Where do we go in reforming our educational sector?

It was a very good insight & thanks for sharing it with us.

Good reading. Thanks for the referral.

Yes, the Education System in India does not a thorough overhaul. If you look at the senior level (university education), you find that there are not many takers for basic education components. The mad rush for professional courses is alright, but when do we stop exporting talents and make them available for our own development. Surely, a look at the system at any one level is not sufficient. It needs to care for the aspirations of the people at large. For example, why a child be forced to go for higher studies, when he does not have an aptitude for it. Why not get him engaged in vocational training at an earlier level. The voluntary dropping of exam system for 10th standard can not be an answer to this problem. It could be a step in the direction. But does it solve the bigger problem of providing useful and pro-active employment to the multi-million people in the country. I concur with the observation that the advantage will not be as much, since the BPL people hardly send the kids to school. The well-to-do class gets in the rut of the "fashionable training" with out serious consideration of the kids aptitude. Probably, the HRD minister could look into this aspect of counseling more strongly as part of the curricula.

longback instead Xth and X11th there was 11th ,I thing that was good,that time B.TECH in IIT'S was of 5 years.and B.Sc of 3years course,Mr.Kapil Sibbal is going to adopt the same,he will have to make changes in many educational facaulty.

There is no doubt that the education system needs major reforms. Mr Kapil Sibal has made a point by taking a look at the system and proposing changes which might seem very small and insignificant at this point in time but would go a long way to improve the education pattern. 
The concept of a single board is very apt as this has always been an area of concern to parents as to which board is better for their wards. Also as is now seen in Maharashtra, where the Education Minister, using all his intelligence has come up with a reservation formula of 90:10 for the State Board students. The reasoning given here is that other national boards are liberal in awarding marks to the students in their board exams.
The next point of doing away with Board exams for the 10th Std is again a positive step. These board exams have become more of a farce since the marks obtained here are of no significance except for getting admissions to a junior college of your choice. The results of these exams have absolutely no bearing on what the student finally ends up doing in professional courses or as a means to deciding on a career path.
Education being made a fundamental right is again an essential requirement as this would give an opportunity for all to study. Education is becoming an important facet of everyone's life. A daily wage laborer today does not prefer to send his children to school, agreed! But once this starts to happen, this is also going to lead to controlling child labor to a large extent. 
I also agree that there is much more that needs to be done for the education system, but at least this is a beginning of a thought process that a change is required and is imminent.
Without doubting Mr Sibal's capabilities as a leader, I only hope that he is able to put into action what he has planned (and that too with datelines)   

Good reading. REforms in education sector are no doubt required firstly to make it universal and accessible to all and secondly to reduce the pressure and anxiety on the children and parents. No sooner a child is born, the parents start worrying about the admission and exams et al.

I am not satisfied with education given in most of the public schools either. The teachers are not trained, the attitude is not professional, money is high on agenda and the training part of education is lacking. 
I agree that mere changing the examination pattern is not going to solve the problem. School education is not for employability but for general mental and physical developement of children before they take up the responsibility of a citizen and for developing in them a sense to choose their way of contributing to the society...what we generally call choice of subject or profession.
Changes, if any, shall also be made in that direction. Since the details of Kapil's proposal are still not clear thus specific comments on it are not possible...but I am sure that TOOSTEP will discuss it as soon as it is announced.

Kapil Sibal has at least begun where most have been afraid to go! The reforms suggested are good. To bring an education system of the country under one umbrella is a very bold step. It will necessarily provide a very uniform infrastructure and economic structure to the partaker. It would also necessarily mean that only the deserving get ahead and the others need to buckle up and do better. The competitiveness increases and so does the end product that comes out of such an institution.

The only question for me is when and how will the education system accept it and how the implementation is done? It is however a very bold step to take which will raise eyebrows from wasted parties as well as wagging tongues as is the want here in India. Overall I think we need bold leaders who would take that first step and surge ahead! Wonderful reading Sir!

I read the comments given by all members. But I wonder we are stressing only on Board exams what about entire educational system. Kids used to getup early morning , take huge bags, lots of burden on them. Where exactly are we moving to achieve the education in perfect manners. By putting so much burden on children and making them work hard and what if when they do not get above 90% after making so much sacrifice. We should think about these points also with changing the educational method. I have seen many schools initiating new methodology for education process but all in vain... because parents want lots of books and other things. like they did so do the children. But this should be changed.

Academia in toto is in a quandry in India. India follows a hybrid model of our old Gurukulam model and the UK model. From my experience abroad the Greek model is the best form adopted by the American Universities. Giving away degrees randomly doesn't produce Scientists and Engineers of quality to do developmental work and r&d. Even the lectures are monolouges where a Prof. learns by heart come and stand stiff and deliver which is fundamentaly non-decipherable for lack of enthusiasm to deliver the contents. Gradings are random. They should be free and loose and enjoy lecturing booming lectures on the class as a whole. 
Like the Japanese and American models ther should be enough practical projects and writen assignements on phenomenons handled on a day to day basis. For example if you are taught something on a particular day the student should deliver a 200 word writeup on the phenomenon the next day by refering from books from library and the libraries should be well endowed.
State of the art infrastructure must be a necessasity, like spacious campus, car lots, student centers, many libraries for technical, commerce, libraries in individual departments and with Professors and a Central Library with reference section. Computer center, networks, cafetaria, aprtment complexes for married and unmarried students last but not the least envionmental control of climate and landscaping. Students must be placed in a sanctified environment to deliver their work.

We shall move on.....I want change.........I am not satisfied with present system........I do not know these changes are good or not.....but we shall try new things.......do not fear changes....make changes till we are satisfied....

Well, i believe more than making board exams optional, we need scrap the extant assessment methods including exams. If these exams were truly indicating the intellectual capacity or at least stimulating it, India, with its exams-oriented studying would have been a pioneer in research by now. But alas! Much needs to be accomplished in this direction despite numerous exams that students undergo. The need is to shift the focus from performing in exams towards learning and knowledge sharing. This is evident in that more often than not, social and economic value creation is enabled not by those excelling in these exams but those apparently mediocre per current assesment methods but actually brilliant in their knowledge of reality!
Interestingly, while the creators of our current education system [read the British] have moved on with radical changes in their education system, much of India's intelligentsia still struggle with the outdated approach. Not to mention the total lack of indigenous thinking right from political systems to education system.
Let us design and implment a system that focuses on ingenuity, creative ability, and intellectual curiosity rather than dry capability of reproducing textual material.

I think this is a great move by Mr.Kapil sibal and his team...to make 10th optional and having a single board is good, as there was confusion while the time of admissions to colleges...and this will do more  good to students where the process is eased for them and as viktor has said most of the parents don't want to send their kids to Government schools as they have maintained very less standards till now, so if anything is done in that direction then it will surely bring more kids to schools than ever before......

Right of Education and making the education Available, Accessible, 
and Affordable are only one part of the issue.

Let us assume for a moment that Government will take care of this 
part for providing resources and financial assistance for 500 million odd youngsters in rural areas to become 12th standard passed out product at the age of 17.

Then what? Is it practical, feasible and realizable for the 
government to take the entire 12th std. product in tens of millions through 3 years of college education? Where can they find jobs matching to their education? More importantly, where will be the people for the skilled, semiskilled and unskilled jobs that need people with vocational training in various skill sets? The problem is that we always look at these with our urban way of thinking. 

Another important point is that, if there are no eligibility criteria and evaluation or filtering for going up, then it becomes a straight pipeline in which every child enter the school at the age 5-6 and pass out at the 
end the 12th year at the age 17-18. There is no point in calling it 'Standards" Humans are not just some pulp that can be pushed in at one end of straight line pipe and take it out at the other end. There are many with amazing skills but cannot contemplate many things coming under the scope of general education.   
12 years of general education is not required for most of the vocational job training. 

There are such many disjoints in this. Therefore, giving right of education and assistance for education and providing infrastructure and resource for education are all welcome. But the time tested periodic evaluation and filtering out with examinations conducted at 8th std, 10th std. and 12 std. and diverting the students according to their skills and interest for various vocational training will be a better approach. 

Bringing Education under a single board is the first step to take. Making available the huge infra structure and resources is the next step. To remove hunger and poverty to make the children go to school is equally important. 

Then we are talking of a generation after 15 years? What about those hundreds of millions of children the youth, and grownups already deprived of education? Imparting of education to them to earn a lively hood need to be tackled in war footing agenda. This is what I have explained in one of my articles "The bitter pill for India Reprieve" posted in this space in 5 parts.  

I welcome the reforms. To make the 10th board optional and setting up a single school board at the all-India level are steps in the right direction. Gone are the days when Class 10th marks mattered. Today, admission to college/university is dependent on Class 12th results, and moreover the students have to sit for entrance exams for professional education (Medical/Engineering, etc.)

Repetitive exams are a burden on students and parents alike. Doing away with state boards and open schools and constituting a single school board at the all-India level is in my opinion a welcome step.

As for making Elementary Education a Fundamental Right, I do agree with you that parents don't want to send their children to government schools. But, with the world economy increasingly becoming a 'Knowledge Economy' and given the limited infrastructure of good private schools there doesn't seem to be much choice. Mr. Sibal did, however, mention that FDI in education sector would be given highest priority. 

Good reading for me. Thanks for the referral.

Durga atleast they are making amends to change certain things in education system which was much needed,,there was so much confusion earlier and they have only touched few things but the main thing which is hindering India's chances is the Reservation system, if they make some serious changes or completely remove the Reservation in Education system will do real good where deserving people will get chance to do well...and yes there must be done so much interms of R&D in the country Hope the Government and its New ministers do well this time around..