THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-August 7, 2017- Topic 2
Skill, don’t detain: on scrapping no-detention policy
India’s elementary education
system may be getting better at providing access to greater numbers of
children, but has never really been able to answer the question, what is the
measure of its success? If producing curious minds that have had exposure to
life skills is the test, the system generally scores poorly, since it primarily
emphasises competition, tests and scores. In spite of policy improvements, it
has to contend with a significant dropout rate.
In 2015, that figure stood at
about 5% at the primary level and over 17% at the secondary level, with
government schools affected more. So when the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act became law in 2010, it appeared to be a
bulwark against the various ills that prevent continued schooling of all
children up to the secondary level. The guarantee of uninterrupted schooling
that the Act provides under sections 16 and 30(1) is founded on the no-detention
policy until Class 8. This is a protection that should not be trifled with to
compensate for the overall failure to improve the school education system,
beginning with the neglect of teacher education, bad recruitment policies, and
confusion over what the goals of schooling are. The decision of the Union
Cabinet to scrap the no-detention policy at the elementary level, and
introduce detention of students who fail a designated test in Class 5 or 6, is
fraught with the danger of going back to a regime of early dropouts. Such a
move can only feed the pool of cheap child labour that has been the notorious
record of the school education system, and facilitate the newly liberalised
norms of allowing child labour under the guise of family enterprises.
Building a schooling system
that caters to every child without turning it into a testing factory is a
challenge, but it should actually be easier in an era of robust economic
growth, when there is a mismatch between the demand for a skilled adult labour
force and what the system prepares the country’s youth for. Rather than detain
a child early through a stigmatising test, a progressive system would open
avenues for skills training after the elementary level for those who would
prefer that over academic studies. Such a model has served industrial nations
such as Germany for decades, raising the standard of living for all, while
ensuring economic productivity. The objective is not to relegate academic
attainments to a second order priority. On the contrary, the RTE Act has a
provision for continuous and comprehensive evaluation, which governments have
not found the time to develop scientifically. Raising the quality of classroom
teaching, continuous monitoring of teacher attendance and introduction of free
vocational and industrial skills training for all those with such an aptitude
after elementary schooling should be the priority. Transferring the onus of
performance in a narrow testing framework to children, many of whom come from
underprivileged backgrounds, can only produce a less literate citizenry. A more
open and liberal approach to schooling will have good long-term outcomes.
Vocabulary
Curious: strange; unusual.
Example: A curious sensation
overwhelmed her
Synonyms: strange, odd, peculiar, funny, unusual, bizarre
Contend: assert something as a
position in an argument.
Example: He contends that the judge
was wrong
Synonyms: assert, maintain, hold, claim, argue, insist, state
Bulwark: a defensive wall.
Example: After landing virtually
unopposed, the Fifth Corps moved toward the San Juan Heights, the principal
bulwark in the first of three defensive lines around the city.
Synonyms: wall, rampart, fortification, parapet, stockade, palisade
Trifled: treat (someone or
something) without seriousness or respect.
Example: He is not a man to be
trifled with
Scrap: discarded metal for
reprocessing.
Example: The steamer was eventually
sold for scrap
Notorious: famous or well known,
typically for some bad quality or deed.
Example: Los Angeles is notorious for
its smog
Synonyms: infamous, scandalous, well
known, famous, famed, legendary
Robust: strong and healthy;
vigorous.
Example: The Caplans are a robust,
healthy lot
Synonyms: strong, vigorous, sturdy, tough, powerful, solid, muscular
Relegate: consign or dismiss to
an inferior rank or position.
Example: They aim to prevent women
from being relegated to a secondary role
Synonyms: downgrade, lower, lower
in rank/status, put down, move down
Underprivileged: not enjoying the same
standard of living or rights as the majority of people in a society.
Example: This occasion, as in
previous years, was one of happiness and support for underprivileged people in
society.
Synonyms: needy, deprived, disadvantaged, poor, destitute
Liberal: concerned mainly with
broadening a person's general knowledge and experience, rather than with
technical or professional training.
Example: In Korea, general education,
rather than liberal education, is the preferred term.
Synonyms: wide-ranging, broad-based, general
