Excessive focus on marksheets to judge a child’s academic potential only turns the document into ‘prestige sheet’ for parents and ‘pressure sheet’ for students, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, 11 September.
Addressing a conclave on School Education in 21st Century, organised under the National Education Policy 2020 , PM Modi stressed the need to replace marksheets with holistic report cards, including self and peer assessment.
“Students learn even while playing, but parents never ask them about such learning. Marksheets have become the only decisive factor. Can students be judged on the basis of one marksheet? it is a prestige sheet for parents and pressure sheet for students.”Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
PM Modi further stressed that easing mental pressure of students and conducting exams without putting unnecessary stress on students is one of the key aspects of NEP 2020. “Students should not be judged on the basis of one exam and evaluation should be based on self and peer-assessment.”
Focus on Experiential Learning
Underscoring the importance of fun, activity-based and experiential learning, PM Modi urged teachers to take students to the railway station, when explaining a subject on the railway on engines.
Similarly, he suggested that students should be taken to safe factory units and agricultural fields, hospitals and other places to better understand subjects they are being taught.
He also said that local craftsman, artisans and potters can be invited to schools and students can learn a great deal from them by watching and asking questions.
Stressing on the need to develop foundational numeracy and literacy, PM Modi said that it is extremely important for students to think mathematically in every aspect of life for better cognitive development. “Mathematical thinking isn’t just about solving problems, but about implementing it in all aspects of life and having a mathematical vision.”
For literacy, he suggested that any students who can read 30-35 words in a minute will be able to better grasp subjects and concepts in the future. For this, PM Modi said that a young student can be asked to “cite names of all his friends at one go. She can then be asked to cite it with speed. Further, she can be asked to cite their names at speed while also pointing at them and asking them to stand in order.”
In order to sensitise children and make them more humane, PM suggested that they be asked to know more about their rickshaw driver, for instance.
“How many students who avail of rickshaw services know about the driver? they must me encouraged to ask ten questions about the rickshaw driver’s life and then narrate about it in class.”Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
In this way, PM Modi said, students would learn to emphathise and undestand the constructive role of others in shaping their lives.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)