Dr. Swaminathan Gurumurthi is principal of the SVKM International School, Mumbai. A chemistry postgrad of Madurai University with a Ph D from American University, Sharjah, he has taught at British schools in the UAE and China before signing up with SVKM International in 2010.
Are you satisfied with the Union Budget 2018-19 allocation of Rs.85,010 crore for education?
No, this allocation may help implement few reforms in the sector, whereas our education system requires complete transformation. Public spending on education in India is much lower compared with other progressive nations. India spends less than 4 percent of its GDP on education. We need to increase public education expenditure to 6 percent of GDP to build a strong, well-educated generation without further delay.
What are your Top 4 suggestions for reforming K-12 education?
Curriculum. School curriculums need to be continuously updated and made relevant to real-life situations. Include IQ-EQ-SQ elements in K-12 curriculum manuals and programmes to develop creativity, inter-personal and critical thinking skills.
Assessment. The current system of assessment is too goal and examination-oriented and creates fear in students. We need to design and implement assessments which test understanding and not mere memory of children. Assessment needs to be individualised, application-based and more diagnostic than confirmative.
Teachers. We need to upgrade teaching standards, increase monetary benefits for teachers, attract high-quality talent from premier institutions such as the IITs into teaching, and invest in continuous teacher development.
Pedagogy. Teaching-learning must shift from rote methods to learning through the enquiry/interdisciplinary approach. The conventional lecture-based method is completely outdated.