Homework: Necessity or burden?

Noted economist Amartya Sen has stated that there is a need for radical reforms in primary school curriculum so that homework becomes redundant and tuitions unnecessary. DNA elicits views on the thought.

I used to enjoy doing my homework

Homework is a must for students. Or else, all of us will just spend time playing and having fun. With homework, we are assigned a task and given a time period to complete it. This makes us responsible. As we seek parents’ guidance, we also get to spend quality time with them. I never felt burdened by homework. More often than not, I enjoyed doing it. But, teachers should take care that homework given to the students is manageable. It is a fact that lot of students are dependent on private classes as everyone cannot follow things that are taught in the class. Some students really need help for some subjects.
— Anam Machhiwala, student

Spare students of the mental strain

I am all for reducing the homework given to students in the primary section. But that does not mean that there should be no homework at all. With the homework, parents can keep a check on how much of the concepts taught in the school are actually understood. Homework helps in instilling a sense of discipline among students. Having said that, students should not be burdened with tuitions. After school, they hardly have time or the energy to pay attention to their health or extracurricular activities. Practically speaking, tuitions won't make much of a difference as the strength of students in coaching classes and school is same.
— Mansi Jhaveri, student

Primary school students don’t need tuitions

I agree with Amartya Sen’s comment. In primary section, students can easily manage without tuitions. Already, they spend close to six hours in school. At primary level, this is more than enough. Sending a child to extra coaching classes or burdening them with homework is entirely unnecessary. Once students start studying in the higher section, they get used to completing homework. Studying and homework are two different things. While homework is more of a compulsion, studying should be done out of choice and interest. So, instead of burdening the students with homework, we should let them grow and be on their own.  
— Abeda Maniar

Addl homework, extra pressure

I agree with Sen that that there is no need to force children to spend hours studying. An overload of homework can hamper holistic development. With such a hectic schedule the child will not be able to pursue other activities like sports or music. Even tuition from a young age is not a good option as children become dependent. I think for primary kids, parents’ assistance is enough. Only when parents are not literate, would children require private tuitions. But otherwise, it’s the responsibility of the schools to give time to children who are weak in studies.
—Sheetal Jain

Finding time for hobbies is not so difficult

Doing away with homework is not a great idea. At times, it is necessary as students need a revision after studying a topic in school. As of now, my child is not burdened with homework. She finds time for other activities. If the students don’t get used to the idea of doing their homework in primary section, adapting to the routine of homework will get a tad bit difficult for them once they enter the secondary section. The comment by Amartya Sen was, it seems, in regards to the overdependence on tuition and excess of homework given by some schools. It is important to look at homework as a revision than viewing it as a form of burden. 
— Hema Noronha

Complete all lessons during school hours

Primary education rests on the idea of helping students hone their soft skills by individual attention. The reality, however, is that most schools admit more students than the expected class capacity. Consequently, the class is in a perpetual state of chaos. Owing to this, the teachers too are not able to pay adequate attention to all students and are often found rushing to complete the syllabus in time. So, they are left with not much choice but to give homework to students. Though I wouldn’t say that homework is entirely useless, it should be lessened. Our focus should be on finishing the lessons during school hours. This will free the students of the burden, and they will also get time to pursue extra-curricular activities. Ideally, homework should never become as important as classwork. Private tuitions, too, mushroomed due to the incapability of the schools in providing individual attention to the students. If schools focus on the progress of every child, no parent will opt for tuition classes.
 — Kishor Pillai,  principal, RIMS International School

Homework and tuitions not related

The NCERT rules disallow undue emphasis on homework. But, banning homework entirely too wouldn’t be correct. Homework is essential to make sure that a child revises whatever is taught in school at home too. But the onus is on teachers to try and make it a fun activity for students. A case in point could be asking a child to seek the opinion of his parents and grandparents on a topic related to their syllabus. This will help break the monotony of a homework asking a repetition of the lesson done in school. Besides, Amartya Sen’s assumption that homework leads to growing dependence on private tuitions is erroneous. Tuitions and homework aren’t related to each other. More often that not, parents rely on tuitions either due to lack of time or because they are
ill-equipped to teach their children. For them, private coaching classes come in handy. Sadly, private classes today have become more of a status symbol for
students and parents.
— Kavita Anand, educationist