Making students competent takes more than exams

In Karnataka, the number of students failing in Kannada is more than that of those failing the other two languages.

In today’s education system, we often find the lacunae that have led our children to become mere job seekers and money-earning machines. Securing marks is the priority over acquiring knowledge. Over the years, this approach has led to deteriorating learning outcomes for our children. 

Just like every year, the Karnataka Education Department has successfully conducted the SSLC board examination this academic year. The results are also declared on April 23. The results have been better this year, thanks to the government and the Education Department’s overbearing approach toward schools across Karnataka. The DDPIs were breathing down teachers’ necks for better results this academic year. And the results are there for everyone to see – the passing percentage improved in a big way. Lowering the passing marks, along with the efforts of Education Department officers, yielded better results.

But the question is: Are our students competent enough for the next level of college education?

When we look at the languages and the core subjects separately, the students scored higher in Hindi, and only one-third of them could score full marks in Kannada. This is an important point to ponder over. With Kannada as the mother tongue in Karnataka, the language is in a miserable condition. A language has to be learned by the student, focusing on acquiring the ability to communicate effectively in future. According to another reliable source, the number of students failing in Kannada is more than that of those failing the other two languages. 

Regarding the core subjects, students find mathematics very difficult, while science and social studies are much easier. The government should appoint a committee to recommend a complete overhaul of the syllabus to meet modern-day requirements. The syllabus should have such lessons so that students will learn more skills rather than focus on marks alone. Students often forget what they learn in the classroom after exams. Marks, qualifications and experience cannot become knowledge. One has to study for knowledge rather than just to pass the exams.

In light of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Union government has already taken enough initiatives to modernise education, which is rooted in our own culture and old Indian Values. The respective state governments should keep politics out of education reform to benefit the future generations of students. After all, education should help nurture creativity and confidence in children.

A famous Guruji coined a word to bring out what is inside: “Educare”. The system of Education has to graduate into Educare. Education is to feed from outside, and Educare is to bring out what is already inside a child. Rote learning should be a thing of the past in future. Education should be empathetic and inclusive rather than authoritative and monotonous.  

The government should implement a policy to make Kannada the first language at the school level in Karnataka and to ensure effective implementation of Kannada applications, alongside English and a third language. If this is not done, the deterioration of languages at the school level will continue, and future generations of students will surely suffer from a lack of communication skills. We should be able to build a population that is skilful, competitive, morally strong, financially robust, ethically sound, and patriotic to the core.

(The author is the headmaster of Sathya Sai High School, Sullia)