JOIN USStudents on Monday asked the government to scrap the continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system in schools and bring back the board examinations.
The students felt that the present system was having an adverse impact on academic growth as several of them were not taking studies seriously.
In a first-of-its-kind interaction with Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Smriti Irani here, students told her that the no-detention policy stipulated under the Right to Education Act should also be scrapped.
“The CCE is not doing any good to school students. As there is no system of board examinations now, most of the students take their studies for granted. Those faring well feel demotivated because the grading system does not reflect their actual performance. There must be a fear of examination among students so that they work hard,” a student of Delhi’s Modern School suggested.
A small delegation of students from more than 12 schools, both private and government, from Delhi, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir were invited by the HRD Ministry to interact with the minister and suggest changes in the school education system that can improve the quality of education.
Students highlighted several loopholes in the implementation of the CCE in schools and rejected its relevance, saying many complete their project work by lifting contents from Internet.
Though, the minister did not express her views on their suggestions, many officials in the ministry felt that some “course correction” was urgently required to prevent further “damage” that CCE was causing on student’s academic growth. Students also suggested that arrangements should be made at the school for career counselling right from the Class XI, saying most of the children remain clueless about their future even when they reach Class XI or XII.
Most of the students of class XI and XII complained that they had to look for coaching institutes for preparation of joint entrance test (JEE) conducted for admissions to Indian Institutes of Technology and other technical institutes because what they are taught at their schools were inadequate to meet the standard of the test.
“The standard of JEE is not at par with what we are taught in schools. Why don’t we have an education system where students do not require to look for costly coaching institutes for preparation of competitive examination?” a student of DPS RK Puram said.
The students vehemently criticised the text books of the National Council of Education Research and Training, saying books on science, mathematics and other subjects are not updated andare not up to the standards. Students suggested that some changes should be brought both in the school syllabus and the JEE pattern to fill the gap in the system. On this, Irani suggested that central board of secondary education and IITs should “sit together” and find a solution.
Eva Sharma, a class XI student of Delhi’s Kamal Model School, told the minister to introduce counselling for parents also. “I am studying biology and other science subjects because my mother wants me to become a doctor but I am interested in History. There should be counselling for parents also,” she said.