Debates over admission test for kids : Continuing the mad rat race
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 29, 2013 -

Better to look beyond the law or the Right to Education Act, though this may be important. What should be worrying parents is the increasing rat race, that borders on the insane.

Perhaps this is the opportune moment to look beyond the question of Catholic Schools conducting screening test for admitting young students, who may be as young as four or five years old, and take stock of the situation from a bigger perspective.

Time to take one hard look at the system which passes off as education and grades students.

Lest the ongoing debate over the screening test proposed by Missionary schools and which has been put on hold, cloud the real issue, let it be very clear to all that it is the young students whose fates are in the line.

It should not be about singling out schools run by the Catholic Educational Society nor should it be reduced to a situation where the future of young students, who are just ready to step into the world of schools and class rooms, can be jeopardised.

It should be about trying to change the mindsets of the people, the parents, the teachers, the school authorities towards what has been passed around as education here for decades.

In the absence of an alternative arrangement, marks are no doubt important, but should this be the sole criteria to judge the quality of a student ?

No educationist would agree with this, but subjecting young students to something called admission test is just the first step to start the 'ball of marks' rolling.

Take the admission test to the next plane and what one sees is the large number of parents picking up their kids to drop them off at the tutor's place or a coaching centre.

Extra help or guidance may be felt necessary to orient young students who are set to appear for some competitive examinations but when such measures are adopted at the time of appearing for the Board's examinations at the Class X and Class XII levels then there is something seriously wrong. Such a growing trend also raises a serious question on what the schools have been teaching the students all the while.

When performance is equated with only the marks that one scores at the examination, then be sure that the formula has been scripted to encourage learning by rote.

A culture which silences the students from exercising their mental faculty and question the content that they are being taught.

The debate that the decision of Catholic schools to conduct screening test for admitting young students should be taken to a higher level, involving the policy makers, the educationists, teachers, intellectuals, parents and each and every member of society on how the young students should be educated.

The present stand off is no doubt unfortunate but there is a silver lining that one may see and that is to see if the debate can be taken to the level of the mad rate race which young students are constrained to participate.

For starters it would be appropriate for everyone to admit that all of us are responsible for the Catholic schools to propose the screening test to admit young students, for everyone has been involved in the mad, rat race in one way or the other.