Over to the teacher (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: National
Prelims level: ASER surveys
Mains level: Steps towards education quality improvement

Context

• The quality of education in India has been a persistent concern.

Key highlights about the data

• ASER report has been that a large number of children in the country cannot read fluently or do basic arithmetic even after attending secondary school.
• Other studies have raised questions about teaching methods in Indian schools.

Case study: Odish

• Odisha government tried to address this problem by doubling the teaching time of three subjects — English, Mathematics, and Science — in all government schools in the state.
• These subjects get 90 minutes of teaching time every day while other subjects will continue to get 45 minutes.

Key benefits

• The ASER surveys have shown that a large percentage of children in the country’s primary schools are first-generation learners.
• School environment and the role of the teacher is crucial in providing support to children from non-literate homes and communities.
• If pedagogy is aimed at completing the syllabus, there is scarcely any scope for addressing the needs of students who are falling behind.
• This shortcoming can be overcome if students spend more time with English, Mathematics and Science teachers and get time to clear their fundamentals.

What are the major problems

• For a child, acquiring foundational skills in a language that is not her mother tongue is a complex matter.
• Doubling the teaching time could tax the attention span of students, and may end up doing more harm than good.
• Science and Mathematics education has been dogged by rote learning.

Way ahead

• Teachers could utilize the extra teaching time to stimulate students to discover the laws of nature and Mathematics.
• Teachers will have to be provided the autonomy to venture beyond bookish explanations.

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Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Consider the following statements about the Genome India Initiative:
1. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has initiated the project.
2. A genome is an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all its genes.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) All the above

Correct Answer: C
Mains Questions:
Q.1) Critically evaluate the success of Odisha’s move to double teaching time for certain subjects will depend on autonomy to the educator.