Schools got off to a largely subdued start against the backdrop of the scorching heat and a rumour of postponement of the re-opening. The enthusiasm of keeping off school was reflected across social media with anxious students, teachers and parents virtually desperate to get that extra bit of vacation time. Thankfully, the slight drizzle brought down the mercury below 30 degree Celsius at least in the first half of the day bringing in the much-needed calm with students trooping quietly back to their routine.
With schools re-opening, the focus shifts back once again to learning. But is there a change? Or are students going to go through the same old grind? If at all there is a change, how much it will benefit? Let’s not boast about renovated furniture or a repaired ceiling and providing better toilet facilities, these are basics which in any case are mandatory in every educational set-up. What about the curriculum? Can this level of schooling equip students to meet the challenges of a fast-changing world?
On the eve of the school re-opening, The Goan held a round-table conference with heads of various schools to speak on the present schooling scenario and the way forward. There were some value-thoughts put forth -- from setting up a think-thank to advise government on educational policies to overseeing academic inspections and increasing local content in primary school syllabus.
Schools are going through the motions year after year and the much-talked about change is too insignificant in the current context. We continue to grapple with old issues, from shortage of textbooks to medium of instruction, poor quality of mid-day meals and a crumbling infrastructure. The larger issue of adding value to education and creating scholastic leaders to compete at the national or international level is long forgotten.
Around a decade back Goa ranked a lowly 20th position in the national education development index at the primary level and 18th at the upper primary level, much behind most of the states. We still continue to languish low down the list. The India Today’s ‘State of States’ survey of 2018 puts Goa at the 9th position in a 10-state list on Education. At the national level our education figures are not that we can take pride in.
While there has been a visible improvement in infrastructure, there is no change in curriculum and our teaching tools and methods remain outdated. With stress on information technology where artificial intelligence is touching lives, it becomes increasingly necessary to change Goa’s education system if we are to make headway. Teaching tools like constructivist teaching and learning with technologies have had positive impacts elsewhere. Technologies encourage students to innovate and go a long way in an environment where visibility and adaptability rule. With social networking growing at a rapid pace, this is another tool that schools around the world have been using to teach and catapult students into a new realm of learning.
Adding Goa’s history to the syllabus is a welcome move, for it will educate students and provide valuable insights into the past. But that is not enough to take our young students forward. A holistic overhaul of the entire education system is a pressing need of the hour. While another academic year changes and a new education minister takes over, Goa need to seriously look at a paradigm shift in its education system.
