78 per cent parents want overhaul of school education: Survey

NEW DELHI: A majority of parents feel that the current school education system needs a major overhaul. An online survey by Local Circles, which can be an eye-opener for the government, reveals that 78 per cent citizens believe that the current school curriculum needs a lot of upgrades, while, 17 per cent said it needs some upgrades and 2 per cent said the existing system is perfect. However, four per cent of the people surveyed, did not have an opinion.

While people demanded field-based and life-skills learning to be included, 88 per cent want skill-based courses from Class IX onwards for the not so academically inclined students. Besides, 74 per cent believe creativity and spatial knowledge should also be taught. Asked about the areas in which the school curriculum needs most changes, 41 per cent sought more hands on and field-based learning, 30 per cent wanted inclusion of life skills, 16 per cent were for more technology-based learning and 13 per cent favoured inclusion of real issues.

The survey also revealed that the prevalent marking system needs to be re-looked at or completely scrapped. To a different query, 90 per cent people said it was very important to include ‘how to learn and think’ in the school curriculum, while 5 per cent said it was important only in senior school and 4 per cent said it was not needed separately.

Lack of diversity in the subjects you can study after school is also an issue. For example, one can’t double major in Math and German like they can in the USA. Many experts have been saying that India should take a cue from the Finnish model of school education, which focuses on the flexibility of curriculum, individual pace of learning and high-salaried, rigorously trained “quality” teachers. Local Circles executive said that a copy of this report is also being sent to the Secretary of School Education and Minister, HRD so the Government can act upon the recommendations.