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Quest
Students speak
GEETA PADMANABHAN
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What do students feel about the current educational system? A survey held in Chennai gives some answers...
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Some issues in our educational system just refuse to go away. Crowded classrooms. Assessment-weary teachers. Killing competition. Unreasonable workload. Absurd expectations from both schools and parents. Memory as the benchmark for examinations. Are schools becoming heartless educational factories?
Adyar Lodge, the headquarters of The Theosophical Society in Chennai decided to find out. With the help of Professional Consultancy Services they conducted a mini survey among city students. Questions included: Is there emphasis on knowledge over memory? Do cultural activities swing along curricular inputs? Do sports activities vie with school and home-work? Do kids spend quality time with parents? Do they regularly interface with their teachers? Are they positively motivated or do they perform under compulsion? Crucial questions, given the quality of our education.
These were put to 56 students from different parts of the city. Care was taken to see that the students were representative of social, economic and academic diversities. The results were measured using the proprietary "CVKM Twin-Scale". It measures how important each aspect is, and how satisfactory its implementation. Kids responded to a total of 12 factors. The results derived were translated into a scale of 1 to 7. Mr.C.V.K. Maithreya, President of the Adyar Lodge, presented the results to a heterogeneous audience of students, parents, academicians and others, during a two-day seminar on "Holistic Education" held last month.
What the findings meant in real terms was that:
Students considered knowledge as being more important than mere memory. But most felt it was the other way round in the present system.
They felt not much was being done for the overall development of the student.
Cultural activities at school were found reasonably adequate, although pockets of students felt otherwise
Opinion on sports activities was neatly divided. This could be because all schools did not have identical sports facilities or activities.
All students considered "quality time with parents" as being important, which is hardly surprising. Some did not seem to enjoy this privilege. Yet, raise a toast to Chennai parents — a large number of respondents felt they got parental attention. (They weren't asked if they got too much of it). Also, the survey couldn't be sure if the term "quality time" was properly understood.
The student-teacher ratio seems to be causing concern among students, who see personal attention in the classroom as being clearly inadequate.
It was compulsion and not motivation that got them through academic work. Students appear to be under pressure to perform for a variety of negative reasons.
Most students expressed the need for career counselling, which seems almost negligible in the city schools.
While the facilities available in the city schools were found reasonably good, practical methods of teaching were found inadequate. When asked whether the reason included inadequate expertise among teachers, a Principal remarked the present educational/ examination system did not provide enough opportunities for practical methods. Most often theoretical learning found precedence over experiential learning.
In a very welcome trend, the students welcomed social and community service activities along with studies. Stepping up these activities, no doubt, would increase social awareness among students.
By and large the students felt that in city schools, one did not get discriminated against. Background, one way or the other, did not matter.
In their response, the students give us a clear indication as to where our energies should be focussed. Most city schools boast of many facilities. But if students study out of compulsion, where is the "joy of learning/ discovery" that's a child's privilege? When will teachers say, "We teach Math through baking a cake", or "We did First-Aid today and wrote a Process on it" instead of the horrified "Oh, I need to complete my portions!" Do we want to take drudgery out of the school system? Do we want to give the kids sharp analytical skills that will equip them to make compassionate, intelligent choices in life? Do we want to give them the love of reading? Instil in them consideration for the less fortunate? Are we doing enough so that at a later date, the kids will "pick up" and not "add" to the litter? Are we giving them an education that is relevant? One Principal believes changing the examination pattern is where the revamping should begin, and the rest will follow. Motivation, personal attention, innovative teaching methods, career counselling and more opportunities to serve the community are aspects which need the urgent attention of the "powers that be" in the educational system.
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