Crisis in School system

crisis in school system Posted by: "Sheetal - Karmayog" info@karmayog.org Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:46 am (PST) Wipe the Blackboard Clean....URMI GOSWAMI Only when schools and teachers are empowered can there be a visible difference in outputs Two reports, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Annual Status of Education Report in Rural India (ASER), leave no doubt that there is a crisis in the country's school system. Children, even when they attend school, are not learning as well as they should. This is not new. The response has been to stress on interventions to improve the 'quality', particularly of government schools. This debate needs to be anchored in facts if we are to avoid jumping to the conclusion that the government school system has failed or that it doesn't require the exchequer's support. First, there is a difference between learning the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic), textbook learning and learning to think. ASER surveys children's skills of basic reading and maths skills at primary school or class-V level using standard texts. PISA tests critical thinking in maths, science and reading; it doesn't measure memorisation, rather demands drawing on knowledge and real-world problem-solving skills. Second, low learning levels plague the entire Indian school system. The focus has been on government-run schools. Though not quantified to the same extent, the learning problem is experienced in private schools as well. The problems revealed by ASER are likely to be less evident in private schools, because these schools cost money, pre-supposing that children who attend it have the requisite home environment and resources to buttress their school learning. Third, as the biggest education provider, problems in the government system are more evident. One reason why low learning outcomes is a bigger problem in government schools is because most of these children come from poor, disadvantaged and marginalised families, and often they are the first-generation learners. Given the sheer size of the government school system and the diversity, devising toscale solutions is difficult. Fourth, there has been a perceptible rise in the enrolment in private schools. Just about anyone with a bit of surplus money is sending their children to private schools. Two factors that contribute to this migration are teacher apathy and aspiration. A standard complaint is that teachers in government schools are not interested in teaching; often don't even come to the class. In private schools, because the management has far greater oversight, teachers - even when paid, according to some studies, only 20% or just 10% of a government teacher's salary - are seen in classrooms. Private schools invariably address aspirational issues such as teaching English and computers. So, the perception is that only private schools can help peopl