The modern
world is full of contradictions-continuity and change co-exist and success lies
in our ability to balance the opposites.New times call for new methods, new
concepts and ideas. The educational transactions of today should cater to the
demands of the changing times and perceptions of the people. The idea of
vocationalised education or work- centred education mooted by CBSE hinges upon
placing productive manual work at the centre of the school curriculum. As the education system in India
To a great
extent, the onus for this situation rests with the parents. Each parent wants
his child to study all the time, and not get distracted by any kind of work. In
the process they don’t allow the child to learn how to perform simple tasks
which can make life meaningful . It is said that in India, the child is not
allowed to grow up. Children, especially from affluent families totally lack
the inclination or the aptitude to do any kind of work. They shun manual labour
and make studies an excuse to abstain from doing even simple duties at home.
Most of these students score well in exams but they score poorly in the tests
given by life. Today’s child is veering away from nature . He lives in a
virtual world and within the realm of this world his capabilities and aptitudes
are developed and evolved to the maximum. But the same child may have no idea
how to plant and nurture a tree or to fix a leaking tap. Engaging students in work may help them
relate to life needs and grow into mature, well balanced individuals. This was
what was proposed by the Father of the Nation when he propounded the theory of
Nai Talim. It was felt that the brain may get weary of mere bookish knowledge
and so, the brain should be educated through the hand.
Vocational
education, though introduced way back, has not gained much momentum and has
been more or less denigrated to the second place after mainstream academics.
But vocationalised education is an entirely different concept. It seeks to introduce work centred pedagogy in a
graded manner, giving exercise to the brain and the brawn and bridging the gap
between work and education. In many institutes of higher learning, internships,
workshops and other projects are a part of the curriculum where the student has
to use the hand as well as the brain. If
this kind of education is introduced at the school level, it will become a part
and parcel of the education system of India
Quite a number
of schools have introduced summer courses wherein children are enrolled in
different courses in tune with their aptitudes . They are given opportunities
to do gardening, cooking, dyeing, pottery making or even to make simple
electrical gadgets. These activities may keep the children occupied during
their holidays. But since the school syllabus is so vast, there is not much
scope for such activities to be included in the curriculum. Including such
skills and activities will certainly make the school work more interesting and
productive. The boredom of listening to lecture after lecture can also be
alleviated to a certain extent by means of these activities. The proposal
includes engaging local farmers, artisans, mechanics, technicians etc as
resource persons or as invited faculty so as to provide expertise and
professional guidance. Accordingly, the evaluation system also has to be
restructured and modified. The CCE system
introduced by CBSE can be thought of as an initiative in this regard. With
social and political support for this venture, it is surely going to be a
feather in the cap for the educational system.
Shailaja Chandran,Vice Principal, St.
Thomas Central School Trivandrum
(This article has been published in ‘CENBOSEC’, the
quarterly magazine of CBSE, April-June edition)
