Scrapping 10th boards only delays the trauma

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Updated on Jul 30, 2010 10:59 IST

THE recently proposed changes to the formal Indian education system which is undergoing a drastic change, give rise to some doubts.

THE recently proposed changes to the formal Indian education system which is undergoing a drastic change, give rise to some doubts. One of these is whether this system will actually address the problem of peer pressure confronting students or whether this will only postpone the inevitable pressure to the next level. From the next level, I mean students of intermediate level or Class 12. Recently, the government announced plans to do away with the Class X board exams in order to reduce the psychological pressure facing some students.

However, the elimination of the board exam will only serve to shift this pressure. If a student is not sufficiently fit to cope up with the Class 10 board exam, how can one say that (s)he will not have to deal with her shortcomings in Class 12. Some might argue that such a student will learn to handle that situation in due course of time but that's not something we can depend on.

So, is it not better for the government to address the problem at the grassroots instead of chopping the weed? For example, the government can start a few compulsory counselling programmes for both students and guardians to get them to understand that the ‘board’ is just an ordinary exam which doesn’t have much relevance in shaping one's career. It should request the media not to create havoc every time a board result is declared. After all, the media is a powerful medium of information which can also turn the tide of public opinion. Education councils should initiate other programmes which could work to making our teenagers and youngsters psychologically stable. However, once again, these steps are not a permanent solution to this pressure.

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The pressure which we are talking about here has its roots in the very foundation of the educational system and the job generation system. The market is such that there is only one job for 100 persons, so one is constantly put under pressure to outperform at all times – this explains the pressure on both students and guardians. If the government wants to stub this problem out, then it has to take these points into account.