Higher Secondary School:
The status of the academic and vocational streams at
the higher secondary stage needs to be reviewed in
view of the continued preoccupation with and influence
of the board and entrance examinations, and in view
of the continued privilege given to the so-called
academic stream and the failure of the vocational stream
to take off. During this period of two years students
make choices based on their interests, aptitudes and
needs regarding their future life.
The possibilities of choosing optional courses of
study for exploring and understanding different areas
of knowledge, both in relation to one's interest and one's
future career, is integral to this stage. Exploring
disciplines and approaching problems and issues from
rich interdisciplinary perspectives are possible at this stage.
There is a need to allow for such investigations to take
place between and outside the 'subjects' chosen for study.
Most boards of study offer a variety of subject
areas in addition to the compulsory language courses.
There is a concern about the formal or informal
restrictions that operate to narrow the choice of subjects
of study for students. Several boards restrict the
combinations in the form of 'the science stream', 'the
arts stream' and 'the commerce stream'. The CBSE does
not restrict the possibility of combinations that students
can choose, but in view of the increasing popularity of
some combinations of subjects of study, and also
because of a perception of status of subjects in relation
to each other, many such options are now foreclosed to
students. Further, universities also need to review their
admission criteria as they currently restrict admission based on the kinds and combinations of courses studied
at the +2 stage. As a consequence, many significant and
meaningful combinations of study, such as, for example,
Physics, Mathematics and Philosophy, or Literature,
Biology and History, are closed to students.
Recent trends of schools tailoring their classes to
medical and engineering courses have led to an artificial
restriction on the courses they offer in school, arguably
on grounds of popularity and timetabling. In many
parts of the country, students who want to study the
arts and liberal subjects are left with very few options.
Schools also discourage students from opting for
unconventional combinations, often on account of
timetabling considerations. We believe it is essential to
keep all options open for students. In case there are
not enough students in a school opting for a particular
subject, schools could consider working out
arrangements with other schools in the neighbourhood
so that they could employ a resource teacher together.
Such resource teachers could also be employed at the
block level to teach such special subjects that would
not otherwise be available in a school. School boards
may also consider a more active role in promoting
subjects and streams of study.
The courses offered at the +2 stage need to be
alive to recent and current developments in the
disciplines, as new knowledge areas are carved out,
disciplinary boundaries shift and multidisciplinary studies
develop. To allow students to engage with areas of
study that are growing in importance within the
disciplines and fields, courses could also be designed
to offer optional modules, rather than trying to cover
everything and packing courses with too much
information. For example, History could have an
optional module to study either Archaeology or World
History; similarly, Physics could offer the options of
Astronomy, Space Science and Rocketry etc.
Under pressure to 'cover' vast syllabi, many
important aspects of learning such as practicals and
field trips, and ways of learning such as reference work,
project work and presentations, are not fully utilised,
to the detriment of overall learning. Well -equipped
laboratories and libraries, and access to computers, are
essential, and all efforts must be made to ensure that
schools and junior colleges are well equipped with such
resources.
The vocational stream originally was meant to
address the needs of those who would enter the work
force earlier than those who would enter the professions
via the traditional academic streams, or those who
would pursue study and research. We recommend
infusing productive work as a pedagogic medium for
knowledge acquisition, developing values and multiple
skill formation at all stages of education, including the
+2 stage.
Given the developmental nature of this stage,
guidance and counselling by trained professionals must
be made available to children. Interventions to enhance
self/career awareness, career exploration and planning
are also essential. Besides, this stage coincides with
adolescence, a period in an individual's life that is
marked by personal, social and emotional crises created
due to the demands of adjustment required in family,
peer group and school situations. The provision of
these services in schools would help create the support
system required to cope with increasing academic and
social pressures.
