In 2008, less than 400 students appearing in their Class XII examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) scored more than 95% marks. In just six years, the number of such students jumped by a whopping 23 times as close to 9,000 students scored near perfect scores in the year 2014, according to a report in the IE. In 2018, this number jumped 38 times to close at 14,900 students. The story is not very different in the results of the State Boards. This is as much to cheer, as it is important to take note and introspect. What must explain the dramatic rise?
Scoring a perfect 10 so to say, is becoming almost a matter of fact, whether in the CBSE board or the State Board Examinations. 499/500 or 500/500 seems to be the default norm. Are these children more intelligent than their peers who are not in the same league? Education must instil analytical, reasoning and rational skills more than anything else. Is the current system capable of delivering on quality instead of playing to the gallery? Have our examinations become too predictable that each year more children fit the near perfect bracket? It is of some concern that today even languages which are more subjective unlike the science-based courses, are being scored off in excess of nineties. Moderation of results as is done currently must be revisited. A serious concern is that everyone from teachers to schools are incentivised to give more marks, so that they can do better on several rankings in the private/public domain that can get them better grants, better students and better funding.
Another trend that has consistently been seen since 2016 is at least a 10% difference in passing percentages between girls and boys at the CBSE XII results with 88 – 78 in 2016, 95 – 89 in 2017 and 88 – 79 in 2018. Girls outshining boys may be due to better focus and commitment. Are more girls enrolled than boys? If the births are skewed to benefit male progeny, how does one explain a 10% difference? One pointer to this anomaly could be more boys dropping out before completion than girls. If true, the reasons must be explored. CBSE and the State Boards also conduct Class 10 examinations. The trends here too are similar.
The performance of a student is evaluated on the basis of 80% of final examination and 20% on internal assessment. Since a continuous evaluation is followed in every school, a near 20% internal score is always a given. When a regimented training is given such as in coaching classes, for the remaining 80% share, the combined totals can fly north. Even if the students are rigorously marked on internal assessments, a bump of 10-20% is usually provided to everyone in the external examinations which leads students grossly overestimating their academic prowess.
A disturbing trend is an over dependence on class notes and a complete go by given to reading a standard text book. One needs to read a comprehensive background material in order to find an effective answer thereby participating in the pursuit of knowledge. Such absence would only encourage automated learning. Our learning has become a “body without a soul”. Since good many teachers also take part in coaching classes, their “class notes” become de facto standards.
Leaving out some of the few best schools out of almost 1.6 million in the country, each one overflows with students with very little personal attention and sometimes no attention. The student teacher ratios are anything but holy, resulting in students to run, those that can afford, to coaching classes. The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has fixed the Parents-Teacher Ratio (PTR) for primary classes at 30:1 and for upper primary classes at 35:1. Although popular private schools demonstrate a better PTR as compared to public schools, a recent survey by ASSOCHAM revealed that many experienced teachers of reputed private schools leave their jobs to take up private coaching. On the other hand, as per the data tabled in the Lok Sabha by the MHRD in December 2016, 18% positions of teachers in government-run primary schools and 15% in secondary schools were vacant nationwide. Consequently, this pushes students to private coaching. With both parents working and no one at home to handhold, coaching classes fill the void. Indian Private Tuition market was estimated to be at $16 billion in the year 2017 and is rapidly growing. It grew at a staggering 30-35 percent in last few years and is estimated to grow $30 billion by year 2020.
A survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) states that one student out of every four takes private tuition. Different facets of Indian private tuition market are the classroom coaching, small study groups, one-on-one home tuition and online live/content driven. 96 percent of this is face to face tutoring. Online content and live tutoring business is pegged at just Rs.3500 crore in a 1.5 Lakh Crore industry. With growing internet penetration in both urban and rural households, the market could metamorphose into a complete online version. Effective interactive content is a massive challenge but several new players seem to be making a kill of it. Even Venture capitalists are showing a great amount of interest in the new market.
Should we be worried about the quality of education and future of students in a fiercely competitive environment? The fun of learning seems to be lost on the child. However, the concern is about non-performance of students as much as the skyrocketing number of high-scorers at school level, which is seeing an inflated college cut-offs often to a whopping 100% in some cases. This has been a cause behind rising anxiety and depression even among the brightest who are no longer sure of getting a seat in their favourite colleges. Probably it is time to reinvent the fun of learning in our schools. What better way can there be than beginning at the beginning for only true learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere, as a Chinese proverb goes.