Reforms for better learning 
Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal says our education system should allow more choices to students

By Shubhdarshani Mitra
New Delhi, September 26: Coming out strongly in support of the latest reform in class X CBSE boards, Kapil Sibal, union HRD minister, said the step is just a small drop in the ocean of reforms that would follow in the coming five years. ‘Rome was not built in a day’, Sibal said in his reaction to a question posed by a worried mother about the inadequate number of colleges for students who pass out of school. ‘The universities can’t be built tomorrow. There is a long process involved… But I can lay the foundation for a better learning,” said Sibal.

He was speaking at the book release of Arun Kapoor, an educationist and director of Vasant Valley School in New Delhi. Kapoor’s book Badalte Vidyalaya, Tejaswi Bachche is about how to enable students to make quality decisions or choices in life. Highlighting the dire needs of reform in our current education system, Kapoor said that school teaching is a serious business and should not be trivialised.

“For me education is not about being a part of any school. Learning should happen on a daily basis from who ever we can learn from… Moreover, there are no set formulas for teaching,” said Sibal.

Sibal has been drawing criticisms from various quarters especially from anxious parents fors his decision to abolish class X examinations or making it optional. From academic year 2011 onwards the students will be promoted to class XI through internal assessments. “Anything which talks about changes invites trouble as nobody likes changes,” commented Steven Rudolph, an American educator who came to India after he felt the lacunae in the American teaching.

While the CBSE has decided to go for grading system and internal assessments, the concerns and worries stack up. Students and parent are not comfortable with the idea of internal assessments and there are concerns about how adaptive the teachers would be to the new system. Vineet Joshi, chairman and secretary, CBSE, was also present on the occasion.