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Latest News |
| 24th
February 2010 / Times of India / Mumbai Edition |
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 Cut stress, not quality of edu
Mumbai: The state government finds itself walking a tight rope when designing the new education policy. The education department is working on creating a whole new policy for schooling that goes beyond just academics and examinations. But at the same time, it will have to ensure that in an increasingly globalised world, state board students will be able to compete with their counterparts in other parts of the country and the world.
On one hand, we want to create a policy that is stress-free as students are overburdened with the pressure of exams. But we don’t want to compromise on quality either, said state education minister Balasaheb Thorat. He says the state board is working on ways of making the system tension-free without dumbing down the curriculum. State board secretary Vijaysheela Sardesai is in charge of framing the draft. Once the draft is ready, we will ask for feedback from the public on the policy, said Thorat.
Theres definitely the need for an education policy that reduces the stress students face. I feel this can be done without dumbing down the curriculum. The issue is primarily one of time management. Currently, there is too much matter crammed into a very limited amount of time. This doesn’t leave enough space for learning and does not give students the space to process the information. I feel that the state board should give students more options for what they want to study after Class VIII, like national boards do, says Upasana Saraf, head counsellor at the Bombay Cambridge Gurukul Schools. She feels a more judicious selection of syllabus will also reduce stress.
While Rekha Jagasia, principal of Kamla High School, Khar, does believe there is a need to de-stress things, she feels no system can be 100% stress-free. Introducing more extra-curricular activities and not focussing solely on academics is a good idea but it does not guarantee the absence of stress, she adds. As for the dilemma about creating a tension-free system without dumbing down the portion, Jagasia feels its a bit of a Catch-22.
Snigdha Roy, vice principal of Fr Agnel School, Vashi, feels it is a step in the right direction, adding. All stake holders in the system parents, teachers, students and government officials need to understand the vision and spirit of the policy for it to be implemented successfully.
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