Needed change in teaching pattern.

A radical change in teaching - learning model is needed in the school-college education as remarkable difference is observed in the classrooms from those of the 1970s. The old "Abacus" bearing of the coloured balls on the wires for teaching children figures was replaced by computer abacus where the balls move before the toddlers with the animation technique. Additional fees of Rs 60-100 are collected monthly from the parents as the cost to accommodate children before the images on the computer screen.

Earlier school children are allowed to play at noon interval and in the evening, after their study time. A period of one hour for "drill" is also arranged in a week and there was only one drill master for the entire school. Currently, it has been replaced by all drill masters and all periods of study are game time. Singing, dancing, debating, cycling, project manufacturing are the current events without any actual learning process. No strict examination is conducted as it would annoy the children , the experts fear and these children are virtually ‘killed’ at the examination for medical or engineering entrance! And with none to verify school-student activities, they are left in the world of cell phones with the acquisition of no appropriate knowledge. Our teachers have become soldiers demanding more service benefit and pension age hiking without any commitment to the student community. The computational skills of children are very poor and many of them are unable to do simple calculations. The depressing side is, those teachers who leave children for their fancies escape from their duty and doing injustice to the society.

The credit and semester system now implemented in degree levels in colleges affiliated to Kerala and MG universities are damp squib where all students who study or not study get A grade. The practical examination has lost its importance with external and internal examiners sitting together to give all students A grade. I challenge the Universities to conduct a re-examination for practicals to students who secured A grade in the examination and see whether they are eligible for the same. The National Accreditation Council (NAC) team visiting the colleges are intended to check the hospitality of the college management where the assessment regarding actual teaching-learning process is never done. The infrastructure facility, I mean, the tiled toilets are the main concern of the NAC team and colleges with adequate money collected from student admission and teacher appointment outshine other colleges.

The authorities say they are following international pattern unknowingly the basic difference between our children and the children in US or UK. Though school- college education is money business in Kerala, the children from lower strata of community are denied opportunity by the so called modernization in conjunction with western style. The western child knows how to write his name correctly in English but our child, even in school final class, does not know to spell a word correctly.

K A Solaman