‘Controls in place to maintain a balance’
Educators say homework has its advantages if schools and parents plan childrens’ day effectively
There are controls in place to ensure homework is not excessive and contributes to the academic success of students, educators in Indian schools in the UAE told Gulf
when asked about homework becoming a burden. News
Jaya Ramesh, academic supervisor at the Global Indian International School in Dubai, said the school follows “a scientific method” to decide how much homework is to be given.
The school ensures that most of the learning happens in school. For example, for higher grades, not more than three subjects are covered in homework, and even then, the assignments are such that a child does not need more than an hour-and-a-half to finish the entire written homework.
She added: “While schools need to ensure that they do not overburden their students with homework, parents also need to understand that not all homework ■ Teresa Varman, principal of GEMS Millennium School in Sharjah. is bad. The right amount of homework can do wonders for a student’s learning curve.”
Teresa Varman, principal of GEMS Millennium School in Sharjah, said: “While we follow the CBSE guideline of no homework till grade 2, we do encourage our younger students to set aside time to read for pleasure.”
Decisive factors
The amount of time that students are expected to spend on homework depends upon the age, ability, home environment and extra-curricular activities of students, including family ■ Professor M. Abu Bakr, principal of Scholars Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah. and cultural obligations. The school’s ‘Homework Chart’ limits the number of written homework assignments per day to three subjects in the middle and senior school.
“If a child is spending an inordinate amount of time doing homework, parents are advised to contact their child’s teacher and if necessary, study habits are probed and appropriate intervention may be sought from the counsellor,” Varman said.
Professor M. Abu Bakr, principal of Scholars Indian School in Ras Al Khaimah, said: “The reality is that the syllabus in Indian ■ Jaya Ramesh, academic supervisor, Global Indian International School, Dubai. schools is vast, more than other curriculums. As a result, the quantity of homework is also more. But that doesn’t mean it is excessive.
“Most of the learning has to take place in class and homework is a means of reinforcing what was learnt in class. There is no homework in grades 1 and 2. When children move to higher grades, they should be able to learn independently and homework helps achieve that. We ensure homework doesn’t take more than half an hour for lower grades and up to two hours, breaks included, for higher grades.”