The son of my neighbours failed to crack the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), leaving his parents livid and shocked. “He scored almost 100% in science and maths in the ICSE exams a few years ago,” they poignantly shared. However, they forgot that JEE is largely an application-based test and questions are not picked up from standard textbooks! Hence, the aptitude required is different.
Another child, who scored 99.4% in English in this year's ICSE exams, is very upset! The parents are applying for a revaluation to understand where the child lost her 0.6 %. This is sheer madness perpetuated by the BOARD probably to show one-upmanship and provide an advantage to their students against wards of the other boards. The parents are sucked into the whirlpool of madness. I do not understand how 100 % marks are scored in languages and economics that are very qualitative in nature.
Shakespeare rules in the Euro-centric board, and one should see how the teachers teach the subject. The great author must be rolling in his grave! “To get (good) marks, you have to use the appropriate words as mentioned in the text,” screams the English teacher.
The beautiful stories of the great writer are being murdered in classrooms. The creativity of the kids is slaughtered in the school. If I were a teacher, I would ask the children to provide a different ending to the story or review the plot. The minds of the little ones would open. Years ago, I attended the open house of my son in class 11 or 12. The teacher shared that my son sleeps in the class when Macbeth is taught. I asked him why and he remarked that the interaction was boring, making me think why not to make the subject interesting. An animated teacher is the best.
The class can enact Macbeth and improvise the scripts as actors do. However, parents forget that the SSC board is rote learning and ICSE is sophisticated rote. Literature is not holy and one should not follow every alphabet like the Bible. The story of Mangal Pandey will be discussed as a matter of fact in SSC whereas an ICSE student would be asked to write a project. The mothers would burn the midnight oil to complete it. This makes no sense!
The Euro-centric board is supposed to become Indocentric, but it is slowly and reluctantly trudging towards it. Many kids who feel as glorified intellectuals do badly in class 12 and entrance exams later. They have been injected with a large dose of delusional beliefs that they have arrived in ICSE and ISC, making them think 'I am the best' – a belief that unfortunately sinks.
The small bunch of the Anglo-Indian board, who are the think tank sitting in Delhi, need to introspect. Deluge of marks only injects a false sense of omnipotence. Provoking creative thoughts alone can build great leaders, who can contribute effectively to the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. I don't know if they will learn! The author is a renowned Mumbai-based psychiatrist
