Revamp on the cards
“A thorough overhaul in education; right from policy making to implementation is needed. The reason is that we are losing sight of the ultimate focus, which is preparing a student for life. We need to draw the best out of all the prominent boards operational in the country and formulate a new curriculum for Maharashtra. It should be able to cater to the needs of all students, regardless of socio-economic differences and catering to variations in intellectual capabilities of students,” feels Khan. She fervently supports the ‘one board, one university’ idea presented by Kapil Sibal in the past saying, “It’s a great idea. It can truly create a level playing field. There are however, a lot of challenges to implement this utopian concept. All said and done social, regional and class differences are not going to disappear. A single system of education will help sort out these differences and will empower every child equally. The single system will have to cater to the academically challenged child as well as a multi-talented or child with exceptional intellectual abilities. And that is why designing of the curriculum has to be done very meticulously.”
Tough road ahead
Challenges in achieving this goal are manifold. “There are two extreme ends at present — at one side there are elite schools which are doing well, and preparing global leaders, on the other there are small schools in semi-urban and rural areas where even students of class IV and V cannot read and write properly. It is here that qualitative enhancement has to be brought about in terms of teaching ability of the educator and the curriculum,” opines the educationist.
The pre primary and primary levels of education are of utmost importance, she believes, “Because 80 percent of intellectual development of an individual takes place during the age of say four to ten years. The entire foundation of one’s personality is formed during this age group and this also forms the base for later education.” Sadly, the entire education system is corrupt. “Dedication levels among education providers are no longer as they used to be till about a few decades ago. Money has become a strong driving force in this field. A likely solution to this problem is to have a person-independent system. It is very important to have a system which is transparent and democratic in its functioning,” she believes.
Technology revolution needed
“We have started making a database of children who are going to school, and those who are out-of-school, the staff, etc. It is important to have a single comprehensive system, which will show daily updated records of number of students attending school in all the institutions across the state, academic and co-curricular records of all students, number of teachers in every school, and other details like school approvals, fee regulation, mid day meals, uniforms, Government schemes and various initiatives which are being implemented in schools and their status of implementation. This kind of accurate monitoring can ensure that the right beneficiary receives the benefits announced by the State,” feels Khan. In an age of technology it is possible. “Government has to commit itself to this goal. The Government is allocating funds for education, once this initial computerization of records is done by a central Government-run database management system, later not much of money will have to be deployed for this purpose, as it will bring in the required transparency and ensure right use of money,” she informs.
No need to blindly follow the West
Underscoring the viability of the present education system in India she says, “The Indian education system is good. We need not follow the US or UK pattern of education blindly. Indian education system is good and effective. Look at the number of Indians holding influential positions across the world and this will vouch for efficacy of the Indian education system.” Revamp will bring in adequate improvements in system and will strive to perfect it. “e-learning can work wonders in this country. Government of India is already bringing e-governance to every village. They are having kiosks and common systems for dissemination of information about various Government schemes and empowering villagers to make good use of these schemes for bettering their lives. On similar lines, if there is a single e-learning system across all schools in the country, it will ease the responsibility of the teacher and can make lessons interesting for students. It will connect schools across the country. We already have online admissions, now.
Redesigning of curriculum has begun. Training and motivation of teachers is very important. A teacher in the real sense of the word is a friend, philosopher and guide to every student. A teaching job needs full commitment. A teacher’s job cannot be limited to the school campus. S/he has to reach out to every student as a mentor and instill values and the right approach towards education in every child,” asserts the educationist.
Fact file
Fauzia Khan was born and brought up in Aurangabad and was schooled at Holy Cross Convent. She went on to complete her M Phil in English Literature and is currently pursuing her Phd, subject of her research: ‘Impact of Government’s decision to implement English from class I in non-English medium schools.’ Khan is Minister of State for School Education. Balancing this crucial portfolio she is also looking after seven others: including General Administration, Public Health, Minority Affairs, Information & Publicity, Culture, Women & Child Welfare. She’s second in command to Rajendra Darda who holds School Education portfolio at the Cabinet level for Maharashtra.
Aims in the near future:
1. Designing a single and comprehensive e-learning software for all schools in the state.
2. Creating a common database management system for all schools to maintain detailed records of students, teachers, curriculum, infrastructure, etc
3. Redesigning of curriculum and textbooks
4. Training of teachers
5. Devising and implementing proper policies and legislation in tune with Right to Education Act
