Page 83 - EducationWorld Aug 2020 Flipbuilder

increasing government interference in and continue online learning but video views. This initiative has made
fees and online education delivery. How the damage was done. Confusion remote learning accessible to stu-
much damage has this caused to private prevailed, learning was interrupted, dents in over 800 affordable private
schools? and schools and parents got into a English-medium schools. We have
Shifting and often unclear govern- tussle that has eroded mutual trust. also trained over 15,000 teachers
ment directives have generated con- All this is not good for the education during the past four months through
fusion among parents and educators. ecosystem. the online mode.
These directives have persuaded What are the major initiatives LEAD What are your Top 3 proposals for re-
some parents that they don’t have School has recently taken to upgrade inventing India’s K-12 education system?
to pay school fees. This has thrown teaching-learning? NEP 2020 has documented most
private schools into disarray because Even before the government im- of the ideas needed to reinvent K12
they rely on fees to pay teachers, staff posed the 21-day national lock- education. If we implement even 50
salaries and loan EMIs. down, LEAD School — one of the percent of the intent of the docu-
Further, blanket bans on online fastest-growing technology-enabled ment, we’ll take a big stride forward.
learning have nullified the efforts academic systems in India — had However, I want to see more public
of schools to provide uninterrupted launched its unique School@Home private partnerships because that’s
learning to students. Since then programme on March 16. Online the fastest way to improve the quality
the courts have intervened to al- classes under the programme have of the country’s 1.2 million govern-
low schools to charge tuition fees generated approximately 20 million ment schools.

Anil Sharma online classes. But I believe this
switch is a beneficial development
Principal, Birla Vidya Mandir, Nainital for school education as teachers
A integrating technology into class-
have become adept at using and
physics and education post-
grad of Delhi University and
room transactions.
M.D. University, Rohtak, Anil
Sharma is the principal of Birla Vidya The past few months have witnessed
Mandir, Nainital (estb.1947), ranked incremental government interference
among India’s Top 5 all-boys boarding in fees and online education delivery.
schools. In a distinguished career span- How much damage has this caused to
ning three decades in Indian education, private schools?
Sharma has served as former principal The only source of revenue for
of the Sanskriti School, Ajmer, Gyan private schools is fees. Since
Bharati, Delhi and deputy principal of the lockdown in March, private
Lawrence School, Lovedale. school teachers are conducting
online classes without interrup-
What is your overview of the NEP 2020 tion. But if schools are not al-
released last month? lowed to collect fees, how will they pay teachers and staff
NEP 2020 is a progressive futuristic document. Connect- salaries? Moreover, government guidelines allow schools
ing pre-primary, school and higher education through a to conduct online classes for not more than three hours
seamless education continuum will go a long way in rais- per day while the syllabus has been reduced by only 30
ing academic standards across the board. Also includ- percent. Schools will find it very difficult to complete the
ing vocational subjects in mainstream K-12 education syllabus with these restrictions.
will develop skill-based and academic competencies of
children, while the shift from rote to competency-based What are the major initiatives Birla Vidya Mandir has recently
learning, and teacher training reforms will radically taken to upgrade teaching-learning?
change Indian classrooms. Another great idea is the an- We have sharply upgraded the school’s IT infrastruc-
nual Compulsory Continuous Professional Development ture by creating digital resource centres in our IT labs,
programme for principals. increased Internet speed and conducted online orienta-
However, the suggestion to teach primary classes in tion programmes for teachers to improve pedagogies and
the mother tongue/local language is ill-advised especial- assessment processes.
ly for residential schools, as they enrol students not only What are your Top 3 proposals for re-inventing India’s K-12
from different states of the country, but from countries education system?
around the world. • School curriculums should be redesigned to develop
How satisfied are you with the switch of K-12 schools to students’ problem-solving skills and scientific temper.
online/blended learning during the current Covid-19 crisis? Is • Continuous and comprehensive orientation pro-
this a beneficial development? grammes for principals and teachers must be made
The switch to online/blended learning was necessary compulsory and conducted regularly.
because schools didn’t have any other option to ensure • Integrate parenting education and mentoring into
learning continuity. We cannot compare physical and school education.

AUGUST 2020 EDUCATIONWORLD 83