The zero-sum game of cramming it up

Somewhere in the Chhandogya Upanishad, there's a ‘boring’ tale of a disciple posing numerous questions to his guru. Boring, because, too many questions don't make an easy, interesting reading. It's not a story, then? Read on. Asks the shishya: What's greater than consideration (a mere selection)? Replies the guru: Reflection (dhyan). What's better than dhyan? Guru: Understanding. The guru then takes questions, answering all ‘better than earlier’ ones, and seems to conclude with ‘praan’ (breath), as he delves into ‘bliss’ (ananda) of knowledge. 

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Who’s interested in all this? And why should one be? In a country that generates engineers, doctors, lawyers and other professionals by thousands (see graphic) each year, the solutions to problems seem pre-determined, mechanical; we merely execute; at school and college levels, similarly, questions are run-of-the-mill and answers are only crammed up. Yet, we excel in percentages, going up as high as vertiginous 99%! Result: we are badly off for researchers (see graphic) and consequently innovators and creative, inquisitive minds, especially in science, maths and questions that directly relate to our lives, for instance, our environment and ecology. 

One of the reasons is our education setup: for every syllabus book, there are private help books, guides and kunjis. According to the Nielsen India Book Market Report 2015, academic publishing encompasses around 8,000 publishers, cornering 93% of the Rs 260 billion publishing market in India. That may rightly provoke you to ask: How many answers can one find to one, same question asked by boards, CBSE and universities? And how come one question that appears so complicated in one book becomes so easy in another? And why don't the government-sponsored boards and universities frame the syllabus in such a manner that subject books themselves become self-sufficient? Or is there any deliberate attempt to push the sale of publishing houses? Why kunji cramming?

As most schools have started smartboard concepts and audio-visual rooms for better understanding, market forces have been one step ahead by coming up with mobile application versions of these books, online tutorials, downloadable question banks, readymade practical copies and projects, making the students and parents even more dependent on them.

Former NCERT director Dr J S Rajput rejects the need for additional reference books. He points out that private publishers and coaching institutes have successfully propagated their products and services. He says additional reading ends up unnecessarily pressuring the students. “If the basic concepts are clear, students just need extensive practice to excel in their board exams,” he says, adding that teachers need to explain concepts well in the classroom. The NCERT books serve as a guideline for basic level of SCERT books. SCERT books should incorporate local elements and examples in subjects like environment and history. “In my time, about 250 books were written and over 400 people were associated with the extensive consultative process and research,” he said.

Bharat Ratna recipient Prof CNR Rao blames the lack of investments, saying 50 top scientists of the country recently petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set right the education sector by ensuring respect for teachers and appreciation for scholarship. He says India is spending on science what former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was in her times. India's spending on science research is less than 1 per cent of the GDP as against South Korea's 6 pc.

As exams are the flavour of the season (ironically, it's Basant, the spring!), enter the world of India's 'knowledge' bazaar:

'Keys' to success

Jalandhar: There are about 1,000 book publishers in the city concentrated in the Mai Hiran Gate market, of which more than 60 per cent churn out help books. Realizing the fact that students show little interest in reading and are more inclined towards mobile phone-related activities, most of these book companies have now created online, downloadable applications for its customers.

MBD group, based in Jalandhar, has developed a mobile application Nytra. The application comes gratis along with subject guides and helps in understanding the diagrams of science and geometrical figures in mathematics by giving a 3-D explanation when scanned using the phone. “We have developed it for Plus One and Two classes of the CBSE and IX and X classes of the ICSE. We are now going for lower classes too. Teachers find it very easy to use such aids in schools by connecting their phones with smartboards through laptops,” said Gurdeep Singh, senior marketing executive.

Sunil Kumar, administrative manager of S Chand and Co. said, “All our science books authored by Lakhbir Singh come with a downloadable application which children find very interesting. The video descriptions of the concepts make the children grasp the topics and remember them for long.” 

Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, says a growing usage of guides cannot just be attributed to the marketing skills of the company but also to the fact that most teachers in Punjab have themselves remained dependent on them during their education. “I recently conducted interview for teachers on my campus. I asked the candidates to list out the titles of some 10 textbooks and the authors of their subject. Most of them either could not reach the figure or mentioned the titles of guides available in the market. They all had to be shown the door. I have no qualms in admitting that even most examiners are not thorough with the textbooks,” he said.

Brar has tried to put in place a firewall. “We are conducting entrance tests for recruiting teachers with very little weightage to their qualifying marks since we know that marks are scored primarily on the basis of copying or learning chapters by rote. The point is if we do not recruit good staff, we cannot have bright, innovative students. I have made credit-based system on the campus for which I am facing a lot of opposition.”

Says Rashmi Vij, Principal of Police DAV Public School: “Neither any app nor the best guides can match classroom teaching. All that a student needs to do is revise chapters of NCERT books for a thorough understanding.”

The government wants to be in the clear. Says Secretary Punjab School Education Board GS Bath: “To counter the trend, we have reshaped our textbooks this year by simplifying them, making them attractive for students with illustrations and adding more exercises and discussions after every topic. We have issued strict instructions to schools not to prescribe or follow any help book and warned them of action. We will issue notices against schools which violate instructions.”

What's in details?

Bhiwani: Though NCERT textbooks are distributed free to students in government schools, teachers recommend a private publisher. Says Ramesh Puri, a science teacher at Dhani Charso in Sirsa district: “No doubt NCERT textbooks are thorough and come free, guides are recommended for their lucidity - the format is simple question-and-answer, so a student doesn't have to go into details.”

Wazir Ghanghas, state president of the Haryana Vidyalya Adhyapak Sangh, however, blames the state government for failing to improve the system of teaching. The rule is: A teacher can be penalized for using guides or such external aids. “Every year we get letters from Haryana Board of School Education about steps being taken to improve standards, but there has never been any action,” he said.

Defending private publishers, Piyush Sethi, a Bhiwani-based publisher, says there is a huge competition and only those who publish quality books with competitive prices are surviving. “Of course, the prices of private books are higher, but these are published after researches and keeping the latest trend of competitive exams in mind.”

On the selection of books, a private school principal said a school gets a price margin from a publisher. This margin varies from 30% to 50%. The beneficiary is private school managements, and in the case of government schools, teachers get books free as samples.

“In private schools, parents want everything on a platter for their wards. A teacher's proficiency depends on how quickly s/he covers the syllabus and makes students learn answers without caring for concept understanding,” said a principal of a reputed school in Bhiwani.

A teacher of another private school said that guides and other aids are readily available at book stores. “NCERT textbooks mostly remain out of stock,” he said. 

Jasbir Dalal, science coordinator of Bahal block, said: “Even though NCERT books are cheap and encourage the learning process, private publishers successfully market their stuff.”

'Necessary evil'

New Delhi: With college cut-offs going as high as 99% even one mark makes a difference in admission to prestigious colleges and technical institutes. The prescribed NCERT textbooks are sufficient to ensure that 70-80 per cent of the Board exam paper is covered. “It is the ability to crack two-three tougher questions which differentiate the toppers from the average,” says Class 12 science student Akash Puri. The tougher questions are in the reference books and extensive practice makes the difference, he says. 

“Reference books are a necessary evil,” says a Physics teacher at a prominent private school in Noida. Admitting that he himself studied from the Lakhmir Singh-authored series of physics, chemistry and biology textbooks when he was in school, he says the main reason is because the prescribed NCERT textbook does not contain detailed explanation of concepts. These books are useful as they provide a greater range of questions for subjects such as physics and maths. The reference books include previous year's Board questions and sample papers, enabling students to practise before exams.

Delhi government school teachers usually stick to the affordably priced NCERT and National Book Trust books. Regular inspections are often carried out. “We often check to ensure that students don't have guides or private publishers' books in their bags on the day of the inspection,” says Sunita Sharma, who recently retired as vice-principal of a Delhi government school. 

Humanities students, however, do not feel the need for additional reference material. “The NCERT books are sufficient,” says Sanya Sehgal, a Class 12 humanities student of Springdales, Dhaula Kuan.

Market forces

Shimla: Leading bookseller and a former president of booksellers association, Om Prakash Sood, says nowadays teachers seldom teach from textbooks, board textbooks are not available on time and the students opt for expensive help books for better scores in Board exams. The trend to use guides (kunji) is fast picking up in lower classes too and there has been an enormous increase in sale of guides in the past decade. 

The textbooks of medical sciences and other subjects in science stream like physics, chemistry, biology and also the English language books cost about Rs 700 apiece. Aman Mehta, a Class XII student of a government school, says guides and question banks help in scoring better as the language is easy and the format elaborate. This helps in encapsulating the subject which comes in handy for Boards. 

Some publishers allegedly approach teachers to promote their books. A teacher is expected to open these help book in front of students so that they know that the teacher is teaching from a particular guide, said a teacher of a public school.

Deepkamal Kaur in Jalandhar, Sat Singh in Bhiwani, Seema Kaul in New Delhi and Bhanu Lohumi in Shimla. Coordination and anchoring: Prashant Saxena