Yesterday PM Modi had undertaken a meeting of CBSE officials and later it was announced that the 10th board will be cancelled this year while the 12th Board has been postponed. Earlier the AAM AADMI party chief Arvind Kejriwal has also raised the issue for the cbse exams. The decision by CBSE can be viewed from both sides with some supporting it while others criticizing the same. IN our opinion this decision was unnecessary and the exams should have been continued with greater precautions and preparedness.
One of the reasons why the IITs have made a name for themselves is their strict adherence to the annual schedule, exams, holidays and classes. No matter what is the situation of the student, teacher or outside world the IIT system has tried to focus on their schedule and ignored all other excuses. Most of the students have followed this rigorous record and those who could not have to gracefully get out of the system. At times there are humanity issues, at times there is some professor who has misused the system but by and large the system has worked well carving an indelible name for the IITs at the international level , where companies and higher ed institutes just try to lap up students with an IIT tag.
To be honest the IITs are not great because there are exceptional professors , or grea infrastructure. IN fact there is a shortfall for both these criterions. But the IITs are great because there is an excellent system to work upon and the students who all get into the IITs are already geared towards serious hardship , sacrifices and determination to excel.. That is the mantra to make good institutes which is then respected by the world.
In contrast the other engineering , higher ed institutes as well as our secondary system is full of excuses and loose discipline. AICTE and UGC who are the nodal agencies for higher ed are totally in competent and vision less with corruption as the main goal at eveyy level. The chairman of both these organizations are people with very high ego who don’t wish to listen to others except for their masters in the sangh parivar which makes them invincible and arrogant for all others.
We will write more on higher ed on a later date. IN this post we wish to concentrate on secondary education. The Aam AAdmi Party has built a dedicated social group that comprises all parents and teachers and students of NCR region or where they have a jurisdiction over education. Like Ravana who carried his ‘Amrit’ inside his navel the strength and power of AAM AADMI Party comes from the hundreds of schools , their teachers, parents and students whom the party has brought in their network through carefully planned social media groups.
This is one of the reasons why the AAP never misses an opportunity to fight for the education system in the country. However it is really unfortunate that the AAP upremo who and his daughter both of whom have been part of IITs could not understand the value of a good system in the country and instead have played for the gallery.
The 12th board could have remained unchanged while the 10th board could have been adjusted. By changing the dates we are trying to provide ‘excuses’ for these young children who should have been taught to follow discipline and follow the system. The government could have used the examination to provide vaccination to millions of students on the last exam day. It could have also got some invaluable data.
It is unfortunate that the education system always becomes the first casualty in the country. The various state boards also twist the system time and again to suit their needs. We would like to request all senior, retired and academicians to look into our education system and make it as good as our IITs. It is not about the exams but about building an education system that is credible and respected across the nation and the world.
The PM needs much wiser advisors and people who know the importance of credible education and is not swayed by politics. So far as AAP is concerned we think that it’s a shame for the IIT to have an alumni who pays more weightage to politics rather than building systems.
Dr Asheesh Shah
Samanvaya.
