Craze for CBSE syllabus fading away in government schools

SANIVARAPUPETA (WEST GODAVARI DIST): For Garikapati Manga, illiterate women with poor economic background, the long-cherished dream to provide her sixth standard son education in English medium realised with the introduction of the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) stream in English from 6th standard in zilla parishad high school next to her doorstep. But her dream starts fading away within a month and she even toys with the idea of shifting the boy to the next section with Telugu medium, thanks to the government for reportedly pushing through the project in haste without any spadework.

Ms Manga is now worried whether the World Bank-aided ‘Success Programme’ under which the CBSE stream has been proposed in a select group of government schools across the State on a pilot basis from the current academic year, will help her son’s success in education. “There are no text books yet even a month after the re-opening of schools, leave alone the other logistic problems. My son is agonisingly waiting for text books, when their counterparts in Telugu medium are getting prepared for the first unit test,” she complains. As the village got urban influence by virtue of its proximity to Eluru, the CBSE section was filled with students in no time in view of the craze for English medium education. Ranging from the son of a farm worker to those of the autorickshaw driver and tailor, it became a preferred destination.

For teachers, it’s a different story to tell. “Almost all the teachers entrusted with the CBSE education are with Telugu medium background and teaching in English, facing the children with little or no exposure in English language in the classroom turns out to be a difficult task that stares them in their face,” says M. Venkateswara Rao, secretary of the district branch of the Progressive Recognised Teachers’ Union (PRTU).

Difficult task

K. Rajani, science teacher, went an extra mile and procured a science text book in CBSE format from a private CBSE school in the city, and got into her job without waiting for the government’s gesture to reach her. “My job seemingly becomes highly difficult with more than 50 per cent of students in the class are not able to either read or write in English. Ten per cent of them do not even know the English alphabet,” Ms Rajani said. It is proposed to introduce the CBSE syllabus in English medium in 255 schools in the district as part of the so-called ‘Success programme’.
(Source : The Hindu)