2016 Year of Change: Quit rote learning

Kerala witnessed some early signs of change in 2016. Some welcome changes, some fraught with repercussions. Society will be watching if these signals become a trend in days ahead.  It can be a boon or bane depending on how state tackles them.

High school education here has reached the point of diminishing returns where apparent solutions – from more investment to new types of schools, added infrastructure and a myriad novel ‘initiatives’ – have been tried and tested to no avail. We are not very distant from a future when expectant mothers would be sent to attend entrance coaching classes in the anticipation that the baby to be born scores well in his JEE Mains 17 years later. It is impossible to transform education in India unless one goes back to the rudimentary principle, which is that students learn well if they enjoy it and can see its relevance. This calls for the inevitable and radical shift of paradigms, teaching methodologies and most importantly, public opinion. The present system of education is largely grounded on the outdated one-size-fits-all pedagogy. Indeed many students do scrape through this restricting “funnel”, having learned computer science in high school only to take up chemical engineering in college (I am sure many of you can relate), simply because they couldn’t attain the “cut-off score” to choose computer engineering.

This is in sharp contrast to the most renowned educational institutions on the planet, among the likes of MIT and Harvard, where your test scores command no control over the subject that you choose to major in. This, however, applies to the few who succeed in securing admission to the premier colleges of the nation. Many fall victim to the system, ending up in management seats of some private institute, even after having sacrificed a lot of life for two or more years. The bitter realization dawns one very few that one’s career and at large, life ahead, have not much to do with examinations alone. Let me narrate my story. After completing Grade 10 abroad, I returned in pursuit of “better prospects”. I joined one of the most sought-after high schools in Kerala, often ranked among the top 3 CBSE schools in South India. For a clearer perspective, the school enjoyed an average percentage score of 88.55 in CBSE stream for its most recent batch of 678 Grade 12 students.

Being situated almost 250km away from my hometown of Malappuram, I was accommodated in the school hostel. Our hostel had a feared reputation for its “discipline”. Senior year students often recounted ridiculous telltales of despotic wardens harassing hostel “inmates”. While I was initially sane enough to dismiss them with a good laugh, things soon took an appalling course. My parents being early-to-bed fascists, it was my routine to go to bed as early as 9:30pm. At hostel, it was compulsory that we remain in the study hall till 11pm. This meant that many students, including me, had to spend groggy nights staring at textbooks, and consequently, feel fatigued during school hours.

Any publication other than those required by the syllabus was prohibited. Many were punished for reading newspapers! Absolute silence was decreed at all times and the environment that ensued was in no way conducive to collaboration or informed discussions. It might surprise any parent that many a time drunk wardens verbally abused and smacked students with heavy books and water bottles, for reasons limited to “looking sleepy” or “murmuring”. Hailing from a far more polished environment where work and play went hand-in-hand, being subjected to this sort of treatment meant that my grades rolled downhill. Any inquisitive reader would wonder why such a blatant violation of rights could go unnoticed. Most parents were assured by the chief warden that students lived a hassle-free life in hostel, and that any punishment incurred was strictly for unpardonable offences.

Being articulated by a high-ranking priest, such concocted platitudes easily convinced parents to find solace in his fairytale. Once in a speech, our warden openly stated that if he were to tell our parents that he has the most effective solution to make their wards turn out as high achievers in life, and charged Rs 2 L per student, most parents would be “foolish” enough to pay him. A year later, when I was finally able to recount these experiences to my parents who lived abroad, they returned at once to take me out of the hostel, against the supposed rules of the school. Though I was more than ecstatic to quit hostel, choosing to continue in the same school meant that I was still subservient to the system of regular classes, giving up on sports and leisure, entrance coaching classes that consumed most holidays, and the most disappointing of all, being denied permission to extensively take part in co-scholastic activities.

Since graduating Grade 12, I have always wondered if my 93.4 percent was worth dirt, in the light of sacrifices I had to make, and cycles of depression I passed through. When I decided to seek admission in reputed foreign universities, I was appalled to find out how the dearth of extracurricular activities for the final two years of my high school effectively killed my chances of admission. Owing to this, I set out on a rather unconventional path of taking a gap year – when I did not squander anymore time “repeating” for entrance examinations, but passionately chased my hobbies and aspirations, traveled around the country, completed multiple internships and passed various certificate courses online. Today, all set to enroll in a university ranked #18 worldwide in computer science (just for comparison, IIT Bombay fares at between 51 and 100), I am just one of the many who came to realize that a three-hour examination is not all that seals your future.

Students, who venture out of the mainstream tracks, increasingly discover an abundance of avenues to set sail for. The most obvious cause for the ill-fate that has befallen our educational concept has to do with our idolizing of rote learning. Unfortunately, this system derives its encouragement from examiners who stick to fixed patterns of question papers, parents who coerce their wards into attending coaching classes from tender ages, the deplorable system of “tuition classes”, among many others. If only the axis of grading is shifted from mere paper examinations to a self-adapting evaluation system which takes into account classroom participation, project work, interpersonal skills and extracurricular track records… More than finding contentment in classroom learning alone, students must be familiarized with apprenticeship, vocational training, research and co-scholastic activities from a young age – schemes that would be expensive in the short stretch, but highly benefiting in the long run. It is then that we would inspire a better-thriving student community.

- Baheej Anwar

Students script a paradigm shift

New vistas are opening up in higher education and students script a paradigm shift, accepting that engineering and medicine courses are not the only options. Recently, the principal of Devaswom Board College, Sasthamcotta, where I was a student, told me there was an uptick in the number of students opting for arts, science and humanities courses. Even subjects like Sanskrit found many takers now. Students also preferred to gain practical experience in chosen areas of interest before taking up a career. One should remember the character of Dulqar Salman in the movie, Usthad Hotel. The youngster played by Dulqar returned to India, ignoring father’s advice to take charge of his luxury hotel than seek apprenticeship in a small hotel run by his grandfather. The film reflects changes in youth attitudes to career choices. But please recall historical factors that led to the mushrooming of professional colleges in the state in 2001-2006.

Malayalis choose careers keeping in mind career opportunities beyond the State. The history of migrations in search of greener pastures pre-dates the era of globalization. From early migrations to Sri Lanka and Malaysia, the trend shifted to the Gulf countries. The pull of the gulf job market for more professionals led to the clamour for engineering and medicine back home. But the State did not have enough professional colleges to cater to the increasing demand. This forced students to flock to other states in search of engineering and medical seats. The government then opened up the higher education sector. The state government while opening up the professional education introduced minimum mark criteria in plus two and entrance examinations. Neighbouring states had no such filter. But many with low marks, who migrated to engineering colleges outside, returned to take up teaching jobs back home. Admittedly, they could not find jobs elsewhere.

One of the factors that helped them get teaching jobs was the lack of criteria for employing faculty in engineering colleges at the time. To teach in UP section, a teacher should pass TTC; in case of high schools, B.Ed is minimum qualification;  higher secondary teachers should have passed SET examinations and in colleges, NET is minimum. It was only much later that M. Tech was fixed minimum criterion for engineering faculty. The B.Tech pass now is less than 30 per cent. Many colleges have less than 10 per cent pass. The sociological impact of the low pass percentage in engineering education needs more in-depth studies. Most engineering students who fail were above-average students, who had good academic records before getting into professional colleges. Many such course-completed students stayed back in hostels than returned home. They can’t face the public. They posed a very disturbing question on future and society.

The Government should hold proper discussions with all concerned before implementing decisions in higher education. Reforms in APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University are a case in point. Last year, the university postponed its first semester B Tech examinations following opposition from students and teachers against the online transfer of question papers to colleges alleging lack of transparency. The mess could have been avoided. Initiate discussions before starting professional college admissions. The Supreme Court had set a deadline for MBBS and BDS admissions but the state government allowed admissions beyond the deadline, leading to prolonged litigation. The admission supervisory committee recently cancelled the registration of 277 candidates admitted to NRI seats in 12 engineering colleges for want of permission from the AICTE. Such delays in decision-making process should be avoided. Higher education sector in the state is in transition. Students have seized the moment, now it is up to the government to live up to the occasion by streamlining professional education.

PC Vishnunath (Author is a KPCC general secretary and former MLA)