Flying on a teacher’s wings

One of the first things I was provoked to do was to constitute a committee of academicians who examined the communal bias in some History lessons and following its recommendations, to delete them. We went further to examine whether distorted versions of History were prescribed in the text books of the state syllabus. Indeed they were and had to be removed only after painstaking work by Prof S. Settar, who has also made History more attractive and relevant to the young mind. But as Minister in charge of Karnataka’s Primary and Secondary Education, I asked myself “with optimum husbanding of available resources, should we not venture into desperately needed academic reforms?

What has held us back for over 50 years in focusing on academic reforms? Routine revision of texts, 19th century examination regime and ranking of students, long hours of lectures without interface with students, all persisting with no signs of change?” We decided that the core of academic changes was to ensure that classroom learning was joyful, inspired curiosity and a questioning mindset — all time honoured notions but largely celebrated as slogans!

The need to shift from teacher-centred education to discrete emphasis on problems and pleasures of learning led one to take a critical look at text books which are unfortunately considered by most as the ultimate in teaching-learning. They are packed with mountains of information whether or not of any immediate relevance to our children. For example, a social studies text book prescribes for learning details of natural resources and other geographical features of virtually all countries of the world. Instead, why couldn’t we inform our young students of, say, Karnataka’s diversity so that they are introduced to region -specific resources or concerns of greater relevance? Unnecessary information was also a burden on memory, carrying unjustifiably heavy weightage of 45% in the examination. While that has been reduced to 25%, the guiding principle in the reformulation of textual material has been the provision of a more relaxed classroom environment.

A legion of experts has concluded that children flower in a relaxed environment. Several months of patient, painstaking work by various subject committees who stepped into the shoes of children so as to estimate the perception and levels of learning has turned out some of the most imaginative learning material. The new texts as well as the revised teaching-learning processes are now matched by the re-designed examination. There was little logic in examining M.A./M.Sc. students for 120 to 180 minutes and school kids over similar duration! We have at last changed the persistent colonial mould and reduced the examination duration to 90 minutes.

While the ‘academic load’ is thus going to be appropriately reduced, the ‘physical load’ of children carrying heavy school bags is also effectively tackled for the first time. This is done in two different ways. First, the new Trimester system will also mean that the subjects studied in any three months alone will be included in one single textbook and the school level test/examination will also be confined to what has been learnt in that term. The child therefore carries one textbook with one or two note books. This calls for an integrated textbook approach and we have given ourselves one year’s time to work it out. The volume of homework will also be reduced as recommended by the Dr.Yashpal Committee in 1993, not so far considered.

A fundamental reform is the introduction, perhaps for the first time anywhere in the country, of Yoga, Music and Drama in the school syllabus. I believe that this decision represents true “Bharatiyata” rather than objectionable saffronisation and devisive slogans promoted by some political groups. Musicians and theatre personalities helped us draft the syllabus and have also offered to teach students on a voluntary basis!

I wonder how we had not bothered to look at the terrible conditions of Urdu schools. The communally-minded who pronounced that the “minorities prefer isolation to mainstream” (how we define ‘mainstream’ is another matter) should look at these schools. Although we have now posted teachers to teach Kannada in these schools, the best way to draw those children into the so-called ’mainstream’ is to teach them Computers and English (they of course have the constitutional right to learn through mother tongue). We have initiated dialogue with the Azim Premji Foundation and a number of NGOs to come forward with computers to be installed in such schools. This initiative along with locations of Urdu and Kannada medium schools in one unit or at least in the same premises will promote much greater interface amongst these students than at present.

In the last 15 months, we were able to push through, in a targeted fashion, the recruitment of as many as 25,000 teachers by means of an objective system which included a departmental examination but excluded the discretion-conferring interview. Consequently, there was not a murmur of corruption or nepotism. I was taken aback to learn, when I moved to this Department, that 15,000 girls’ schools were without toilets, among some 37,000 without this facility. This is being redressed on a priority basis with the help of Panchayats. Panchayats will hereafter manage our most successful mid-day meal programme also.

I have learnt or re-learnt a simple but important truth: where the policy maker and senior officers put in dedicated work and are seen to be committed, teachers and their associations will be fully with us. It is perhaps somewhat unusual that over 3 lakh teachers and field-level officers have participated with visible dedication in achieving these far-reaching reforms. In particular, their efforts in bringing several lakhs of children into the school as part of a special drive is absolutely commendable. Karnataka is a modest example of what can be achieved with focused commitment.

The author is former Minister, Primary and Secondary Education, Government of Karnataka