|
|
|
|
|
| Home / Education System / Primary Education |
|
| Primary Education |
|
 Essential Competencies in Primary Education |
| Public school system and ad-hoc alternatives |
| Teachers as key to the success of schools |
| Myths and reality in Primary education |
| School environment |
|
| Essential Competencies in Primary Education |
|
The pedagogy based on Minimum Levels of Learning (MLLs) requires conditions that are presently not available in majority of the primary schools in the country. Also, the primary school curriculum is often considered to be too academic and rural parents are not convinced of its relevance to their life. Because of these limitations most of the recent initiatives taken for improving the primary education have not produced the intended impact.
|
| Preamble |
|
As teachers we shall convince parents that for their children primary education is as essential for building a good base for life as a firm foundation is for putting up a strong structure. We shall ask parents to send their children to school for we will develop in them basic life skills. We will teach them with love and help each child to attain the competencies required for daily life.
Language Competencies
|
| Speaking and listening |
|
Each child will be able to:
- Speak clearly with correct pronunciation.
- Adjust speech while talking to elders, equals and
persons younger to him/her.
- Address the parents and relatives with due
respect.
- Greet appropriately the neighbours, family
members and guests and talk to them with
confidence.
- Effectively communicate with officials in the post
office and doctors in the health centre.
- Understand stories, songs, poems, jokes and
riddles, and will be able to narrate them in her/his
words using suitable body language.
- Recite short poems and tell simple stories in
his/her words.
- Sing in group.
- Identify birds and animals by listening to their
voice.
- Make out from the voice of the speaker whether
the person is speaking to her/him with love,
anger, happiness, sadness or some other
emotion.
- Describe the local flora and fauna, climate, crops
and the soil.
- Develop interest in local folk tales and mythology.
|
| Reading |
|
Each child will be able to:
- Read the language textbook written with the
vocabulary of words used in common
conversation.
- Read storybooks and magazines of the level such
as Champak, Nanneh Samrat, Bal Hans, the
headlines of newspapers and read them aloud.
- Read and understand directions given at public
places such as bus stand and railway station and
the billboards.
- Read to the family letters that are received at
home.
|
| Writing |
|
Each child will be able to:
- Speak and write simple sentences.
- Write letters to parents, relatives and friends
using simple sentences.
- Write correctly recipient's postal address on
letters.
- Write letter to his/her teacher.
- Describe in writing events such as festivals, fairs,
weddings, national day celebrations etc.
- Describe in simple sentences objects from daily life
such as home, school and animals like cow, horse
and dog.
Mathematics Competencies
Mathematics develops the ability to reason logically and to express thoughts precisely, clearly and accurately. Also, an elementary knowledge of arithmetic is essential for handling daily transactions competently.
|
| Numbers |
|
Each child will be able to:
- Read and write numbers in digits and in words.
- Use the basic operations of addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division correctly and apply them
in solving problems from daily life.
- Use the decimal system in daily life such as the
monetary system, measures such as meter,
kilometre, gram, kilogram, quintal and a tonne.
- Identify geometrical shapes such as triangle,
square,rectangle and circle and will be able to
classify objects in geometrical terms.
- Handle accounts of the family such as that of
purchase of milk, laundry and transportation.
- Purchase household items by calculating their
price from the rates and handle the money
transaction correctly.
- Measure by weight and volume correctly.
- Identify the coins and paper currency of different
denominations and count them correctly.
- Consult the calendar for knowing the day, the day
of the week and the month.
- Read time from a watch or a clock and will learn to
value the importance of keeping time.
- Calculate his/her age from the date of birth.
Environmental Studies Competencies
Environmental study enables learners to know their physical and social environment and develops sensitivity for the protection and conservation of their environment.
Each child will be able to:
- Make use of the senses effectively and will be able
to recognise colours, tastes, smells etc.
- Identify fruits and vegetables and also name
them.
- Know the local flora and fauna and will be able to
take care of them.
- Understand his/her role in the society and will
learn how to live together.
- Know the different parts of her/his body and how
to keep them clean.
- Discriminate things that are harmful and that are
helpful for good health.
- Know about the balanced diet and its relevance to
healthy living.
- Know about the various epidemics and of
preventive measures to be taken against them.
- Learn about the first aid and how to use it.
- Know the seasons and will be able to select dress
according to the weather.
- Know about the climate of her/his village and its
crop patterns.
- Know about his/her family, neighbour, village,
district, state and the country.
- Know about the various vocations in his/her
locality such as tailor, blacksmith, goldsmith,
potter, farmer etc.
- Identify public buildings in his/her neighbourhood
such as the bank, post office, hospital, school,
panchayat bhawan etc.
- Develop the sense of direction.
- Make out places from local maps such as that of
the village and estimate distance between two
places and time required for travelling from one
place to the other.
- Know the local culture and traditions and will
know the significance of festivals and how they
are celebrated.
- Recognise the evil of superstitions and other
harmful practices.
- Iidentify the national symbols such as the flag, the
song and the emblem.
- Know of the great persons and the national
leaders.
- Know the various modes of transport such as bus,
train, aeroplane, ship etc.
- Give his/her introduction.
- Know of his/her rights and duties.
Other Competencies
Each child will be able to:
- Take care of her/his things.
- Honour elders, learned and distinguished persons
and extend courtesy to them.
- Attend to her/his daily activities such as taking
bath, brushing teeth, clipping nails, taking care of
the school uniform and the school bag.
- Use public conveniences properly and will leave
them clean after use.
- Ensure purity of eatables and water before
consuming them.
- Live by the good values relevant to his/her social
context.
- Develop his/her imagination and manifest it
through drawings and other fine arts.
Source: Experiment at DIET Bikaner
 Top
|
| Public school system and ad-hoc alternatives: |
|
| On the whole, there has been little change in the state of India's schooling system in the last few years, though there have been a few interesting ideas that have been experimented with to help improve education. All across the country, alternative schools, private schools, and non-formal schools run by NGOs have sprung up to meet the demand for education as an attempt to make up for unsatisfactory government schools. While all these efforts are well-intended, they do not make up for the poor condition of the government school system and should not be viewed as a substitute for government-funded schools
Top
|
| Teachers as key to the success of schools: |
|
Teachers play a crucial role in fulfilling the potential of a village school. If any single factor can make the difference between a poor school and a successful school, it is the commitment and initiative of the teacher. However the state of teachers in India is very poor. The rural primary school teacher occupies the lowest position in the hierarchical administrative structure and is expected to bear the burden of education in complete isolation with very little support. The rural teacher is also expected to perform other functions such as census taking, etc., which take time away from teaching.
Teachers often have very low academic qualifications and no teacher training. Paralyzing curriculum, dismal environments, excessive paperwork, unwanted postings, and lack of respect create teachers who are discouraged and unmotivated. Another problem is the lack of female teachers - in India only 31% of teachers are women, compared to 51% in the developing world as a whole. Finally, there are simply not enough teachers to go around. It is estimated that over 2 million additional teachers are required in the next five years to achieve universal primary education in South Asia
Top
|
| Myths and reality in Primary education: |
|
| The myth that poor parents do care about educating their children is astonishingly widespread, especially in official circles, where it provides a convenient rationalization for India's low schooling levels. On the contrary, the typical father and mother are very keen that their children receive a good education. It is another matter that they do not always have much faith in the system's ability to impart such education.
In rural India sending a child to school on a regular basis requires a great deal of effort on the part of the child and his or her parents. Other critical factors include prohibitive costs - often indirect, no school within easy reach, a hostile environment at school, lack of support and lack of progress at school, all of which sap the morale of parents and children. In light of these obstacles it is easy to understand why so many children are out of school even when their parents express a strong interest in education.
Top
|
| School environment: |
|
Our constitution fathers did not intend that we just set up hovels, put students there, give untrained teachers, give them bad textbooks, no playgrounds and say, we have complied with Article 45 and primary education is expanding. They meant that real education should be given to our children between the ages of 6 and 14**.
The expectation of two reasonably large, weather-safe rooms for primary schools is far from ambitious, yet it remains unrealized in the majority of schools in India. Most schools are held outside, in rented rooms, or in crumbling structures with leaking roofs, bad lighting, few resources, poor teachers, and conditions of social discrimination.
** Shri M.C. Chagla, Education Minister, 1964
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
