Can you do the same thing over and over again yet expect different results? The answer is a big no! There is a need to increase the literacy levels in India, and this can happen if serious adjustments were made to the current education system. Also, the quality of education needs to be improved by making immediate changes in education, especially for high school learners. The difference is essential in Indian high school education due to some following reasons;
- To improve the quality of education
- To give learners equal opportunities in career choices
- Help improve the school evaluation system
- Equip schools with competent and trained teachers
Here are some immediate changes required in high school education:
- Better Evaluation Methods
How can you gauge a learner’s academic ability through a 2-3-hour exam session? Worse still offer a scholarship for school based on that single test?
Schools should come up with a better method of gauging their learner’s prowess. For instance, they could find an average of a learner’s performance throughout the two years in high school then use that to measure a child’s academic performance, instead of using a single test.
- Individualized Teaching
Learners are gifted differently. In a classroom set up, there are fast and slow learners. And therefore, a teacher must pay closer attention to their learners and offer individual help.
However, it may be overwhelming for a teacher to offer individual assistance to a class of 40 students. It can be time-consuming. So what should the teacher do? Of course, not attempting to help the learners is not an option. The teacher can seek complementary methods of teaching such as incorporating Chatbots, thus offering learners a helping hand where they may have difficulties.
The benefits of individualized teaching include;
- Enables a learner to learn at their own pace
- Helps a teacher to identify a learners weaknesses and the best way to help
- Gives learners a favourable opportunity to express themselves
- Improving Teacher Training
Teachers play an essential role in child education. Every successful person has passed through the hands of a teacher, but it is a shame that teachers are not accorded the respect they deserve from inadequate training to low pay.
How can one give what they don’t have? Teachers cannot provide quality education if they aren’t imparted with the necessary skills and knowledge they need. A teacher should have a wide range of expertise and information to accomplish their role as ‘knowledge givers’ effectively.
Quality training imparts teachers with the ability and skills to effectively handle different kids accordingly without bias and insensitivity to their needs.
The government should therefore invest more in training their teachers to ensure teacher competency and the quality of their teachers.
- Discourage Rote Learning
Rote learning involves the memorization of concepts. A child memorizes an idea without really getting to understand the information, to pass an exam. You will be surprised to find a child who scored an A in a particular subject but finds it difficult to explain a concept in the issue after the exam. The question could even be the exact one from the exam!
The ‘studying to pass an exam’ mentality should be discouraged.
Meaningful education should be introduced. An education that learners actually understand and not just memorize information.
- Equal Treatment of all Subjects
Everyone cannot be a doctor. A journalist, flight attendant, chef or a musician to mention a few are equally important in the society as a doctor. In the same way, schools should not treat science and mathematics subjects to be more critical than others.
Learners excel differently. It is therefore absurd to let them believe that a learner who excels in sciences and mathematics is better than one who is good at languages. Even scholarships for schools are given to those who perform better in sciences and mathematics. Favouring a subject over the other makes learners neglect other issues and also, feel discouraged and lower their confidence if they cannot excel well in the ‘prestigious’ subjects.
Therefore, equal respect must be accorded to all subjects.
- Embracing Technology
Due to the introduction of technology, the world has evolved. It is therefore essential that schools teach their learners on technology. Equipping schools with the infrastructure needed to teach necessary skills on technology helps learners to have a competitive advantage in career choice and job placements.
Change is inevitable, and as such, high schools in India need to adapt to these changes to produce quality learners. The main goal of a school is not only to offer education but also to equip learners with knowledge and skills that enable them to better their lives. Having one on one learning sessions with well-trained teachers and having a fair evaluation system and skills in technology gives learner equal and beneficial opportunities for career choice and job placements.
