How will the CUET by NTA affect students?
{ } PRINCIPAL, THE SHRI RAM SCHOOL-ARAVALI GURUGRAM The focus of students will now hopefully shift from rote learning to understanding the concepts being taught and the race to just achieve high scores will slow down for a bit
As the high cut offs for admission to prestigious colleges of Delhi University prepare to enter the annals of history, one of the most topical and red-button issue/keenly contested topics of debate and discussion amongst high school students, their parents and teachers is the single entrance test a la CUET. As a primary care giver of our students, I sent up a quiet prayer thanking the Almighty for this churning and flux. Over a period, with further refinements, this will lead to a paradigm shift in education in general and assessments and admission processes in particular.
While the scenario may look a little obscure as of now, the one big picture that has clearly emerged is that high school board examinations are no longer going to be one of the most high-pressure points in the life of a teenager.
The ‘pandeens’- teens of the pandemic times surely needed a balm of reassurance after two years of uncertainty all around their education and career. If nothing else, this has comforted them and soothed their frayed nerves, even if only an infinitesimal bit.
The reason I say so is because I am also contemplating if this is only going to shift the pressure point from one to another or does it have the potential of bringing a mind shift in all stakeholders. Is it going to result in tuition centres merely reorientating themselves to become action centres where instead of training students for board exams, now they would be preparing them for CUET? Will school education lose its charm because ultimately it will culminate into a marksheet which is no longer the most prized possession of a high schooler? The question uppermost on everybody’s mind is if one entrance test will be a good and credible standard to judge a student’s worth.
What I am convinced about is that this change will certainly allow educators to focus more sharply on skills rather than only curriculum content. Additionally, the focus of students will now hopefully shift from board questions to the reasoning and rationale of the concepts being taught.
Most importantly, the race to just achieve high scores, even at the cost of everything else, will slow down and true learning will begin to take place.
After all, in an age where the world is being driven by knowledge economy, creating knowledge workers will begin with renewed zeal in high schools.
Soft skills like collaboration, creativity, confidence, and communication will no longer remain points of discussion at conferences and conclaves but will gain each educator’s attention in schools across the country.
However, like the good universities of the world, it would be meaningful for us to track and trace students’ progress over a period and draw conclusions from it rather than just from one entrance test.
It would be important to acknowledge the whole personality of the student and not just the outcome of a given day through a single entrance test. It would be worth our while to know for how long students would have to compete to receive the best education, which is principally their right.
This problem will persist till we only have pockets of excellence in education. The need of the hour is the process of rejection being changed into an actual process of selection.
Aren’t there enough mental battles that teens are already combating, and do they really deserve another one?
These are some of the thinking points that must be our focus of attention in the times to come.
It is a known fact that Indians are global leaders across diverse verticals of the world ecosystem.
While this corroborates the strength of our education system, yet some more path breaking changes will make it a little more student centric and contribute meaningfully towards their overall wellbeing.