Click to play videoNew Delhi: With Kapil Sibal’s entry in the Human Resource Development Ministry it seems the era of Arjun Singh has come to an end. The 100-day agenda set by the new minister will make the board exams optional, percentile system to replace percentage and one single test after class XII for admissions in colleges.
When Arjun Singh replaced BJP’s MM Joshi as the HRD minister five years ago, the buzzword in the Ministry was ‘detoxification’ and in Sibal’s regime it has changed to ‘de-traumatisation’ but for bringing about this important educational reform, Sibal will have to take the states along.
But some Chief Ministers like Mayawati has already taken a leaf out of Sibal's book.
“The grading system for the class X board exams will come into effect from the 2010-11 academic session,” Mayawati told reporters at a press conference in Lucknow.
Sibal is not satisfied with reforms in school and higher education. The Ministry is talking about radical reforms with a single higher education commission to regulate UGC, AICTE, and MCI and interest free education loans for higher studies.
It is an ambitious programme that the Minister has embarked upon but a lot will depend on his ability to take the states on board.
PROS AND CONS OF CLASS X BOARD
Why don’t we need it?
- Too traumatic for a 15-year-old
- Too stressful for parents
- Focus on marks, not knowledge
- Class X not a changeover exam like class XII
Why class X board is important?
- Prepares students for a competitive world
- In rural India, students move to vocational courses after class X
- Prepares other students for class XII
- The Indian schooling system is arguably better than the western model
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