Educationists lay stress on developing core skills in students

Chennai: Educationists from across the country on Friday urged teachers to empower students to make  decisions and build their employable skills.
As part of a core skills programme,  British Council conducted a panel discussion on how schools can contribute to improving employable skills of students. Manjula Raman, principal, Army Public School, Bengaluru, said, “Some years back we were talking about soft skills and today we are talking about core skills.”

“When Chennai was devastated by floods, our school children wanted to help. One day, a girl student came to me and said she had booked an Air Force flight for transporting the relief materials. I was surprised. Then she explained that the Air Commodore was getting treatment in her mother’s hospital and the girl had requested him for help. The Air Commodore dispatched a flight for the relief materials collected by our school students. This is what an empowered student can do,” she said.

Usha Mani, principal, Nand Vidya Niketan, Essar School, Jamnagar, Gujarat,  said, ”All the core skills that we have learnt by the natural process have just vanished and now we have to teach them to students. Core skills are essential from school days. In our school, we have allotted three periods in the curriculum to teach them. Right from grade one we are introducing critical thinking. We also involve our children in solving real time problems.”

 “We need to prepare children for their career, livelihood and profession. Even to make the career choice, children need to be trained in decision making, critical thinking and problem solving,” said Suman Chawla, independent consultant. “Are we critically thinking before our children take up a career? Technology has brought so much change. We don’t even know what kind of jobs will exist when the present students finish their studies,” she said.

Vandana Lulla, director, Podar International School, Mumbai said, “We have to change our perception of giving the opportunity for students to be leaders in the class. We should drive the kind of learning where students get an opportunity to be an independent learner. We should make sure that we transfer the knowledge.”

Shila Ravindran, Academic Head –Primary Segment, Foster Billabong High International School,  said, “Core skills had blurred in the past two decades. It is no rocket science.  Capture those teachable moments and inculcate those core skills in students.” As part of the programme, British Council trained 200 school teachers across South India.