I had originally thought of collecting all arguments and publishing them in a single post, but it would have been far too long for one post; I felt that it my article could be divided into three logically distinct components:
1) Some background on myself, and my recollections of higher-secondary schoolteachers, preparing for the JEE and so on;
2) My opinion on the MHRD's suggested pattern; Also, an FAQ section which I may update from time to time.
3) Some constructive suggestions: How can the system be improved?
The following is Part 3. (Click on these links to access Part 1 and Part 2.)
This post contains some constructive suggestions proposed by others, and some which are original. In any case, I would like to state the following before I offer suggestions:
I am not required to do so. Even if I have no suggestions to offer, the onus is still upon you to prove that your proposed changes are better than status quo. I have the right to protest against bad decisions.
In any case, here are the suggestions:
A) Short-term suggestions (i.e. those which can be put into effect immediately, and will begin to show results immediately)
1) (Sources: Jishnu Bhattacharya and @Piyush on Prof. Sanghi's blog) Hold the JEE as it has always been held, but use it only for selection, not for ranking. In any case, first-year syllabus is common for all students; let them fill in their preferences after their first year. Let every department use any combination it wishes of JEE rank and various first-year subjects to admit students. (e.g. CSE may give more weight to MTH and Programming, CE may give more weight to PHY102 and JEE rank, etc.) This will have another deeply beneficial effect: It is observed that students, when they taste freedom for the first time, suddenly lose interest in studies. This pattern may force them to study in at least their first year; it is hoped that the momentum thus gained will push them through their degree. In any case, this measure will probably greatly reduce stress faced during entrance exams.
2) Remove as far as possible the red tape involved in setting up a school. In particular, remove the requirement that a school must have a primary and secondary section in order to have a higher secondary section. Let there be leniency in availability of infrastructure. This will mean that several sub-standard schools will be set up, but it is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the school he applies to is good enough for him. Most importantly, remove the silly requirement that higher-secondary teachers should be B.Sc./M.Sc - B.Ed. Everyone knows that Class XII physics is as close to B.Sc. level physics as it is to B.E. level engineering, any stream. (In fact, I believe mechanical engineers might actually be learning stuff closer to Class XII physics than physicists themselves.) And a B.Ed. degree is fine upto a class X teacher, but not required for the presumably more mature class XI and class XII students.
This way, many Coaching classes will hopefully convert themselves into higher-secondary schools. Students will no longer have to put up with the farce of attending another school (where they don't study), hence alleviating stress, if only a little bit.
[Update: Such 'junior colleges' already exist in Maharashtra and Assam, and I have heard of one higher-secondary school coming up already in Gujarat (interestingly, set up by a former coaching class teacher). It is quite possible that different State Boards have different criteria - in that case, ensure uniformity across the nation. The rest of my points about the B.Sc./M.Sc. requirement and the B.Ed. requirement, are still valid.]
3) (Source: IIT Council suggestion) The JEE-Main exam should be held more than once a year (Or it can follow the BITSAT pattern, spread over a longer period). That way, students can give the exam whenever they are ready. Anyway, hold this test only for the purpose of screening. Sure, students will be stressed when they give the JEE-Advanced examination, but if they can't handle that much stress, there's nothing we can really do. All alternatives will be stressful. Besides, they need to cope up with stressful situations in order to gain the most from IIT.
B) Long-term suggestions (i.e. those which need time to put into effect, or those which take time to yield results)
1) Increase the quality of education in other universities, and try to ensure that no good student has to go through a lot of pain to secure a good seat. Start by slowly, and selectively, granting autonomy to all Universities. (Start with Calcutta University, good colleges of the Delhi University, the other Presidency Colleges, MSU Baroda, etc.) One of the primary reasons for the success of the IITs has been the autonomy granted to professors, and the freedom granted to students. If professors are free to decide the contents, examination pattern, and grading of a course, they will teach in an entirely different manner. Not all professors will teach better, but it is hoped that a majority will respond positively to this. Once the cycle is started (good profs->good students->good profs), I hope the level of education (which is shamefully low now) will improve.
2) Do away with all textbooks, except the NCERT one (which should be written only by experts in the relevant field, as, I believe, is done today). Also ensure that there is no binding, legal or otherwise, to limit the syllabus to the textbook, in any exam, including the Boards. This way, students will learn to think beyond the textbook. Sure, this way authors of commercial textbooks will make a killing, but students will soon realise that the quality of a textbook has nothing to do with its price. (NCERT textbooks are good today. Also, look at Irodov - although it is not a textbook, it is quite inexpensive. I can provide countless other examples. Hall & Knight. S. L. Loney - the list is endless.)
3) Provide plenty of scholarships to the less privileged (in any sense - poor students or those from rural areas, for instance), on the basis of all of the following: (There could be a quota for each) i) Class X exams ii) NTSE exams iii) Olympiads iv) KVPY v) Any other exams which I may have missed or which may come up later. Let every state Government tie up with several coaching classes, and partially pay the fees, in addition to providing such students with free lodging. Let the rest of the fees be borne by the coaching institutes themselves. (They will agree to do so, not just out of a sense of duty, but out of the pragmatic desire to improve their results. Who will leave the chance to coach a bunch of good students, and garner social support in the process?) If the problem is where to get the money from, register all coaching institutes and charge an 'education tax' of, say, 5% per enrolled student. This will not make much of a difference to the privileged. I have not worked out the numbers, but I am sure you can finance hundreds (if not more) scholarships per state this way. Another major advantage of this is that it will completely remove the need for reservation - a policy that has done much to harm the state of education in all IITs and, indeed, in the nation.
1) Some background on myself, and my recollections of higher-secondary schoolteachers, preparing for the JEE and so on;
2) My opinion on the MHRD's suggested pattern; Also, an FAQ section which I may update from time to time.
3) Some constructive suggestions: How can the system be improved?
The following is Part 3. (Click on these links to access Part 1 and Part 2.)
This post contains some constructive suggestions proposed by others, and some which are original. In any case, I would like to state the following before I offer suggestions:
I am not required to do so. Even if I have no suggestions to offer, the onus is still upon you to prove that your proposed changes are better than status quo. I have the right to protest against bad decisions.
In any case, here are the suggestions:
A) Short-term suggestions (i.e. those which can be put into effect immediately, and will begin to show results immediately)
1) (Sources: Jishnu Bhattacharya and @Piyush on Prof. Sanghi's blog) Hold the JEE as it has always been held, but use it only for selection, not for ranking. In any case, first-year syllabus is common for all students; let them fill in their preferences after their first year. Let every department use any combination it wishes of JEE rank and various first-year subjects to admit students. (e.g. CSE may give more weight to MTH and Programming, CE may give more weight to PHY102 and JEE rank, etc.) This will have another deeply beneficial effect: It is observed that students, when they taste freedom for the first time, suddenly lose interest in studies. This pattern may force them to study in at least their first year; it is hoped that the momentum thus gained will push them through their degree. In any case, this measure will probably greatly reduce stress faced during entrance exams.
2) Remove as far as possible the red tape involved in setting up a school. In particular, remove the requirement that a school must have a primary and secondary section in order to have a higher secondary section. Let there be leniency in availability of infrastructure. This will mean that several sub-standard schools will be set up, but it is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the school he applies to is good enough for him. Most importantly, remove the silly requirement that higher-secondary teachers should be B.Sc./M.Sc - B.Ed. Everyone knows that Class XII physics is as close to B.Sc. level physics as it is to B.E. level engineering, any stream. (In fact, I believe mechanical engineers might actually be learning stuff closer to Class XII physics than physicists themselves.) And a B.Ed. degree is fine upto a class X teacher, but not required for the presumably more mature class XI and class XII students.
This way, many Coaching classes will hopefully convert themselves into higher-secondary schools. Students will no longer have to put up with the farce of attending another school (where they don't study), hence alleviating stress, if only a little bit.
[Update: Such 'junior colleges' already exist in Maharashtra and Assam, and I have heard of one higher-secondary school coming up already in Gujarat (interestingly, set up by a former coaching class teacher). It is quite possible that different State Boards have different criteria - in that case, ensure uniformity across the nation. The rest of my points about the B.Sc./M.Sc. requirement and the B.Ed. requirement, are still valid.]
3) (Source: IIT Council suggestion) The JEE-Main exam should be held more than once a year (Or it can follow the BITSAT pattern, spread over a longer period). That way, students can give the exam whenever they are ready. Anyway, hold this test only for the purpose of screening. Sure, students will be stressed when they give the JEE-Advanced examination, but if they can't handle that much stress, there's nothing we can really do. All alternatives will be stressful. Besides, they need to cope up with stressful situations in order to gain the most from IIT.
B) Long-term suggestions (i.e. those which need time to put into effect, or those which take time to yield results)
1) Increase the quality of education in other universities, and try to ensure that no good student has to go through a lot of pain to secure a good seat. Start by slowly, and selectively, granting autonomy to all Universities. (Start with Calcutta University, good colleges of the Delhi University, the other Presidency Colleges, MSU Baroda, etc.) One of the primary reasons for the success of the IITs has been the autonomy granted to professors, and the freedom granted to students. If professors are free to decide the contents, examination pattern, and grading of a course, they will teach in an entirely different manner. Not all professors will teach better, but it is hoped that a majority will respond positively to this. Once the cycle is started (good profs->good students->good profs), I hope the level of education (which is shamefully low now) will improve.
2) Do away with all textbooks, except the NCERT one (which should be written only by experts in the relevant field, as, I believe, is done today). Also ensure that there is no binding, legal or otherwise, to limit the syllabus to the textbook, in any exam, including the Boards. This way, students will learn to think beyond the textbook. Sure, this way authors of commercial textbooks will make a killing, but students will soon realise that the quality of a textbook has nothing to do with its price. (NCERT textbooks are good today. Also, look at Irodov - although it is not a textbook, it is quite inexpensive. I can provide countless other examples. Hall & Knight. S. L. Loney - the list is endless.)
3) Provide plenty of scholarships to the less privileged (in any sense - poor students or those from rural areas, for instance), on the basis of all of the following: (There could be a quota for each) i) Class X exams ii) NTSE exams iii) Olympiads iv) KVPY v) Any other exams which I may have missed or which may come up later. Let every state Government tie up with several coaching classes, and partially pay the fees, in addition to providing such students with free lodging. Let the rest of the fees be borne by the coaching institutes themselves. (They will agree to do so, not just out of a sense of duty, but out of the pragmatic desire to improve their results. Who will leave the chance to coach a bunch of good students, and garner social support in the process?) If the problem is where to get the money from, register all coaching institutes and charge an 'education tax' of, say, 5% per enrolled student. This will not make much of a difference to the privileged. I have not worked out the numbers, but I am sure you can finance hundreds (if not more) scholarships per state this way. Another major advantage of this is that it will completely remove the need for reservation - a policy that has done much to harm the state of education in all IITs and, indeed, in the nation.