Srijan Foundation

Control freak wreaks havoc in education

Is Govt Taking Its Anger Out On Non-SSC Schools For Challenging Earlier Orders?

Anahita Mukherji I TNN

Mumbai: The state government’s latest diktats on school education seem to have born out of an urge to get even, say non-SSC schools and parents of kids who study in these schools. These institutions and parents have come together twice in the last one year to drag the state to court for its policies and have managed to convince the judiciary of their partisan nature both times.

The latest government move comes barely a couple of months after the state’s second defeat in court against non-SSC schools and parents who challenged its decision to reserve 90% of seats in junior colleges for SSC students. The Bombay high court rubbished the decision, calling it “self-contradictory’’ and “unconstitutional’’.

The HC ruling on the state’s percentile system in 2008 was as scathing. The court had found the system “hurried’’, “flawed’’ and “illegal’’ and said the new rule promoted “mediocracy over meritocracy’’ and hurt “students’ right to equality’’.

Non-SSC schools and parents of students going to these schools are again getting ready to challenge the decision. Teaching Schools A Lesson TOI gives in a nutshell the new law laid down by the state and how it impacts non-SSC schools and their students
THE NEW LAW ON ENGLISH

All schools, irrespective of their boards, will have to follow the SSC English curriculum from classes I to V.
THE QUESTIONS How will kids cope in Std VI?

Every expert agrees that the English curriculum followed in SSC schools is of a lower standard than that taught in most non-SSC schools. Educationists and schoolchildren’s parents are now worried that students may find it difficult to adjust to texts of a higher standard after being reared on a diet of “mediocre texts’’ for five years.

Should govt control other boards?
Why should the government want to control the curriculum of other boards? Then, what’s the point in having different boards?

Should other boards be dragged down to SSC level?
The SSC board has consistently been trying to upgrade its curriculum to match those of other boards. Now why does the government want to drag other boards down to the SSC level?

Why should schools’ freedom be curtailed?
Boards like ICSE and CBSE allow schools the freedom to create their own syllabi up to Std VIII; this allows flexibility and innovation. Why should ICSE and CBSE schools be deprived of this freedom?

THE NEW LAW ON MARATHI
All schools will have to introduce Marathi as a compulsory second language from Std I to Std VIII.

THE QUESTIONS
What happens if you have to move out of the state? Will kids, taught Marathi as second language till Std VIII, be able to take up another language in Std IX if they have to move out of the state?
Who’ll be responsible for the trauma?

A significant percentage of Mumbaikars have transferable jobs (people working in the government, defence forces, banks, multinational firms, the media). A transfer for parents can often be a little unsettling for the kids. Shouldn’t your children be spared of the additional trauma of coping with a new second language in school? Wouldn’t Hindi as an option make much more sense?

Meddling In Administration
The government has listed other new administrative rules that ICSE, CBSE, IB and IGCSE schools will have to comply with to get a no-objection certificate (NOC). Some of the rules will gladden parents, but there are several that schools fear can be used by the state to arm-twist them at will

NOCs will be given for three years after which they will have to be renewed. The first NOC will be given by the state; the following ones will be given by the deputy director of education.

NOCs can be taken back at any point by the government; schools must comply with its terms and conditions.
During the admissions, schools must procure bona fide birth certificates from students.
The government fee structure will be applicable to these schools.