School education reforms have been widely discussed in recent years and some important initiatives have been taken. Yet it is clear, particularly after we have seen actual implementation, that by and large these reforms leave much to be desired while some of the most basic issues have remained neglected all along.

One important objective of reforms has been to make education more inclusive. This has been sought to be achieved by providing free education for a certain number of children from weaker sections in expensive schools that would be otherwise inaccessible to them.

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This step can yield good results only in those institutions where it is implemented with the right spirit. But such schools are relatively rare.

Most schools implement this only very reluctantly, making it clear that it is an unwelcome burden, while other schools simply make a mockery of this provision of inclusive education.

When overall inequalities are increasing all the time, the efforts to make education more equal by such methods have a very limited role. The broader task of significantly improving government schools has lagged behind.

The reform of reducing the burden of schoolchildren, particularly at the primary level, has been much discussed. The highly desirable objective of reducing the weight and size of the school bag particularly of primary school children does not seem to be controversial and most people and experts would certainly agree on at least this simple proposal. Of course, the children themselves would be delighted.

There are practical ways of achieving this. Yet despite all the talk, even today we see many young children carrying the burden of heavy bags day in and out, often travelling long distances with these bags in crowded buses or even on foot.

In the name of improving school education, several gadgets and audio-visual teaching materials are being increasingly used. Well-made educational videos and other teaching materials can certainly play a useful role.

But often what is offered is something likely to replace more creative and lively interaction between teacher and students. An important question is whether some of the technological aids are at the cost of curbing creativity of teachers and their involvement with students?

In fact, many creative and dedicated teachers have found recent trends difficult to cope with. While rights of children are emphasised and correctly, it is time people also focused on the rights and dignity of teachers.

In the name of using various new inputs and gadgets, students particularly those of tender age are being exposed to unacceptably high levels of electromagnetic pollution.

In this context we need to learn from the experience of countries like the USA where parents concerned about the health of their children are up in protest and laws for limiting this exposure and other safety measures for children are being taken up seriously.

While present-day reforms leave much to be desired there are important reforms that have been neglected. The most important objective of education is to prepare a strong foundation of the important values of humanity to prepare children to be good and responsible citizens of tomorrow’s world.

These values include a deeply rooted sense of equality of all human beings; denial of any discrimination based on religion, race, colour, ethnicity, gender etc., care and compassion towards all forms of life, a deep commitment to environment protection and peace, a strong sense of justice, honesty, truth and commitment to helping others.

If a firm foundation of even the first mentioned value can become deeply rooted, this alone can help to end so much conflict in the world. If all these related values can be imparted, nothing can stop the creation a better world.

Such is the important role of education and here we mean education not only at the school and college but also at the family and community level. While the great significance of this objective of education cannot be denied, in reality it is neglected all the time.

The second important objective of education is to provide conducive and happy conditions in which the creativity of children can flower properly and adequately. This objective is of course accepted by educational institutions and quite a few of them insist that this is actually implemented in their schools.

However, when we look at the extent to which education is dominated by severe competitiveness and the race to get as many marks as possible, the objective of providing happy conditions for creativity of children to flower properly cannot get priority.

It is extremely important for true reform of education that the two most significant objectives of education should be reclaimed and accorded their most important place in educational reforms.

The writer is a freelance journalist who has been involved with several social
movements and initiatives.