A biosciences and education postgrad of Ravishankar (Raipur) and Mumbai universities, Sheela Mallya is principal of the CISCE-affiliated Children’s Academy, Ashok Nagar, Kandivali (E), Mumbai (estb.1990) and chair of the academic board of the Children’s Academy Group of three schools.
Are you satisfied with the Union Budget 2018-19 allocation of Rs.85,010 crore for education?
In my understanding, the Union budget’s allocation for education has increased by 4 percent in absolute terms but decreased as a percentage share — 3.48 percent — of the budget compared to last year’s 3.69 percent. But the silver lining is that of the total education outlay for 2018-19, school education has got the lion’s share of Rs.50,000 crore.
How satisfied are you with the quality of exam boards’ syllabuses/curriculums and prescribed textbooks?
There is too much focus on content, resulting in students spending time to memorise, rather than analyse and synthesise basic concepts. This lack of deep understanding leads to reduced ability to think critically and solve complex problems.
What is your solution for upgrading board syllabuses, curriculums and textbooks to produce students ready for the 21st century job market?
The topmost objective of any curriculum should be developing critical thinking skills and problem-solving mindsets of students. I am not sure what kind of jobs will be on offer in the future, but one thing is certain — our children must be as unlike machines as possible. They should be creative thinkers with the ability to communicate and collaborate and most importantly, become aware citizens with strength of character. The focus of syllabuses and learning should shift to developing these attributes.
What are your Top 3 suggestions for reforming K-12 education?
• Do away with the marks awarding system. Devise an assessment system to measure the genuine learning capabilities of children.
• Encourage learning through creative performance tasks.
• Introduce entrepreneurship education to provide students with skills to create new jobs rather than training them for existing jobs.