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Preparing students for a better tomorrow: CBSE Board introduces new courses

Prior to the declaration of Senior School Certificate (Class XII) and Secondary School (Class X) the Board has by all means adopted the Modernization Policy in the following manner for Schools in India.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced three new courses for the current academic session 2010-11 for class XI and XII students. These include Mass Media Studies (academic/vocational), Geospatial Practices (vocational) and Hotel Management and Catering Technology (Vocational). A Memorandum to offer Hotel Management and Catering Technology courses in CBSE Schools was signed between the National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT) and CBSE recently. Around 26 CBSE curriculum following schools have opted for this vocational course, which has started as a pilot project.

Some of these Indian Schools include the Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, School’s of Delhi Government and schools and Central Tibetan School Administration have adopted these new additions. The CBSE and NCHMCT would jointly certify the programme. The two have laid down a format which will be used for reflecting marks/grades as the case may be, obtained by the student in examinations conducted by CBSE. All the matters on finalization of course design, updation, training of teachers for the course, skill development of students, theory examinations and conducting the practical examinations would be taken care by CBSE board. The course in mass media studies will be offered in 20 schools as of now and CBSE has also tied up with Whistling Woods International for the course. Similarly, CBSE Board has tied up with Rolta India Limited, for the Geospatial Practices course, which will be offered in 13 schools, to begin with. These private partners for this activity will not only provide the curriculum support for to CBSE schools but will also impart training to the teachers who will be taking up these subjects in the schools.

Offering such innovative courses at school level will help compensate the candidates with subjects of their interest and also give them sufficient time for choosing their career path once out of school. This will also compensate the vagaries and bring uniformity in the evaluation process. The mean achievement across subject-wise performance of the candidates attributes will also be brought out through the examinations.

According to Just Indian Schools if India needs to survive possible foreseen human resources crises, it has to gear up to prepare itself for which the foundation has to be made strong, right from schools by imparting skills not only in historical students but also related courses. Another reason for putting in place such subjects in school is to tackle competition that Indian Schools would face for any discrimination, if foreign boards and schools were allowed to enter the country as foreign education institutes and domestic academic institutions would be regulated by accredited agencies appointed by the government.

This could become an inspiring trend setter, for other schools like ICSE Schools, NCRTE Board Schools and other state board schools.

 

Implications of not wavering 10th class board examinations across all other 10th boards

Board Exams or the 10th class examinations are very important task for schools in India according to JustIndianSchools.com. The success or failure of a student depends upon their performance in the Board exams. Both the students as well as their parents take these exams very seriously, but this was the past scenario. Today not much importance is given to 10th standard Board exams, especially since CBSE schools have taken a stand to scrap of board examinations for class X.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had announced that, there will be no board examinations for Class X CBSE Schools. This decision was taken in order to reduce the pressure from Class X students of CBSE schools in India.

Most of the students in CBSE Schools, who are weak in Mathematics and Marathi or any other subject, are thankful to this system of grading. One can choose subjects other than Mathematics and Marathi in classes X, XI and XII. Kapil Sibal had also set up an alternative evaluation system based on percentiles and not percentages. A nine-point grading system is introduced for class X. Every student shall be promoted to class XI. Sixty percent of the grades in Indian schools will depend on internal examinations, which will be held by different schools using their own question papers. The answer sheets of the students of CBSE Schools will also be evaluated internally. The remaining 40 percent will be based on speaking skills and physical education. Students with lowest grades will also be promoted to class XI, but will be required to improve their performance through two chances.

However, there is a mixed reaction from Indian school principals, educationists and parents about this new system. Some of the educationists think that the advantage of keeping 10th Board examination optional will reduce the stress and burden upon the children. Apart from that it will decrease the suicide cases. Where as some of the educationist have to say that, they don’t think that the decision of abolishing 10th class board examination is right. The board exams create a fear in the mind of students that they have to study. Also this makes students ready for 12th class board exams in India. The idea of grading system for schools in India is the worst system as, the students who study will also think that there is no profit even if they study hard and this will lead to a casual attitude of Indian Schools. Where as some students have to say that board exams are unnecessary because they are not perfect to test the skill of the students.

If the government thinks by abolishing class 10th Board exams, they can reduce the tension from the student, it is absolutely not! Class Xth Board exams help students to choose streams to take up in the  after schooling. If the student them selves don’t know in which subjects they are good at, how will they choose their study stream. Even if a student has escaped from this exam, they will have to face higher level examinations and they will never be able to gain confidence in themselves. According to most of the students, parents and educationalists, the decision of abolishing the class X board exam is a boon for students.

Abolishing 10th Board Exam for Schools in India is simply an experimental course. Grading system gives the student the idea that education is not all that important. It means students should give more time to sports and other extra-curricular activities and lastly to studies. The 10th board exam helps students to prepare for 12th standard board examinations. If the Government decides to abolish class X Board exams, so as to reduce the tension from the student, even class XII exams will also be scrapped off eventually. According to JustIndianSchools.com, instead of abolishing Xth Exam, students should be constantly analyzed and examined during their class X, so that they do not feel the pressure mounting at the time of board exams.

Advantages

  1. Students would not do any wrong activities under pressure such as suicide
  2. Students will indulge themselves more with sports and other activities
  3. Less study pressure on students
  4. Increased passing rate among students, especially from rural areas

Disadvantages

  1. Student may not show full interest in studies
  2. Teachers may not pay full attention to students
  3. No uniformity in education systems of India e.g. CBSE will have no board exams while ICSE schools and other state boards will have to face the same
  4. CBSE board curriculum will loose its popularity
  5. Students will find it difficult to compete with children from other boards

 

Review of Rural Education in India

Right to Education is the primary right of every citizen of India, whether a child resides in a high profile society or in a far away not so developed secluded village. Schools in rural areas are promoted to raise the level of education and literacy in rural India. The main aim of running these types of schools in India is to increase the rates of literacy in rural areas. More than 40 percent of India’s population is illiterate and cannot read or write. And schools in rural areas are inadequate and often equivalent to being non-existent. Thus, government’s initiative to set up schools in rural areas came into picture. According to Just Indian Schools the conditions of rural education in India, is improving steadily and the government is also providing full support and providing with many initiatives. The fee structure in these schools is also very low so that every child can study and afford it.

Though there are very few schools in rural areas, children and their parents are showing interest and availing school facilities in these remote locations. Children have to walk miles to reach their school. Rural schools pay special attention to children in these locations so that each child gets an equal and important opportunity. They promote reading and writing and enhanced basic education. These schools also provide study material to every student apart from, meals during school hours, uniforms etc. Rural village schools also have implemented library system, which provide books, newspapers and magazine to children. They not only provide science kits and equipment for hands-on-learning, but also notebooks, textbooks and pencils to poor children. Apart from that they also give scholarships to deserving students regularly, who wish to study ahead. They create community awareness, about the need for education and world literacy. Many indirect benefits of a basic rural education include poverty reduction, disease control, enhanced employment opportunities and increasing rate of literacy. The curriculum includes English, Mathematics, General Knowledge and Drawing. Apart from that they also provide Value Education and Computer Education. With the help of rural education every family and child has excess to basic primary education. Individual’s special talents are recognized. The teaching methodology ensures that each and every student is exposed to educational experience in an active and dynamic learning environment, so that they can achieve excellence. Teachers also encourage every student to express their views, observations and experiences. The main objectives of rural school’s is to ensure that every child in rural India receives quality education which prepares them to compete in the competitive global environment. Rural education initiative has the following objective:

  • To provide free standard education to rural children
  • Supporting children for higher education
  • Guiding and Supporting Research scholars in Educational Development
  • Implementing new teaching methodologies and Assessment system
  • Promoting all schools to stress free environment.

Problems faced in rural education in India

  1. Teachers of rural schools in villages and small towns receive low income so there is a possibility that teachers give less attention to children.
  2. Most of the schools do not have proper infrastructure. So they do not get most of the facilities such as computer education, sports education and extra-curricular activities.
  3. There are no proper transport facilities so children don’t like to travel miles to come to school.
  4. There is no excess to supplemental education.

Present Scenario

In India, condition of rural education is still improving, the conditions of these rural schools is still very poor. There are very few schools in the rural areas and children have to travel far away distances to avail these facilities and most schools in these locations do not provide drinking water. The quality of education is also very poor. The teachers get very less income so, most of the time the teachers are either absent or they do not teach properly. There are many initiatives taken by the government, but they are not implemented in the schools, so the present scenario remains the same.

Urban education v/s Rural education

  • There are many schools in cities and towns whereas; there are very few schools in villages and the rural areas.
  • There are transportation facilities like bus pick and in urban schools where as children in rural areas have to walk miles to reach their schools
  • Basic amenities like no drinking water in provided in some of the schools in villages
  • Level of education in urban schools is far advanced as compared to the basic level taught in rural schools
  • Computer education is given high importance in urban areas where as very few schools in villages give computer training
  • Group classes are taken by using video conferencing and audio conferencing in urban schools where as no such facilities are provided for students in rural schools
  • The teachers are given tools like laptops, printers to provide notes and other important notices to the children in urban schools while there are no such facilities in the rural schools
  • School infrastructure in case of cities and urban areas is much more advanced as compared to that in schools in rural areas where some times children are even made to sit on the floor due to non-availability of furniture
  • School education in urban areas is more advanced especially since there is a lot of computer aided teaching
  • Apart from the course curriculum rural schools are not able to involve children in other activities like sports, co-curricular activities and competitions. Such events and activities tend help in the over all development of the children

 

Complied by ~Sineen N Qureshi

 

Grading system in Board exams

The introduction of grading system and Continuous and Comprehensive Exam(CCE) have proved beneficial for students according to the Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. Considering doing away with the Class 10th Board examination (CBSE) and setting up an alternative evaluation system based on percentiles, not percentages is indeed going to be a path breaking step for Indian education system.

Such grading system will indeed pay off dividends in making the tests stress free and reducing the rate of suicides among students. The Class X results in CBSE this year has been better than last year, as quoted by the systems officials. While 89.28 per cent students cleared the Class X test, the pass rate was 88.84 per cent last year. Mr. Sibal took a bold step last year by deciding to abolish Class X board exam from 2011. Besides, he replaced grades by marks in the Class X exam in CBSE.

The ministry feels that since the child moves up from Class 9 to Class 10 in the same school and there is no reason, for either the student or the parents to get traumatized by the 10th Board exam which, make it unnecessary to have a board exam. The Right to Education (RTE) Act will pave the way for state education boards replacing the Class 10 board exams with a grading system. “Under the RTE, elementary education until Class 8 is under comprehensive and continuous evaluation. Once you have that system until class 8, is no point in changing over to an exam system in Class 10 in India as decided by the authorities.  The major changes being introduced in school education include a uniform syllabus for all central and state boards from next year. The human resource development ministry is also pitching for a single national-level entrance test for Class 12 students from science and commerce streams applying for undergraduate courses from 2013.

The act pitches for classroom assessment of students instead of an annual exam. The Central Board of Secondary Education introduced a grading system for this year’s Class 10 board exams and will make the exam optional from next year.

It is assumed and stated in the philosophy of the current Indian educational system that grading encourages learning and without it students would not study. The system is based on fear: the basic motive for students to study is fear of low grades. Furthermore, because the grades are the main criteria for passing courses, students do not study: they just develop methods of cheating. Thus, without learning the subject, they keep passing.

Advantage of such type of education system is that, the suicide rate of students due to exam stress has come down this year and the system has become more student friendly too. Many seemed skeptical about the approach and its benefits but the results this year have put all doubts to rest. More state boards will be influenced to take up this kind of grading system in the near future. In this way, the course content is also likely to change and exams would be aimed at testing the talents of students. The Indian education system which is marks-centered and examination-based is a source of trauma for both parents and children. Knowledge, like everything else, should be user-friendly, and the acquisition of knowledge should not be a stressful exercise. This will rather help students decide which stream to follow in class 11 rather than for the schools in India, to force it on them. In high schools, if a student passes five out of six exams, he/she will be declared passed and there are provisions for compartment exams. Although there will be no division mentioned on the report card with a provision for grading and credit system.

With every new system being introduced there are always some limitations~ ultimately, it is the student’s aptitude that should decide whether he or she wants to study medical, engineering, arts or science. Hence having the marks system or grading system will cause no harm and Xth board’s class, be the first ones to experience the change in making. Since the righteous and deserving student will clear it any which ways.

The new system will it remove the trauma from education or is it just another biased way of helping children cope with the current system? Well Just Indian Schools says so because even if the student has such a moderate education system he/she will hardly be able to cope with the pressures of performing while moving up the education ladder.

Choosing between Private education v/s Public School Education

Parents many a times are in a dilemma whether to send their children to a private school or public school. How does one make a comparison between education in private schools and public schools in India? According to Just Indian Schools a discussion like this should consider the following factors:

  • Teaching
  • Class size
  • Focus on personal development
  • Administrative support
  • Budgets
  • Facilities

Teaching

Public sector teachers are generally better paid better than private sector schools. Moreover compensation varies widely depending on the local economic situation. Unfortunately low starting salaries and small annual salary increases result in low teacher retention in many public school districts. Additional benefits in public sector benefits have historically been excellent; however, health and pension costs have risen so dramatically, that public educators have been forced to pay more for their benefits.

Private school compensation tends to be somewhat lower than public. Again, much depends on the school and its financial resources. One private school benefit found especially in boarding schools is housing and meals. Both private and public schools in India require their teachers to be credentialed, which means a proper teaching certificate would be required.

Generally private schools in India tend to hire teachers with advanced degrees in their subject over teachers who just have an education degree. That means a private schools hiring an English teacher will want that teacher to have a degree in English language and literature as opposed to an education degree with a minor in English.

Class Size

The main reason many parents begin to consider a private high school is because the classes are small. Individual attention is one of the key pointers of private education in India. You need teacher to student ratios are 1:8 or better to achieve that goal of individual attention and to ensure that your child is not lost in shuffle.

On the other hand a public system has to take almost anyone who lives within its boundaries. Public schools in India generally have much larger class sizes, some times exceeding 30-35 students in some schools. At this junction teaching rapidly declines and student’s attention also decreases.

Focus on Personal Development

The major focus of most private high schools is getting the student ready for higher studies, college, personality development apart from the academic preparation. In such a way, a student can emerge from high school with both a degree and a clearer planning of their future career.

Administrative Support

The longer the hierarchy, the harder it is to get decisions made at all, much less to get them made quickly. The public sector education system is notorious because of its stringent work rules and bureaucracies. This type of union is generally a result of political considerations or union associations.

Private schools in India on the other hand generally have a lean management structure. Every rupee spent has to come from operating income and endowment income. The other difference is that private schools rarely have teacher unions to deal with.

Budgets

A lot depends on the school's annual budget since it’s a correlation between the local property taxes support and the political business. In poor communities or communities which have many voters living on fixed incomes, there is very little time to respond to budget requests within tax revenues projected.

On the other hand private schools in India can raise tuition fees and also raise significant money from variety of other sources like annual appeals, donations, alumni membership charges and grants from foundations and corporations. The strong commitment towards private schools in India by alumni makes it possibly a success for raising funds from alumni.

Facilities

Private high schools have been giving a lot of focus on building their body of knowledge through a fully equipped library, which are now called media centers.  Whether a private school is large or small both media and learning centers become the focal point of the very best private high schools in India.

Private schools in India include the rating of athletic activities in their curriculum. Many private schools in India and international schools offer sports like hockey, racquet sports, basketball, football, swimming, as well as dozens of other sports. Besides professional staff to coach the teams and manage these athletic programs, private schools  also have the facilities to house and support all these activities.

Apart from sports extracurricular activities are a major part of private high school programs like choirs, bands and drama clubs can be found in most schools. The teacher’s guide or coach extracurricular activities as part of their job requirements.

In public schools the first programs to be introduced to the students are sports, arts programs and extracurricular activities.

Although the trend is changing now where many public school facilities are becoming impressive; others still remain mediocre. In some cases the same is true of private schools. In the public school system, the two pillars of political support and economic revenue base are critical.

Whereas in private schools the ability to attract parental and alumni support endowments and other forms of financial support are just as critical. Today private schools in the range of K-12 education have shown enough attention to facilities and amenities pertaining to school infrastructure which even surpass those found at many colleges and universities. It is hard to find comparable facilities in the public sector, that might be fewer in number and in between.

Public schools also reflect the economic realities of their location. Wealthy suburban schools will have more amenities than inner city schools as a rule. Who do you think has the edge? Just Indian Schools says it’s a draw what’s your take on my consideration?

Finally, private or public sector schools in India who comes out on the top? There could be no clear cut answer or conclusions. Both private and public schools have their advantages and disadvantages. The question for parents is which works out best for you? Weigh your options before making your decisions.

Developing the spirit of sportsmanship in children at school

The best way to encourage children in sports, like anything else, make it fun!! Just Indian Schools believes in taking a more important role in sporting the development of children. The best way to encourage children of today’s generation to play sports, is to expose them as early as possible, to as many possible sports and outdoor activities.

Sports & Games is not about X-box or I Pod’s. Sports can be individual or team oriented, and sports give children a chance to dream. Junior (kid’s) surfing contests, snowboarding, cricket, gymnastics, football, basketball etc . Expose children to as many different sports early, so they can try many before they zero down on which is their favorite spirits.

If you can ease the child’s efforts and focus on the enjoyment you can pretty much get them to do anything from eating cabbage to doing their homework. Especially in today’s day and age where children are prone to just sit inside and watch television or play computer games, according to Just Indian Schools the government should get more involved and invest more money in getting young people fit and healthy.

Teachers play a very important role in encouraging the children. In the family for example, adults should play sport regularly, if kid’s see the older ones enjoying sport then they will be encouraged to do it as well. The most important thing however, is that parent’s should never sport dreams or preferences onto your children because that could discourage them. In the earlier times sports games were largely limited to cricket and football, depending on which teacher the schools in India has appointed. It is indeed a good scenario now and there are so many choices to make at badminton, gymnastics, golf, swimming, basketball, tennis, cricket or athletics etc.

Another alternative is that local schools in India with limited budgets can also offer sporting facilities to each other, thus enabling children access to a much wider sporting curriculum. If possible schools in India could also have their own choice of sports activities and even the least popular sports would then have enough support across several schools to make them viable.

Another interesting observation is that these kids who accompany one or both parents and other family members to ball games (like cricket or football), shuttle a lot of other games like badminton, hockey, gymnastics etc. Parental guidance and sports nurturing plays a great role in the children’s early development, enjoyment and future participation in sports.

Speaking about the good schools in India that have good financial backing with good direction and a balance between studies and sports . For every, good school present there must be dozens or more of average to poor schools, needless to say with poor or no sporting facilities. Sports to these kids are just dreams.

Then comes the government aided or even the lower end schools in India that cannot afford or simply do not have playing fields. Many very great sportsmen in out country came from these backgrounds.

In the long run Just Indian Schools feels that sports development should be a must across every school in the world, instead of spending billions of dollars on arms and weapons of mass destruction, and then spending more billions trying to eradicate terrorism.

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