Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Education reforms

Our education system was badly in need of a revamp. The UPA government’s decision to enact the Right to Education Bill is a step in the right direction. So is the proposal to make class 10 examinations optional. Students preparing for the class 10 board examinations are made to go through a gruelling rigmarole of models and pre-boards even before the actual ordeal begins. Not to mention the heavy burden of parental expectations and peer pressure. Examinations have become instruments with which to chastise the hapless students.

The idea of creating an all-India school board is also commendable. Hundred days is a short time to achieve the ambitious goals the government has set for itself. It definitely needs to buck up.

B. Meenu,

Kottayam

With entrance examinations being mandatory for practically all courses and jobs, why should we have public examinations at all spending crores? Is it not enough for schools to issue a course completion certificate after classes 10 and 12?

The certificate should be based on continuous internal assessment, periodic assignments, study tour reports, extra-curricular activities and minimum attendance. This will make the students independent and more confident.

Joseph Antony,

Kottayam

The proposal to make the tenth standard board examination optional and to have a single board across the country is undoubtedly a step in the right direction of revamping and redesigning our education system. There is need to infuse quality content in high school education, with qualified and trained teachers; and the vocational preference of students must commence at the school level as per their taste.

This will prepare them for the qualitative leap in the plus two level of study. There should be a greater focus on training students in job-oriented skills. It will go a long way in improving and reviving our country’s rural industrial scenario.

K.V. Raghuram,

Wayanad

The proposal to create an all-India school board is brilliant. But it will be better if we had a common entrance examination for admission to all technical institutions.

Millions of students and their parents will benefit financially and will be relieved of mental agony.

G.B. Rout,

Hyderabad

Education up to class 10 provides an introduction to all fields of study. The board examination certifies that the students who wrote it have acquired a certain level of knowledge in all branches of study. Only after taking it, a student is in a position to determine which field suits him or her the most. The proposal to make class 10 board examination optional, therefore, is not good for the students.

K. Arun Balaji,

Chennai

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