The CBSE is proposing to usher in changes for its 2019-2020 session, something it should have done long ago. It plans to shift focus from rote learning — now recognised as a debilitating handicap for students — to the vastly more useful skill-oriented learning. Students, long burdened by subjects in which they have little or no interest, stand to gain by these changes. For instance, Mathematics, by all accounts a nightmare for those who do not have the aptitude for the subject, will be presented differently. As per the new plan, students in Class X will have two options when sitting for the Mathematics paper: One, a basic test for those who do not wish to pursue it after matriculation; and two, a standard level for those students who wish to study it at the senior secondary level. CBSE officials have been quoted as saying that given the phobia over Mathematics, it would be a big pressure off students’ backs.
The changed course would have new subjects like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Yoga, both extremely relevant to modern times that would go some way in imparting skills needed for future employment. India has traditionally celebrated knowledge and intellect, but sadly, not skills. China presents an interesting contrast. Its rise as an economic powerhouse has coincided with its grand scheme of steering secondary school students into formal skilled programmes. Indian students, who do not go on to tertiary education, have few vocational options other than government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) which are not just poorly managed, but are outdated. For instance, ITIs’ syllabus for car mechanics includes considerable training on carburetors that were long phased out in the 1990s! With such scant training, India has roughly 3.5 million workers undergoing skill courses as compared to China’s approximately 90 million. And thereby hangs a tale.
