Student's view: On Indian education system

DO AWAY WITH 10TH BOARD EXAMS?

As Delhi University comes out with its cut-off lists for the various courses it offers, the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal announced his plans to scrap 10th standard board exams. Students are supporting it, why won't they? They will support any move to cancel any sort of examinations.

But joining the debate, should 10th board exams be scraped? Is this the way education reforms must take place in India? In this article I put forward my perspective taking into consideration the entire Indian Education system.

REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Most schools in South India are only till standard 10. After 10th they have a choice – they can either opt for the ISC board, CBSE board or the state board choosing whichever stream they want! After 10th, you are considered to be entering college. An example is Karnataka.

After 10th, students have a choice to continue in school doing either ISC or CBSE or do PUC in college. Very few schools offer 11th and 12th and admission to these schools and colleges is fully dependant on your 10th standard marks. This case is the same throughout south India including Maharashtra.

In comparison, North India does not have colleges for 11th and 12th. Students continue in their own schools in till 12th after which they go for undergraduate education in colleges. An example is Delhi. Delhi does not have a state board and there are no colleges for 11th and 12th. Students finish their education in schools before moving to college.

Taking this regional context, 10th standard boards play a very crucial role in South India as it decides the path of your higher education, while it plays a very small role in North India as you continue in the same school.

TALENTS, DECISIONS AND STUDENTS

Kapil Sibal says that the board exams don’t decide your future. I believe otherwise. When we are in 10th, we do a range of subjects from Sciences, Commerce and Humanities. As a student, the board exams helped me make a very important decision regarding which stream I wanted to follow.

I was able to recognise my interests, my capabilities and my knack for certain streams in comparison to the others. If we don’t learn how to answer questions and write an exam when we are 16, then when will we?

And why is it that our future is determined only by marks? Why not by the natural talents we have, why not by the extra curricular activities we do, why not by the sports we play or the unique individuals each one of us are?

At least, these board exams will help us recognize our talents and choose our stream, which has a huge bearing on our future if not our talents.

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STRESS LEVELS

As a student we go through undue amounts of stress. While no doubt exams are a source of stress, there are many other things that gives a student more stress, peer pressure being one of them. In today’s age, stress is a part and parcel of life. Its good if people experience it at a slightly young age so by the time they enter the real world they have in a place stress coping mechanisms.

The amount of stress a student goes through also depends on his habits and lifestyle and his views towards studying. For some, just the word ‘studies’ stresses them, while for some it doesn’t. The word ‘stress’ in very subjective, and for any student exams mean stress.

There is good side too about exams – the learning, the knowledge, the ability to answer, confidence and self-esteem.

WHATS THE USE OF 12TH BOARD EXAMS

If 10th board exams are considered the first big hurdle, then the 12th board exams are considered the next big hurdle. But what is the use? For a person wanting to do engineering, he has to write many more exams like COMED K and AIEEE and your 12th marks don’t matter at all.

Only for a person doing commerce or humanities the 12th board marks matter. This makes the exams redundant to science students. With the board exam and entrance exams, its only adding to the ‘stress’ that already exists. Even when we go to college for admissions, only our 12th marks matter, so where does 10th marks come into play?

Nowhere. Its of no use at all. Even our talents, extra curricular activities don’t matter, its only marks and marks above 95, because today no amount of marks seem enough for college admissions.

EDUCATION REFORMS

Its not only the 10th boards that needs to be scrapped, but it’s the entire system that needs to be overhauled. Huge cut offs only make students feel inferior. It discounts their hard work leaving them disillusioned. With the cut offs of DU coming out today, those above 94 per cent will get into the good colleges, but what about those who have got above 90 but less than 94? Where are they to go?

They have worked equally hard, they also need to be rewarded for their hard work. Instead of scrapping exams what the ministry needs to do first is bring about parity between different boards and universities. Many subjects offered by the boards are not even accepted by the universities, making the study of the subject completely futile and making admissions all the more difficult for that person.

It is things like these that need to be reformed rather than scrapping exams. The need of the hour is well though reforms, not blanket statements. At the end of the day, even if its just politics, 10th standard students cant vote.

Rajneil Kamath is a 2nd year student of Shri Ram College of Commerce. The article is his viewpoint as a student on the new education reforms.