Redefining Education. Creating Interpretative thinkers..
With the Pandemic unleashing, the discussion whether to hold or postpone board examination continued instead of looking at possible alternatives. Ideally this could have viewed as an opportunity for re-designing educational assessments and evaluation in this new world that has been formed due to this pandemic, the government across the states have different opinions and thought process and many are still insisting on holding the examination in person thus posing threat.
Students and their parents have concerns about the future including admission to higher educational institutes, however, considering this being issue across the globe, no country including India could afford to get students under one roof to conduct the exams in physical form, this makes it imperative to conduct virtual way of assessment of their learning through the year. The fear that online examination would lead to mass cheating among the student, can be set forth by designing the papers that will encourage students towards critical thinking, engage with the material, build opinion for a different outlook, that no books would be able to provide as ready-made answers to. Right to education affirms the importance of formative assessments, leading to engage teachers to evaluate the students throughout the year, further evaluating and accessing students through the year will lead to more holistic learning approach.
Higher Education Institutions can facilitate online entrance examination for the students gearing to seek admissions, the other thing could be to involve them in peer evaluation, this would help them in participating in learning process and make them able to share feedbacks which will help them for the later stage of their lives. Embracing the emotional, social, physical and intellectual growth of child were the framework of National Curriculum 2005 on human values, which leads us to a question, as to, whether these aspects like social, emotional and spiritual development can also be utilized to assess student’s growth or we still need to stick to the academic performance?
The present time and circumstance provide us with an excellent opportunity to redefine education and the need of collaborative change across the curriculum starting from K to 12. Looking at the present crisis as an occassion for a change. The core issues can be engaged to prevent the students of this rote learning mode, a complete autonomy by the government to the educational committees constitute of students, teachers, educational leaders, researchers and scholars who can favor, organize and implement this change within the country, raising the quality of education here, will also reduce the mass exodus of the students to foreign universities and thus loss of the talent, leading to retaining the talent in the country who can add value by advocating the fabric of diverse and non-stratified India.
We at Empower believe in rising the quality of education and having a open book learning culture where in the need of the hour being concept learning, critical thinking, and self-expression ability to be inculcated in the students which would help them at the later stage of their lives.