Sunday, January 2, 2011

COLD WAR TO CURRICULUM- NON ALIGNMENT !

Non- aligned movement- Nehruji may have been active in not aligning with the US or erstwhile USSR in their cold war days ! Non alignment movement gained a lot of attention in those days and consequently in all our text books .

I remember studying the NAM in my social studies textbook with pictures of Nehru . while that was a heroic stance to be non-aligned with the two most powerful countries of the world, I wonder if non-alignment has become genetic trait in our dwindling democracy .

There is no alignment between the high ideals of our constitution and the deplorable state of the governance

No alignment between the centre’s greed and states’ needs
No alignment between contemporary needs and content of curriculum
No alignment between school education and intermediate education
No alignment between intermediate education and graduation courses
No alignment between CBSE Board and ICSE Board and State Boards
No alignment between graduation courses and courses for Masters
There is neither vertical nor horizontal alignment in the education system.


VNAM Vertical non-alignment: Universities do not know what is being planned in graduation courses. Degree colleges do not know what is being taught in intermediate colleges. Intermediate colleges do not know what is being taught in schools.

HNAM Horizontal non-alignment: Across the school education boards also- English may vary, social studies may vary but math and science also vary in spite of being universally common concepts.

A state board student in Tamilnadu may learn ‘Sets’ in his 8th Grade while a student in AP may learn it in 9th. In MP they may learn Mixtures and compounds in 9th and in Punjab it may be in 7th.

Many times the depth of the topic also varies from state to state and Board to Board. An ICSE student may learn chemistry in-depth by 9th, a State board student may learn it in Inter 1st year while a CBSE student may learn in his alternative years from 7th.

Because of all this disconnection between Boards- students from different states and boards pass out of school with varying levels of science and math concepts.

How can science or math vary so much from state to state and board to board???

What diversity without any unity in curriculum !

After having observed the content value in all these levels- schools colleges and universities-what comes to my mind is- NAM- non aligned movement- neither vertically nor horizontally there is alignment in what Indian students are learning.

IF NCERT and SCERT are the curriculum creators for Boards across India, why cant they see the gaps in content ? Why should one board teach ‘cell structure’ and another teach just ‘cells’ ?

It is the students, teachers and parents who get confused in all this. Then come the recommendations like use S Chand for more reference or use some other voluminous books !-

It is humanly impossible for young people to refer to different books to just learn one topic.

All we are trying to do in this process is intimidate the young people by making this learning phase between 9th and 12th-as a yagna! These 4 years are actually 2 million minutes in which they are expected to navigate through volumes of books and oceans of questions !

Thanks to VNAM HNAM and the plague called competitive exams , we did not develop rocket scientists or math wizards- we have only achieved in passing out students who can pass a competitive exam but not turn them into a scientist or a mathematician !

While acknowledging the fact that research makes learning more indepth, I don’t appreciate the fact that there is no clarity in the learner outcomes of our students.

All outcomes are connected to the ranks in competitive exams –therefore all Indian students who learn science or math-learn them only to pass exams and not to develop a scientific temper or mathematical abilities.

We need a radically different education system.

Wake up Sib(al) ! Its not RTE or the Budget that is going to change the face of India- it is contemporarizing the curriculum and connecting it vertically and horizontally from a Pre primary level to Masters that’s going to give you knowledgeable people who will build the nation.

No, I am not referring to the literacy programs that we have in our country which earn degrees alright but not education.

Of course this is not the medicine for ills like, Raja, Radiia or their ilk ! It takes much more than degrees to make principled people- it takes education which transforms people into positive, progressive and proactive people !

4 comments:

Vamshi Krishna - vamshkrishaqua@gmail.com said...

Hi ma'm.... the thinking approach to this blog is very unique.... there is sarcasm, irony, sympathy, humour, message, and kick.... the way non-alignment in this sense is spoiling the broth didnt strike my mind untill now...non-aligned subjects and courses are endangering the education system of our country.... there is no quality in the system, though its quantity has been 'appreciated' for long.... most institutions 'use' the students and their abilities, they just look at gaining a good name in the society by manufacturing machines and passing them out... i must say this phrase, "they are making the students score points, but they are not making them win games!" why is it that only other countries produce scientists and inventors, when we ourselves have bright brains?? is it only because the education system of our country is crippled, and the students are not tapped in the right way?? non-alignment, both vertical and horizontal, in the education system is deepening day by day. as u rightly say, we are having dinosaurs in our text books, extint topics for a 21st century student and the next levels of schooling don't even know what the students have studied prior... i really love the phrase you used - wake up sib(al)! :) "Cold war to curriculum- non alignmet" is an intriguing post, again awakening the people from slumber to refurbish the 'system'... highly innovative and mind-boggling blog... lookin' forward for more.....!!!

Cheers!
Vamshi Krishna (X-A)

Anonymous said...

It’s a myth that we had bright brains!!!!

If so then why you need the bottles of justification to prove that how the system is responsible for your non achievements.

Gone are the days to blame it on systems.

If you really need to prove yourself then first throwaway the crutches of justifying your failures.

Arise. Awake.

Stop not till U reach your goal.

Madam has shown the way.

Dare and choose it and be the change makers.

Non alignment has truly strangled the education system in other meaning also.

We remain non-aligned and inert from what is happening in the education and keep on feeling that it is not mu duty to contributor to it. It is the govt. the ministers and some boards and committees and the states who will decide about it. I am getting affected but for me the decisions are made by others although I have a voice and choice to choose what education to get.

Most of the time we are the sheep and follow the glitter and the hype without using the brains.

What we suffer from is the "Students Syndrome" and we suffer chronically and carry it forward in the fields we chose for working when we grow up.

We need to treat this and start using the time now only without using any excuses or justifications. Be aligned with your goal and work hard to achieve.

India always had sufficient number of good People to follow.

Dr. Homi Bhabha, Dr. Jayant Naralikar, Sir Ardesar Khaesedaji, Sir JRD Tata, Rahul Bajaj, Jamanalal Bajaj, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Madanmohan Malawiya, Dr. Jagannath Shankarshet, Dr. APJ Kalam. Dr. Shirodkar (the famous surgeon), Vijay Merchant. Lata Mangeshkar. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saina Nehawal....

The list is non ending.

Were they not the students of the same education system?

Question yourself and ponder how to win yourself.

System may be non aligned but you have to align with your goal and achieve.

Vamshi Krishna - vamshkrishaqua@gmail.com said...

It is not at all a myth... our country has surely produced bright brains... but it is far less when compared to our population... where other coutries with such less populations can produce so many extraordinary persons.... i understand that it is not 'only' the system that should change, but the system-keepers (we) too! i truly agree to whatever is said, we know the system is not aligned but it is we who should align with our conscience and goals to produce our real innerselves ...
There is a renowned sculptor, when asked about his secret for his success, he replies that the idol is already there in the uncarved rock, i only removed the unwanted parts... in the same way, it is we who should align with our needs, and mould ourselves to illuminate ourselves!! :)

padma said...

Hi mam good morning it is very much true with my experence of education we did't enjoy education. We don't know why we are studing subjects like eng, mat, sci and what is the outcome of studing these subjects. Children are not given any importance to express their views and made them to read the complete text book to remember the data which is no way related to our profession. We studied and got certificate but we did't learn soft skills and life skills which we learnt now and showing the positive difference in life.I agree with u mam that there should be a common board through out the country which develop thinking skills and a connectivity in the education. More and more interest should be created in the students and they should enjoy the education and give importance to it. The message from the blog make all the educators to think upon it.