Parents apprehensive about change in exam pattern

Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal's proposal of bringing about a reform in India's education system by way of abolishing class X board exam hasn't gone down too well with the Amdavadi parents. In a live debate hosted by Divya Bhaskar and DNA on Sunday, parents talk about this new move-in-waiting of the government.

"I don't think students will be sincere for their class XII board exams if the SSC exams are scrapped. I am not at all in favour of this proposal," said Niraj Shah, parent of a student from in a Gujarat state board affiliated school. The debate attended by an invited group of parents reflected the view points of the Amdavadi population who are in a dilemma because of Sibal's stand. For most, it is difficult to digest the proposal of abolition to abolish the exam which has for long been a part of our education system.

"Sibal proposes to free children of unwanted pressure that the board exam have created. But I beg to differ. The pressure has been created not by our education system but by our mentality. Parents have the tendency to pressurise kids for achieving higher marks," said Kapoor Raj, father of a student in an ICSE-affiliated school in Maninagar.

"It's unfair to expect children to pass exams with high scores every time. Abolishing a board exam is not an answer to the stress the children undergo. The solution lies in improving the quality of our education and creating a nationalised board for students across the states," said Kapoor. "Gujarat is lagging behind on the education front only because we have not upgraded our standards. It's a pity," he added.

China, Kapoor stated, has made a remarkable improvement in education in a very short span of time by instilling the sense of competitiveness among the young generation. We must also adopt a similar approach, he asserted. I don't think it is a good idea because there needs to be a filtration point at different stages of our education system," said Jayesh Upadhyay, another parent.  

Darshan Kamdar, parent of student in another ICSE-affiliated school said, "Honestly, Sibal's proposal does not make any sense to me. I don't see how it's going to work across the nation. The rural account for a major part of our population, it would be impossible for them to suddenly switch to a generalised board system."

Talking about raising our educational standards, Kamdar said that teaching techniques of municipal school teachers and that of private schools are completely different owing to difference in the funds provided and the professional backing. The debate turned fiery but the dispute regarding whether the board exam should be abolished or not remained. "Board exams should be abolished for good," said Jitendra Soni while Mukul Shah insisted that exams help students decide on their preferred stream.