizations. By all means take ideas from data-driven research of experts or academicians or researchers, from all over the world - but as things stand, there are too many inputs from disruptive elements who often have ideology driven agendas. As things stand, there is little one can do against an NGO activist who walks in with a print out of the RTE, and brings an institution to a screeching halt. It will be more meaningful, to list primarily to Indian players (directly involced with institutions here) Indian stakeholders and well-regarded researchers with evidence based, data-driven inputs.
14. NCERT is not required for any task other than framing minimum syllabus requirements and for periodically assessing learning levels in different parts of the country (NAS surveys). NCERT textbooks are of a very poor quality in comparison to those sold by reputed private players.
15. School league tables should be published annually - indicating the mean or median score of students in various subjects (or in the aggregate score). Such information empowers parents and helps them select better schools for their children. It also sets up an incentive for schools to compete.
16. Infrastructure requirements for CBSE/ICSE affiliation need a re-think. Efficiently used space, with vertical architecture (5-7 floors) is the only practical way to run schools in many of our towns and tieis where land prices are simply too high to construct and run an affordable school with current land requirements (1 acre+). There should also be some provision for schools to be able to share playgrounds or rent them out for specific time intervals. Currently, many are unable to get affiliation, because of land requirements - while many schools have large playgrounds which are unused for several hours a day.
17. Teachers evaluating board examination answer sheets should be remunerated suitably given the amount of effort put in by students to write 2-3 hour exams which are currently marked and graded by disinterested, tired, over-burdened and/or unqualified teachers. There should also be a thorough screening and training session for teachers who evaluate answer scripts. Currently, boards are paying a pittance (between 5 and 30 Rs) for the assessment of answerscripts into which candidates have put in years of effort and hard-work.
18. Currently, many of our board papers require 15-20 pages of handwritten answer scripts which are corrected carelessly. The accuracy of assessment could improve if these examinations are partly computer graded (computer based testing or OMR/OCR sheets) - with a few pages requiring handwritten answers which can then be marked with greater thoroughness and care. This will also bring down the man-hours of manual assessment required in the process, thereby making it possible for a smaller but more knowledgeable group of teachers to correct the answer-sheets.
19. When it comes to scholarships which are often offered by central and state governments, discrimination based on caste or religion should be a strict no-no. Such invidious schemes exacerbate social tensions between different groups, based on their identity. Similarly, segregated schools such as those in Telangana, catering primarily to specific groups based on religion/caste, should be forbidden by law. Such institutions alienate marginalized groups instead of integrating them with society. A parallel maybe drawn with the US Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that American state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in terms of funds or quality.
There should be a strict check on discriminatory schemes which are often used by politicians for drawing support from various social groups seen as "vote banks": such provisions lead to an insidious partitioning of society along identity-based lines.
posted Aug 13, 2019, 7:00 AM by Prashant Bhattacharji
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updated Aug 13, 2019, 7:04 AM
]
A child’s early year’s development is what will help shape them into well rounded and broad-minded individuals. There will be countless influences on child’s early life which will inevitably be both positive and negative and how a child responds to the influences can be attributed to numerous factors but, in essence, it is down to neuroscience. This is something that shouldn’t be over complicated but it needs to be fully understood to understand a child’s development. One key contributor to the subject is Mine Conkbayir.
Childhood education and neuroscience are extremely closely linked but it is alarming how rarely the two are discussed in the teaching of neuroscience with inconsistency frequently occurring.
As an example, a superb early year’s international school with a British curriculum in Bangkok is Kidz Village. The school recognises the relationship with neuroscience and helping youngsters with their early childhood development.
Students and practitioners are encouraged to embrace the theoretical teachings from leading people in the sector including Piaget and Bowlby with explanations about how these concepts can be introduced into international schools with the British curriculum. All groups are encouraged to understand how learning environments and a teachers’ interaction with pupils influences very young children. When it comes to neuroscience, the same emphasis is not placed, overlooking that the two are closely interrelated. Understanding how a child’s brain develops in the earliest of years is crucial to their development.
Why is neuroscience so important?
Knowing how a child’s brain works helps us to understand how we should take care of the child and educate them. We need to understand what works and what doesn’t. When we adopt this approach, it becomes very easy to appreciate how the learning environment and interactions have a direct impact on how infants learn. Here are a few reasons why:
1. The first five years of life is when the most prolific synaptic activity occurs
It is during this period when a child acquires many skills that will be required in future life. This includes social skills, behavioural skills as well as being able to develop their language skills and start to learn about their environment. They will start to become aware of different cultural influences; something that plays an even more crucial role in an international school teaching the British curriculum. Teachers, parents and carers play a vital part in supporting and aiding healthy brain development in these early years.
2. The first five years is when plasticity is most rapid
We often hear the phrase that “a child is like a sponge, they are soaking everything up”. This, of course, exposes them to both positive and negative experiences to which they are extremely sensitive. Certain places and environments will quickly become familiar to a child and they will start to form neural connections. Teachers and parents must be fully aware of the potential these associations have in later life.
3. Cortisol and toxic stress
Cortisol is the stress hormone that is present in all humans and will have a compelling impact on early childhood development. Babies and young children must not be continually exposed to situations where they feel threatened or under stress. Their emotional and attachment needs must be satisfied along with the need for affection. If these needs are constantly not met, they will develop a hyper-reactive stress response. These forms of response, damage a brain's development which harms learning and the child’s development.
4. Brain physiology, cognition and learning are extremely closely related
The relationship between all three factors demonstrates that emotional well-being is essential to early childhood development. It is the foundation for cognition and learning ability. Parents, teachers and carers should endeavour to create a positive learning environment understanding that these influences are intertwined. This is crucial with the under-threes and should be carefully considered by international schools teaching a British curriculum.
Neuroscience and education
It is now vital that neuroscience is embraced within the education system. It is an alternative way of theorising and fully appreciating early childhood development and needs to be adopted by schools and education practitioners. However, neuroscience should be seen as part of our understanding of brain development and not the only tool. It adds a contemporary dimension to existing ways of thinking that is perhaps more in keeping with the modern world.
Early brain development and neuroscience are starting to be accepted if not embraced by early year’s teachers and practitioners. A greater discussion needs to be encouraged to fully understand child development, especially in the under threes although this is certainly not embedded in professional qualifications. A review by Professor Cathy Nutbrown emphasises this point as she identified the problem, explored it, but didn’t go into any depth.
There are some fantastic primary school teachers at international schools with British curriculum who often have excellent qualifications. However, merely filling a school with superb graduates isn’t a complete answer. Rarely have they been trained about the role of early brain development so it escapes their thinking when planning curriculum, activities and the learning environment.
Nursery education is now globally recognised as being essential in child development with Save the Children calling for all nurseries to be led by a qualified teacher. The teacher should incorporate neuroscience into the school to ensure that early childhood brain development is not threatened or hampered. Embracing the latest ideas and concepts from neuroscience and including cutting-edge theories can only improve early years’ brain development. Child development will be supported by teachers and practitioners who, in turn, will lead to creating an all-round educational experience for children.
Dowling (2004: 4) has called for the importance of utilising neuroscience in parenting, education and care stating:
“The challenge of understanding how the brain develops and how that understanding might help in raising the next generations to the best of our and their abilities is key to the future of humankind.”