As per the latest report that comes from the National Capital, Delhi may soon have a new and separate education board. This board will not replace the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) but will be working parallel to it. The board will address the problems of the students of the coming generation who wish to prepare for competitive examinations like JEE, NEET etc.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “If things go as planned, Delhi might soon have its education board that will not be a replacement for the CBSE but a next-generation board to help students prepare for entrance examinations like JEE and NEET.”
Several coaching chains are running in every city which is focused on imparting higher education to students and preparing them for IIT-JEE & NEET exams. Students prefer to study in these coaching classes than to study in schools. Many students choose to Privatise school education and invest their whole time for preparing for these exams through coaching classes.
To fight this problem, the Delhi government is thinking of establishing their board. Every Indian State has its own State Focused Educational Board. Different schools in different states have options to affiliate to either the State Board or the Central Board. However, Delhi’s schools only had the option to get affiliated to CBSE only. However, the Delhi Government is now considering this as a blessing in disguise and planning to set up a distinguished educational board.
Sisodia also told that the government has been thinking about establishing a separate department for education since 2015 and has been working upon it since then. However, the work was deferred for long because the government wanted to first develop infrastructural facilities in the Delhi schools. However, the government believes that they have given enough attention to the infrastructural development of educational facilities. And it is now time that a separate board is developed for education.
The Delhi Education Board will not replace the CBSE but it will work side-by-side with a series of new generation improvements in education. The projected Delhi education board will change the face of education in India. As told by the officials, the Delhi Board will be based on the Grading of subjects.
Giving an example Sisodia said, “There can be four grades for subjects. E.g. Science can be divided into four grades; Science for Doctors, Science for engineers, Science for Sportsperson, Science for Humanities. Students are at the option of choosing their grade. If they wish to pursue journalism, they can opt for ‘A-Grade’ language and ‘C-Grade’ of science. Thus, he/she can get well-versed with the basics of the subject.”
Nowadays almost every 3rd student is preparing for IIT-JEE and every 4th student is pursuing NEET preparations. Even though every student invests around 6 to 7 hours daily at school, they still have to undertake coaching classes to get expert handed for clearing engineering and medical examinations. These students study 10% of their curriculum at school and rely on coaching classes for 90% of their studies. Delhi Government is aimed to address the current situation with the inception of this board. They will add programs and facilities for the students who wish to prepare for the examination and the students will have the opportunity to study and prepare for these exams at school level only. Thus, avoiding the need to take separate coaching classes.
Students spend a whole lot of fees on these coaching classes. Also, after 6-7 hours of schools, they have to spend another 4-5 hours on their coaching classes. This increases redundancy as students have to study the same content twice. They have a tight schedule and do not get time to invest in extra-curricular activities. Young students have been working hard lately for dealing with education-based competition.
To keep a mind healthy, every student shall takeout time separately to do physical activities, involve in social affairs and take proper sleep. However, the examinations preparations exert a lot of mental pressure on the students. After schools and coachings, they have to do self-study as well to have a better grip on subjects.
Eradicating the need to go to the coaching classes will give extra time to students to involve in healthy activities and study with a relaxed mind. The schools will have a separate time focused on preparing students for major competitive exams. Thus, students will not have to undertake to coach, saving their money and time both.
Adding to this topic he said, “Why not make exam preparation, a part of the board? Students are not able to rise above their capacity. So what is the advantage? We do not know what we are preparing the students for.”
Sisodia is also the education minister of the state and has recently launched a book titled ‘Shiksha’. The book is authored by him and he has mentioned about necessity of having a separate board for Delhi in the book. The book further talks about Sisodia’s takeaways, experiences and learning from his position as Delhi’s education minister.
Apart from this, in a recent event, the CBSE board has hiked the fees of schools, hence it is another event that has triggered the government to initiate the establishment of the new board.
If things go as planned and the board which is described as a new generation educational entity, then it will change the face of Indian education as their techniques will motivate other educational departments as well to bring about a change.
