2013 to usher in new evaluation for primary kids

No more annual exam as CCE will check students’ performance in scholastic areas as well as their thinking ability, emotional skills, behaviour and understanding of values

Yogesh Avasthi

Posted On Monday, August 22, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/20110822201108220258346654552038c/2013-to-usher-in--new-evaluation-for-primary-kids.html)

Soon, ratta marna will no longer get your kids good grades in school. After higher secondary school and colleges, primary schools in the state are facing an overhaul of the existing education system. Under the Model Rules of the Right to Education Act, rote learning will be replaced by a system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) that will take into account the talents of children in fields such as music, dance, art, writing and oratory along with their analytical ability and intelligence.

Semester system will be introduced in classes 6, 7 and 8 in 2012. It will be implemented in classes 1 to 5 in 2013.

Total learning package
Affirming this, Gujarat Council of Education, Research and Training Director M N Bhad told Mirror on Sunday, “The present system lays emphasis only on scholastic aspects. We are creating a Total Learning Package to ensure all-round development of students. Year 2012 will be trial period for the system to be implemented in 2013. Our focus is on how a child learns and not what he learns.”
The system emphasises on learning each chapter in detail through experiments, quizzes and practical models. The first step was to change the textbook content. An official said, “Topics have been localised so that children can identify with them. After every topic, there is a blank space in the textbooks.
Students have visit the library, read, research and write on the subject here. In many places, they will have to narrate their experiences or look up the local equivalent of the subject. Only then will the lesson be taken forward.” This will make the concepts real for the students, making them a part of the experience instead of mere observers/learners.
For instance, lessons on perspective will be reinforced using diagrams of devices commonly seen at home or in the classroom from different views. Likewise, the concept of measurement will be introduced by asking students to measure objects such as a book and calendar using non-standard units of measurement such as finger or hand spans, foot, cubit or pace.
Similarly, lessons in English will be backed by classroom discussions on topics related to the chapter concerned, descriptive writing of visits undertaken by children to places such as the post-office or the zoo, role play, craft-activity and solving language puzzles.

Teacher as facilitators
The role of the teacher changes tremendously in this system. “A teacher is a guide now. Assessment is based on two parameters — formative (extra-curricular) and summative (theory) - and the students will be graded instead of being given marks. Formative evaluation will include daily observation of the students’ behaviour and interaction with classmates, oral tasks, practical, activities, projects, surprise tests, open book tests, homework and class work. Summative evaluation will be done twice a year, based on oral/practical and written work. The weightage of marks is likely to vary from class 1 to 8,” the official added.

Factoring in feedback
The semester system has been currently implemented in classes 6,7 and 8 of 566 schools of Prantij, Kamrej, Sehra and Rajula talukas on a pilot basis. “The feedback from teachers, students, parents and educationists is being used to rectify and finalise the course. The system will be introduced in these three classes in 2012,” said Bhad. The response ensures that the time of the slowest learner is taken into consideration to fix period allotted to teach each topic.
Next year, the system will be implemented in classes 1 to 5 in 500 selected schools in villages, towns and cities across the state. The final course will be introduced in 2013.

Reducing stress
Principal Fr Fernando Durai of St Xavier’s High School, Loyola Hall, said, “The current education system is oriented towards textbooks and exams, leading to intense competition and stress in students. The semester system ascertains constant evaluation. Students will not have to answer in April the questions on topics he learnt at the beginning of the year.”
Principal Mahesh Brahmbhatt of B R Somani School said, “A student will learn to apply his mind, and not depend only on his memory. Semester system promotes learning through application of concepts. It encourages students to analyse a problem and find the solution. It secures holistic development if implemented in the right way.”