Will the education system ever improve in Kerala?

Its 17 years since I came into the teaching profession. I have taught in unaided schools as well as in government aided schools. I feel very sorry to find the standards of students’ dwindling year after year. The time I joined the higher secondary section the medium of instruction was English and students had to write their examination in English. A student who didn’t know English would learn to write in English by the time he/she reached the 12th standard.

But what is the standard of the students now?

I am one of teachers who went through the DPEP training course and taught the first batch of students in the DPEP method. When the system was introduced I found the system quite good. Students had both the practical knowledge as well as they knew how to read and write. But as the years passed by, the system lost its values, the teachers their ethics and the students their hard work.

Malayalees of yesteryears held very respectable places in our country as well as abroad. But over the years the standard of education has gone down. Thanks to the selfish motives of unscrupulous politicians and educationists. To tide up with growing financial crisis of state, the politicians borrow money from various international monetary organizations even without thinking about the consequences of the terms and conditions of these organizations. It is heard that the some of the Western countries are trying to destroy our education system and I feel that it is true.

The picture painted by the government is very rosy. They boast that Kerala has the best pass rate at the SSLC and at the Higher Secondary level by making the students pass even when they don’t know even how to write their own names. I am telling you this from my personal experience. Now Mr. Education Minister, what are you trying to do? What do you gain by destroying the lives of so many generations? Is it not for selfish motives that you are doing this? Do you want to increase the unemployment rate? People who have passed the Plus two get a false notion that he/she is highly educated and expects a white collared job. He/she is unwilling to do any other low paid jobs.

The examinations conducted by the government are a farce. Malpractice is the order of the day. It is encouraged from the top officials to the lowest rung of the non teaching staff. Nobody ever dares to take action against the erring students. The students feel it is their right to copy and teachers feel it is their responsibility to make students pass. There are many teachers who stoop to the level of encouraging malpractice at the time of public examinations. The teachers who are stern are considered to be the black sheep among their community itself.

I am sorry to say that there are people who have been debarred by the university, for malpractice in the teaching profession. What ethics can you expect from such teachers? They readily support students in malpractice (because the students shouldn’t have their fate!!!). I personally know teachers who allow students to copy during public examinations. To add to this there is a squad that has been appointed by the government to prevent malpractice. The squad is just a namesake and never bothers to check students individually.

This is the same when it comes to valuing answer scripts. Teachers are too generous that many don’t even take the trouble of reading the answer papers. They take immense pride in saying that no one has ever been failed by him/her. They criticize teachers who fail students saying that if students fail, they will not take up our subjects. There will be a division fall and teachers will be out of employment. Do teachers have to sacrifice the standard of education just for the security of their employment??? This is the heights of selfishness!!!!

The government is so keen in protecting the state stream students. They give marks generously and 50% of the marks are to be included in the entrance examinations. And the reason for this is that the students from the ISC and CBSE are faring better than the state stream students. Instead of improving the standard of the state stream, the government has found an easy solution. Is this the Kerala model development???!!!

If the education system is to improve, I think,

Firstly, the education minister should be a very highly qualified person. He should at least have a post graduation degree (passed).

Secondly, politics,religion and caste should not play a role in appointments of Vice Chancellors, Directors and high officials in the universities and other educational offices.They should be people of very high quality and not people with fat purses.

Thirdly, teachers who are dedicated and of high quality should be appointed in schools. From the primary classes itself teachers should give a strong base to the students. Religion and politics should not be the criteria for appointment of teachers.

Fourthly, if a teacher is found to be unethical, he/she should be terminated from service, after an enquiry.

Fifthly, tuition should be banned. Only then will teachers be less partial and more dedicated. Students will listen in class once they know they have no where to go for help.

Sixthly, only deserving students should pass. Others should be failed. Students shouldn’t get the feeling that they can pass without learning.

Seventhly, internal marks should be given according to the standard of the work that the students submit. Marks should never be given to undeserving students. I know a student who was given 9 marks out of 10 for English internal assessment. And the marks she scored for English examination was just 1. So I don’t have to tell you about the standard of the student, right?

Lastly, Mr. Education Minister, please don’t introduce grading in colleges. Already the SSLC and Higher Secondary education has lost its standard. Please don’t destroy the standard of the colleges too.

If the education system in Kerala is not reformed at the earliest, then we will have a whole lot of generation who will possess high degrees and will not know how to read or write a sentence correctly. This applies mainly to the students who have studied the state stream. There will be an outflow of students to other states and there will be no students for us teachers to teach. The students from other streams with outsmart the state stream students. Even if the government tries to protect the students by guaranteeing them admissions to professional courses, they will never be able to pass the course until the government introduces grading even there!! And the government can blow its own trumpets by saying it has the largest number of professionals in the world who doesn’t know how to write his/ her name correctly!!!!

PS.
I don't intend to hurt the feelings of my fellow beings. This is purely my observation and intensely desire to see a better education system in Kerala.