Primary Education

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Kenya: NGAOs directed to ensure 100pc secondary school transition

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Africa/Kenya/02-02-2020/Author: Hunja Macharia/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

The Government will conduct a head count of last year’s KCPE candidates who have joined form 1 in line with the 100 percent transition policy.

Speaking in Vihiga County Interior CS Fred Matiangi warned that National Government Administrative officers will be held personally liable for the absence of these learners from school.

“Despite our progress in transitioning from primary to secondary school education we’re still holding out for 100% of last year’s KCPE candidates. Chiefs & Asst. Chiefs must comb through villages & account for these learners within their areas of jurisdiction.” Matiangi said.

The same was replicated in Kilifi County where Senior Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission officials embarked on an exercise to ensure the 100 percent transition to secondary school policy is complied with.

This follows revelations that the County had achieved a transition rate of 86 percent with the other students unaccounted for.

The senior officials led by Education Chief Administrative Secretary Mumina Bonaya together with administrative and security officers went on a house-to-house mop up exercise and forcefully took parents and their children who were still at home to nearby secondary schools where they supervised the admission of the children.

The team also included Deputy Director of Education Hassan Duale, Coast Regional Director of Education Hussein Osman, TSC Coast Regional Director Victoria Mvoka and Kilifi County Director of Education Eunice Khaemba among other government officers.

Ms Bonaya said less than 60,000 students were yet to join form one in the Country as efforts to attain 100 per cent transition reach top gear.

Kilifi and Tana River Counties are said to be the Counties with the highest number of students who are still at home with the CAS saying the Ministry remains committed to ensure full compliance with the policy.

“We are just following up to ensure that we do not leave anyone behind as it is now a government policy to ensure 100 percent transition from primary to secondary school,” she said.

Bonaya however acknowledged that some parents or guardians had failed to take the students to school due to financial constraints.

“Some of the children are total orphans while others were abandoned by their parents and are living with their elderly grandparents. Others are not aware that government secondary schools do not charge school fees, but we have advised them accordingly,” she said.

Source and Image: https://www.kbc.co.ke/ngaos-directed-to-ensure-100pc-secondary-school-transition/

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18,000 needy students to benefit from government scholarship

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Africa/Kenya/15-12-2019/Author(a): Christine Muchira/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

By: Christine Muchira

Education Cabinet Secretary, Prof George Magoha, says 9,000 Form One Students to benefit from Elimu Scholarship Programme in 2020.

The Ministry of Education has opened applications for the inaugural 2020 Elimu Scholarship Programme targeting 9,000 beneficiaries.

Eligible 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Examination candidates have until December 16, 2019 to apply for the scholarships that are funded by the Ministry of Education with support from the World Bank. They will be implemented through the Equity Group Foundation.

The Elimu Scholarship Programme, funded through the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP), will benefit candidates from 110 targeted Sub-Counties and fifteen urban centres with informal settlements.

Announcing the start of the Elimu Scholarship, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha said the programme will boost the Government’s 100 per cent transition policy that was introduced last year.

“We are determined to utilize the Sh3 billion scholarship programme to further ensure that all the needy and vulnerable 2019 KCPE candidates are supported to gain admission to schools of their choice,” Prof Magoha said.

Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman Dr. James Mwangi said the Foundation will ensure the selection is thorough and based on merit.

“Equity will deploy its massive infrastructure and its technical capacity to successfully implement the Elimu scholarship programme on behalf of the Ministry of Education in the selection of 18,000 needy beneficiaries of the Elimu Scholarship Programme over the next two years,” he said.

This year, Dr.  Mwangi said 9,000 Elimu Scholarship Programme beneficiaries will be selected while 1,125 beneficiaries will be picked under the Wings to Fly Programme, bringing the total number of scholarships to 10,125 this year.

“We welcome the Elimu Scholarship Programme as it widens the opportunities for more children to access secondary school education and increase their opportunities of a better future for themselves, their families and communities. We have seen the tremendous transformational opportunities that the Wings to Fly program has had on the beneficiaries with majority transitioning to universities locally and across the world including Ivy League schools.”

Under the programme, poor and vulnerable children from financially constrained backgrounds and who attained 280 marks and above in 2019 KCPE, will be considered. For affirmative action, candidates who are Orphans and/or from Vulnerable Communities and those with special needs and disabilities who attained below 280 marks may be considered.

Only candidates who sat for KCPE examinations in 2019 from public primary schools in the targeted areas will be eligible to apply for the inaugural cohort of 9,000 scholarships tenable in 2020.

The 110 targeted Sub-Counties are as per the National Government Administrative areas that existed in the year 2015. The list of the targeted Sub-counties and the fifteen urban centres with informal settlements can be accessed through the Ministry of Education and Equity Group Foundation websites; www.education.go.ke and https://egfdmis.equitybank.co.ke/register_elimu

Applicants of the Elimu Scholarship Programme must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  1. Candidates with special needs and disabilities (Physical, Hearing and Visual Impairments, Autism, Albinism, Learning Disabilities and Others); or

Orphans and vulnerable children; or

Candidates from vulnerable communities in the target Sub-Counties; or

Candidates from urban centres with informal settlements; or

Candidates:

  1. whose parents/guardians are living with disabilities that have compromised their ability to meet the financial obligations of their children
  2. whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses with debilitating effects that could render parents and guardians destitute and unable to fend for their families
  3. whose families are affected by extreme poverty rendering them unable to educate their children
  4. Who have suffered from neglect, abuse and have no support to continue with their education.

Interested applicants are advised to collect the scholarship application forms from the nearest Equity Bank Branch or Equity Bank Agent. Application forms can also be downloaded from the Ministry of Education and Equity Group Foundation websites; www.education.go.ke and https://egfdmis.equitybank.co.ke/register_elimu

Duly completed application forms and supporting documents should be submitted to the nearest Equity Bank Branch by 16th December 2019. Shortlisted candidates accompanied by parents/guardians will be invited for interviews which will be conducted by the Community Scholarship Advisory Committees.

The scholarship caters for School fees, transport to and from school, learning materials and School kit for the beneficiaries for the four-year education period. Please note that ONLY the candidates who meet the requirements will be considered for the scholarship. Members of the public are urged to share this information widely.

Any grievances regarding the scholarship programme are to be addressed to: elimu@equitygroupfoundation.com  or elimu@education.go.ke

While the Wings to Fly programme is targeting students who scored at least 350 marks in the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), the Elimu Scholarship Programme cut off mark is 280 marks except in regions with vulnerable and marginalised communities and for children with disabilities where the cut off can be lowered.

The applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews by the respective scholarship selection boards. The number of boards has been increased to 207 from 119 to adequately cater for the increased numbers.

The boards comprise of at least 13 local community stakeholders including local administrative leaders, education officials, Equity Agent representatives, Vulnerable and marginalized communities representatives, religious and community leaders in the County.

Each board is chaired by the Deputy County Commissioner or the Sub-County Education Officer and coordinated by the respective Equity Bank Branch Managers.

Speaking on the application process, Dr. Mwangi urged administrative leaders and community leaders to use their offices to create awareness on the scholarships to ensure all eligible needy children take advantage of the opportunity. “I appeal to religious leaders to use church and mosque services to make announcements on the ongoing application process. Let all Kenyans of goodwill show their care by reaching out to potential candidates who can benefit from these scholarships,” he added.

The Wings to Fly programme which is now in its 11thyear supports bright but economically challenged pupils, who would otherwise not be able to join secondary school due to financial constraints. This is through funding from Equity Group, MasterCard Foundation and German Government through KfW.

The scholarship caters for tuition and boarding fees, books, uniform, and transport to and from school as well as pocket money for the four years of secondary school. To date, 16,168 scholars have benefitted from this programme.

Last year, the Equity Group Foundation received more than 26,000 applications from needy students who sat for their 2018 KCPE examinations and were unable to finance their secondary school educatio.

Source: https://www.kbc.co.ke/18000-needy-students-government-scholarship/

Image:  Rolf Dobberstein en Pixabay 

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High stake exams for children

Manzoor Ahmed
By: Manzoor Ahmed.

Issuing a suo moto rule on November 20, the High Court questioned the legality of the expulsion of children from Primary Education Completion Examination (PECE) and its madrasa equivalent Ebtedayee terminal examinations. The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman issued the rule following a report published in a Bangla daily. The daily reported that around 15 students had been expelled from PEC and Ebtedayee terminal examinations which had started on November 17. The hearing has been set for December 10.

The court will consider the circumstances and justification of children being expelled from the exam. According to some reports, the expelled children were proxy examinees on behalf of other children, an offense, if true, that cannot be tolerated. The larger and more serious concern is how a primary school exam has such high stake that children, their parents, and perhaps teachers find it necessary to collude to commit a crime.

This is the question, we hope, the HC will consider. The education authorities have failed to address this question. It has been raised persistently by education researchers, child development experts, and parents ever since the nationwide public examination at the end of class 5 was introduced in 2010.

Until 2010, school-based assessment of students in primary school was the common practice. A small number of students of class 5, aspiring for a government scholarship, sat for a centrally administered test. The rest went on to secondary school after obtaining a certificate from their school.

Since then, highly competitive, high-stake, national, centrally administered public examinations at the end of grades 5 and 8, were added to the already existing SSC and HSC exams at the end of grade 10 and 12. The intention was to put teachers and schools under scrutiny, set some common standards of performance, and satisfy over-anxious parents.

The potential effect on children and teaching-learning in school from frequent public exams was forgotten. Education experts were sceptical about this move. But there was a great hype about the virtues of frequent examinations by politicians and officials, always on the lookout for quick-fixes. A dispassionate look was not taken at the consequences of making students totally pre-occupied with preparing for and taking tests, instead of engaging in and enjoying learning. Frequent exams became the remedy for the perceived decline in students’ learning outcome.

The counter-productive and perverse consequences of too many public exams since 2010 have been well documented. These included a surge of private coaching, commercial guidebooks, rote memorisation, desperation for guessing questions, cheating in exams, question leaks, incentive for authorities to show high pass rates and so on. (Education Watch Report 2014, Whither Grade 5 Examination, CAMPE.)

Evidence collected by researchers and CAMPE led to the recommendation to the government in 2016 to drop the grade 5 public exam and rethink student assessment. The then Minister of State for Primary and Mass Education, Mr Mostafizur Rahman, MP accepted the recommendation, but was not able to persuade his cabinet colleagues to change the status quo. Exams continue to reign supreme—and learning a lesser priority.

A Bangla daily, under a banner headline, “A Primary Education Board in the Offing,” reported that establishment of a new education board along the line of secondary education boards, is under consideration to conduct the nationwide PECE. An institutional structure, it is argued, is needed to administer the exam for over three million examinees at the end of class 5. The parliamentary committee on primary and mass education apparently has suggested such a step.

This move would be wrong on at least three counts. First, with grave doubts and ongoing debate about the PECE, it is not right to double down to take measures for institutionalising this exam. Secondly, it is necessary to get beyond the past fragmentation of school education management into primary and secondary and start thinking about curriculum, learning assessment and quality improvement for school education, pre-primary to grade 12, as a whole; universal quality primary and secondary education is the SDG 2030 goal which is also a pledge of Bangladesh’s. Thirdly, we need a technical body for learning assessment research, development and application, rather than an examination board of the type that exists today at the secondary level.

It is not that all exams and student assessment should be ditched. The value of traditional school-based annual exams needs to be restored. Public assessment at key stages should be for assessing basic competencies in language, math and science rather than using these as a substitute for the annual school-based exams. Schools, teachers, parents and the education authorities need to prioritise teaching and learning, rather than preparing for and taking public exams.

The example of Singapore or Finland having primary level public exam is sometimes mentioned in justifying our primary completion examination. This is based on a misunderstanding of student assessment in advanced systems. Singapore has a Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) at the end of grade 6, which, among other things, determines school choice for students. It is held over four days in October, about two hours each day, on students’ skills in English, mother tongue, math and science, rather than on all school subjects and is not linked to textbooks. Elimination of even this form of PSLE is under consideration, to be replaced by an assessment approach in line with the “learning for life” goals (“Testing and Learning – How Singapore Does It,” The Daily Star, October 5, 2018).

In Finland, a grade 6 external exam is optional for students, and is used to assess schools and the system rather than individual students who are not given a specific mark or grade based on the exam.

Moreover, the learning resources and teacher skills and competencies are very different in Singapore and Finland and similar advanced systems. Assuring the quality of teaching-learning is the priority there; assessment in school and external ones are a secondary means to this end.

The original introduction of PECE and class 8 public exam (JCE/JDE) and the prospective exam board are examples of how decisions affecting millions of children should not be taken. It is a closed and bureaucracy-dominated approach without due consideration of all the consequences and lessons from research. Could the Parliamentary Committees for Primary and Mass Education and for Education hold a joint public hearing inviting experts and stakeholders on these issues?

Source of the article: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/education/news/high-stake-exams-children-1834363

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Taleemabad: The app spreading education across Pakistan

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Asia/ Pakistan/ 30.09.2019/ Fuente: www.verdict.co.uk.

En Pakistan, 51% of people are expected to own smartphones by 2020, but 48% of children cannot read a simple sentence by the time they leave primary education. To bridge this divide, Haroon Yasin set up the Orenda Project to teach the national curriculum using digital learning. Verdict talked to him about how Orenda’s Taleemabad app is bringing education to children overlooked by traditional schooling.

Haroon Yasin grew up in a middle-class family in Islamabad but saw incredible disparity with poor areas on his doorstep devoid of any basic services. When he dropped out of college – though he did eventually graduate from Georgetown University in a different discipline – he got to know the children living in the slums where they started working at the age of four, picking up trash on the streets and chronically malnourished.

“I became consumed with wanting to do something for them,” he says. “I rented a two-room building and opening a day-care centre because all I wanted was for these really young kids to be off the street.”

Yasin’s team found that one of the best ways to keep them engaged and happy was to teach them in a way that they enjoyed, so they inadvertently became teachers. As they themselves had hated formal education as students, it gave them insight into what needed to be done to fix it.

“That school in the slum flourished and had 100 kids in the school at one point. We used to feed them and teach them a lot of different skills,” Yasin says.

“We started thinking about the fact that they were about 24 million of these [out of school] kids all across our country. We started travelling all around crisscrossing to small villages and towns, where it was almost impossible to get to by car or a motorbike, and we had to go down a track or take a bull cart to those places.”

Identifying the problem

Yasin would stay in the villages helping the farmers in the field and spending time with communities to really get to the heart of why, even where there was a free educational opportunity, most students were choosing to forego that.

“I was farming with this particular farmer and I became frustrated with the whole thing and said, look, why don’t you send your kids to school? It’s right there and it’s free. And he became really cross with me and said why should I send my kid to school?” says Yasin.

“He had two children and sent one of them to school while the other stayed in the fields. The one that had gone to school had eventually grown weak because he would be indoors all day studying and got glasses, which was a bit of a stigma for the people in the village because they’re, like, he has a disability now.

“Eventually, even after completing 10 years of education, he didn’t get a job. And so he came back to the village, not strong enough to do any work in the fields, not educated enough to be employed in a high-rise office.”

Yasin believes that farmer’s generation was failed when Pakistan established its public education system, and that failure has been repeated across the world. He also noted an unusual disparity; in Pakistan, 50% of the children grow up chronically malnourished, and many are taken out of school because they have to work long days.

But even among the poorest children he taught, their parents found the resources to somehow buy mobile phones as they are so essential to modern life. Even in areas with no electricity supply, they would bring phones to the local mosque to charge as there was always a small generator there.

3 Things That Will Change the World Today

Fuente de la noticia: https://www.verdict.co.uk/taleemabad-app-orenda/

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Muslim children get Catholic education in flexible Madagascar

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Africa/ Madagascar/ 09.09.2019/ Source: www.yahoo.com.

The bell of St. John’s Catholic high school, next to the cathedral in Antsiranana in northern Madagascar, sounds for the noon break, and hundreds of students pour into the street.

Among them is Michael Beafara. With his schoolbag on his back, he hails a tuk-tuk taxi, for there is no time to lose — it is Friday, and he needs to get to the mosque for midday prayers.

En route, he will stop off at home to swap his khaki school shirt, which has the cross emblazoned on the breast, for an ochre djellaba.

«I try to go to the mosque on Fridays and at the weekend,» says the 16-year-old Muslim, who has been enrolled in Catholic schools since primary education.

The arrangement may raise eyebrows in other countries, especially where religious friction is high.

Not so in Madagascar, an island nation whose traditions of religious tolerance will this week be on display for Pope Francis, who arrives on Friday for the second leg of a three-nation African tour.

At Beafara’s school, run by the Daughters of Mary, nearly one in eight of pupils are Muslim.

At Saint Joseph high school, also in Antsiranana, Muslims account for more than one in five of the enrolment, whereas they account for less than 10 percent of Madagascar’s overall population.

– High standards –

As in other poor countries, Catholic education is prized by many families, who cite discipline, quality teaching and access to a social network as among its prime advantages.

In 2017, students at Catholic schools in Madagascar notched up a 63-percent success rate for the baccalaureat — the all-important school-leaving exam, which is modelled on the famous French «bac».

In contrast, only 38 percent of students succeeded in the baccalaureat at state schools. Eleven percent of school students overall are enrolled in Catholic schools.

Parents of Muslim children told AFP that they were unbothered by the religious component of education in Catholic schools, which includes a commitment by pupils to learn the Christian catechism and follow classes in Christian morality entitled «Education about life and love».

«There are so many common areas between Islam and Catholicism,» said Michael.

«Whether you are a Catholic or Muslim, we all pray to the same God,» said his father, Leonce Beafara, a former civil servant who grew up in a Christian household but married a Muslim.

Mixed backgrounds such as this are common northern Madagascar, which has the largest concentrations of Muslims in the country.

The success comes with a price — school fees range up to 60,000 ariary ($17, 15 euros) per month per child, which can be a heavy burden in a country where two-thirds of people survive on less than $2 per day. State education is free.

– Crucifixes and Ramadan –

By 1.30 pm, classes are St. John’s resume — time for religious lessons.

Michael greets his friends with a hearty Islamic salutation, «As-salaam-alaikum» (Peace be unto you).

He has had enough time to get back into his school blouse with the cross on it — only Catholic symbols are permitted in the school. At the entrance, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, and there are crucifixes in every classroom.

Many students questioned by AFP said they were surprised that religious cohabitation should even be considered an issue.

«It’s completely normal,» said Izad Assouman, 18. «We are equal, we respect each other,» said Michael, who has permission to take time out of school during Ramadan to prayer at the mosque.

The students said they approved a recent decision by President Andry Rajoelina to name Aid el-Fitr — the end of Ramadan — as a public holiday, alongside Christian holidays.

«Muslim pals invite me sometimes to come over for the end of Ramadan,» said Frederic Robinson, a Catholic student.

– Tradition of tolerance –

Sister Marie Theodosie, who is the bookkeeper at St. John’s, said peaceful coexistence is rooted in the region’s traditions and similar lifestyles. Many families eschew pork and women of both religions favour long, conservative gowns.

The school’s youthful computer science teacher, Soafa Jaoriky, is a Muslim but says with a little laugh that she knows the Catholic prayers.

«When I was I child I forced my (Muslim) mother to learn them so that she could teach them to me.»

Facilitating enrolment by Muslims, Catholic schools in Antsiranana do not request a certificate of baptism from new students — unlike many schools in the capital Antananarivo, where Muslim students are less numerous.

Tolerance and cohabitation are one thing, but religious conversions are rare, according to Father Gidlin Bezamany, in charge of the Catholic schools in Antsiranana.

Catholic schools «are not there for proselytising,» he said.

Source of the notice: https://www.yahoo.com/news/muslim-children-catholic-education-flexible-madagascar-042032320.html

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A play-based and non-didactic approach to primary education

Anurag Behar
 

Vibrant classrooms with engaged teachers are an integral part of the New Education Policy vision

Puducherry has systematically gone about starting pre-primary classes in all its government primary schools. Anyone you ask there, they point to this levelling of the playing field as a key reason for enrolment increases in these schools, and the drop on that metric in private schools. Many teachers in Puducherry, on their own initiative, have expanded the “play-based» and “non-didactic» pedagogical approach of pre-primary classes to primary classes. Both these matters, on which action is visible in Puducherry, pre-empts the draft National Education Policy 2019 (NEP).

Gomathy was teaching class 3 at the Savarirayalu Government Primary School in Puducherry. The students were involved in addition of 3- and 4-digit numbers, working in five groups of five students each. Each group had some locally made (or very low-cost) pedagogical aids to help with the exercise. Observation made it clear that each group had a mix of students based on their comfort with the exercise. Gomathy ensured that students who were at ease with the problems did not dominate the proceedings and helped others who were struggling.

Energy was flowing in the class, with kids racing to their teacher for more problem sheets after finishing one. Gomathy explained how the school’s teachers had collectively decided to adopt a “cohort-teacher» approach, meaning the same teacher teaches a cohort of students all subjects as they progress from class to class, till they move out from primary school. This system is very useful in the early classes, when the basis of learning is primarily the relationship of trust and care between students and teachers. Learning from experience, they had tweaked this system to ensure that no cohort of students is put at a disadvantage by the cohort-teacher’s limitations.

Such vibrant, adequately resourced classrooms, with engaged teachers who have an empathetic relationship with their students, are an integral part of the NEP’s vision. So is the importance of empowerment of schools to take key educational decisions. It also highlights the centrality of the role of teachers, and the importance of “professional learning communities» of teachers.

Gomathy surprised me when she told me that she had translated Chapter 14 (National Research Foundation) of the NEP into Tamil. Her initiative and competence are not limited to school classrooms. She was as a part of a collective civil society exercise to translate the entire 484 pages of the NEP to Tamil. Later in the evening at a consultation meeting on the NEP, I saw the result of this remarkable effort—neatly printed Tamil versions of the Policy. About 40 people were involved in this effort, most of them government school teachers.

Over the course of the next three days, I was in three such meetings across the country, attended mostly by teachers and activists for public education. These were lively discussions. There were several clarifications, many constructive suggestions, a few disagreements, and a widespread acknowledgement of the much-needed transformations of Indian education that the NEP lays out. With hundreds of such points of feedback, the NEP in its final form will surely be significantly improved.

In sharp contrast to such constructive engagement is the reaction of some educationists. Many have read non-existent sections and intentions into the draft. As an example, many have seen the horrors of commercialization and privatization writ in the NEP, despite the painstaking effort of the committee to underline the importance of public education. Others are exhibiting narcissism of small differences. Both sets are being irresponsible to the very causes that they have fought for most of their lives. Because most of these causes, fought and advocated by almost everyone committed to a vibrant public education system, including these educationists, are now integral to the NEP.

Such educationists also seem to be losing sight of the fundamental nature of public policymaking—always an exercise in negotiation and balance between contending perspectives. Education in our country is a tricky battlefield. Any policy initiative that manages to stick to basic principles and succeeds in avoiding egregious mistakes or surrendering to fringe interests is definitely a success. The Kasturirangan committee has done more; while avoiding such mistakes with remarkable diligence, it has actually created a blueprint for what most in education have for decades wished for.

The final word goes to one of the wisest and most competent of public administrators in the country, who wryly commented at the end of a consultation meeting with a large group of powerful people in education, “If so many people with deep vested interests are dead against the NEP, it must be absolutely the right thing to do; let’s implement it immediately.»

Until our public intellectuals of whatever hue, liberal, left, centrist or right leaning, are more thoughtful about the reality of policymaking, are alive to the political moment, and are intellectually non-partisan, policymakers will continue to be very suspicious of experts. And that is not good for society in the long run.

Source of the article: https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/opinion-a-play-based-and-non-didactic-approach-to-primary-education-1563384928852.html

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Future Trends That Will Shape Primary Education In India

Amrita Vohra

By: Dr. Amrita Vohra.

According to the Census of India, the rural literacy rate still stands at just 69 percent, which is far below the world average of 86 percent

 

With the ever-growing population of the country, the future of India promises to be exciting. Youth has the largest share in the demographics of India, and that makes education the most vital sector for India.

When we talk about education, one can’t help but think and bemoan at the current state of primary education in the country. Primary education forms the most basic stage of formal education that is preceded by preschool. It gives children a basic understanding of various subjects.

It is at this stage that India lags behind, especially in rural areas, where the level of literacy among adults is poor. According to the Census of India, the rural literacy rate still stands at just 69 percent, which is far below the world average of 86 percent.

However, all of these promises to change in the coming years. With the advent of technology, the process of teaching, as well as learning, is bound to become more interesting and practical. Of course, there are cons to it as well, but use technology the right way and there’s nothing that one cannot achieve.

The future isn’t just limited to technology, though. Yes, it will revolve somewhere around technology, but there’s more to it than just that. Let’s take a look at some of the future trends that will shape the primary education in India –

Use Of Technology At Teaching Level

Generation Z is so much into technology these days that education can’t help but involve technology in some form or the other. Global Indian International School, Chinchwad, is one of the top schools that work in tandem with the latest and innovative practices introduced through technology.

Smart classes are one of the latest developments taking place in primary school, especially in urban areas. Google Classroom is an extremely popular tool that is used in Global Indian International School, Chinchwad from class 5th onwards.

3D printing is another technology that is expected to take earning to a new level. It helps to give shape and form to the imagination of young, creative minds. Creating real-life models gives influx to creativity.

Virtual reality (VR) is another aspect of technology that we cannot overlook. Just like 3D printing, it gives a more real-life experience to students. Chinese philosopher Confucius once said, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” VR thus helps in enhancing the classroom experience of a child.

Revival Of Indian Languages

India is a land of ‘linguistic pluralism’ or in simple words, a large number of languages are spoken in India. A few years back, Sanskrit was a part of the Indian education system, alongside Hindi or other similar local languages.

In recent years, we’ve seen Indian schools aspiring to compete on an international level. Competing at the international level requires knowledge of a language that goes across geographical borders to bring people on a common platform. In this race to become internationally acclaimed, Indian languages have been compromised upon.

However, Indian languages will continue to play a role in primary education of the country. Hindi still remains the 3rd most widely spoken language in the world and one cannot overlook its importance.

At Global Indian International School, Chinchwad, there is a usage of Hindi even in their flagship events. An entire show is compeered with impeccable articulation in Hindi and I take great pride in sharing that my students are well trained in the language and have won accolades in competitions at inter-school, state and national level.

Ed-Tech Startups

India is the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. Not all of them succeed, of course. In fact, according to a study by IBM Institute for Business Value, 90 percent of Indian startups fail within the first five years and the most common reason is lack of innovation.

That being said, there are many edu-tech startups in the country currently that are changing the landscape of the education sector. By offering online courses and other means of e-learning, starting right from pre-school, these startups will play a dominating role in the industry’s future.

Khan Academy, even though not Indian, is a popular e-learning startup that offers a variety of online tools to educate students. Udemy is another foreign startup that offers similar services.

Keeping in mind the fascination of kids towards technology, edu-tech startups are here to stay.

One-To-One Mentoring

While the number of students is constantly increasing, the number of teachers aren’t increasing at the same rate. What this means is that the student to teacher ratio is falling constantly.

However, mentoring is a concept that is going to play a major role in primary education in the future. Mentorship may not necessarily be a relationship between a teacher and a student. It may exist between a senior and a junior as well. Whatever may be the form, mentorship concept is something that will shape primary education in the future, especially when the teacher may be short in number.

Multiple research studies document the social and emotional benefits that school students receive through mentoring programs (Komosa-Hawkins, 2012).

Fewer Dropouts As Literacy Rate Among Parents Increases

Literacy is an enormous tool that decides the fate of not just the individual but of the nation and the world at large. Primary Indian schools in rural areas have been facing dropout problems for years. The main cause of this problem is the poor literacy rate among parents. They don’t value their child’s education as much as they value their daily income, which is why they prefer sending their children to farms rather than schools.

It is extremely important to keep elevating the rate of literacy. Global Indian International School, Chinchwad believes that parents are the ambassadors who will create awareness about literacy. It has a program called ‘Individual Development Plan’ that is charted for each child in partnership with the parents. It sets a goal which is not just restricted to academics but touches the horizons of extra-curricular as well.

As the literacy rate continues to elevate, we will produce well-educated individuals and see lesser number of children dropping out of primary education.

Skill-Based Education or Vocational Education

According to a recent study, 65 percent of today’s grade school kids will end up at a job that hasn’t been invented yet. These jobs are primarily going to be focusing on the skill set which will be the need of the hour. It has been stated in various talks that academic prowess is losing its magnitude in comparison with human virtues. People management, teamwork, compassion are now being looked upon as important skills.

Thus, skill-based education is going to be the way to go in the future. At Global Indian International School, Chinchwad, there is a wide array of 21 hobby clubs for students to choose from, which helps them to enhance their intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Such clubs are important in helping the children learn new skills and discover within themselves the hidden talents that they may possess.

As mentioned earlier, education is an exciting space that promises to deliver in the future. Technology is going to bring a revolution in the education sector and thus produce more employable youngsters in the future.

Source of the article: http://www.businessworld.in/article/Future-Trends-That-Will-Shape-Primary-Education-In-India/09-03-2019-167796/

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