Present education system: Systems like Montessori, DPEP, SSA

Present education system:

Systems like Montessori, DPEP, SSA

‘THE SECRET OF CHILDHOOD’ AND THE ‘SENSITIVE PERIODS’

Maria Montessori

Principles of Montessori method

 The first principle is to train the pupil to be independent of others in respect of the ordinary practices of life. The ultimate reference is to the sense of touch, which is regarded as fundamental and primordial. The Montessori maintains that the sense of touch is fundamental. It undergoes great development during the early years of life. If neglected at this age, it loses its susceptibility to training.

The Psychological method

 Montessori “psychological method in education implies that the educative process is adapted to the stage of mental development of child, and to his interest. In the Montessori method, ‘It is necessary then to offer those exercises which correspond to the need of development felt by an organism, and if the child’s age has carried him past certain need, it is never possible to obtain, in its fullness, development which missed its proper moment. If a child fails to perform a task or to appreciate the truth of a principle, the teacher must not make him conscious of his error by repeating the lesson. She must assume that the task has been presented prematurely. Before again presenting the stimulus, she must await the manifestation of the symptoms, which indicate that the need exists. The duration of a process is determined not by the exigencies of an authorized timetable, but by the interval, which the child finds requisite to exhaust his interest.

No Prizes

 In the Montessori system there are no prizes. The pupil’s sense of mastery is his highest reward: “His own self-development is his true and almost his only pleasure.”

Perfect Freedom

 According to Montessori, “The method of observation (that is, the psychological method) is established one fundamental base – the liberty necessitates independence of action on the part of the child. “Whoever visits a well-kept school is struck by the discipline of the children”.

Adapted Environment

 Montessori advocates that the environment should likewise be so adapted. She gave the child an environment in which everything is constituted in proportion to himself and let him live therein.

Practices of Montessori method

The practices of the Montessori method fall into three classes:

1. The exercises of practical life;

2. The exercises in sensory training; and

3. The didactic exercises.

The Exercises in Practical Life

 Freedom, according to Montessori, does not consist in having other at one’s command to perform the ordinary services, but in being able to do these for oneself, in being independent of others. Thus in the House of Childhood the pupils learn how to wash their hands, using little wash-stands with small pitchers and basins, how to clean their nails, brush their teeth and so on. Exercises are also arranged to train the child in the movements necessary in dressing and undressing.

 Montessori devised certain formal gymnastic exercises to develop co-ordinated movements in the child. She disapproved of the child practicing the ordinary gymnastic exercises arranged for the adult. She maintained “We are wrong” if we consider little children from their physical point of view as little men.

Exercises in Sense Training

 “To make the process one of self-education”, Montessori explains in The Advanced Montessori Method,” Method, “it is not enough that the stimulus should call forth activity, it must also direct it. The child should not only persist for a long time in an exercise; he must persist without making mistakes. All the physical or intrinsic qualities of the objects should be determined, not only by the immediate reaction of attention they provoke in the child, but also by their possession of this fundamental characteristic, the control of error, that is to say, the power of evoking the effective collaboration of the

highest activities (comparison, judgment).”

 In sensory training the senses are isolated whenever that is possible. The pupils of the Montessori schools are blindfolded, a feature of the training which seems to add zest to their efforts. The auditory exercises are given in an environment not only of silence, but even of darkness.

Material Used in Sensory Training

• For perception of size : A series of wooden cylinders varying in height only, in diameter only or in both dimension at once, are employed, likewise blocks varying regularly in size, and rods of regularly, graded lengths.

• For perception of form : In it are used geometrical insets in metal, in wood or the shapes of the insets drawn on paper.

• For discrimination in weight : It was tablets of wood similar in size but different in weight.

• For touch : All highly polished surface and a sand-paper surface are used.

• For sense of temperature : Here are used small metal bowls with caps.

• For auditory acuity : Cylindrical sound boxes are used containing different substances.

• For the colour sense : A graded series of coloured woods is used.

• Tactual Activity : Similar methods are adopted in developing in the child’s tactual acuity, and in training him to discriminate differences in temperature and in weight. In these exercises the child is blindfolded or is enjoined to keep his eyes closed during the tests; he is encouraged to do so by being told that he will thus be able to feel the differences better.

Development in Elementary Education

The Parliament has passed the Constitution’s 86th Amendment Act, 2002 to make elementary education a Fundamental Right for children in the age- group of 6-14 years.

The progress of enrolment has increased from 192 (lakh) persons in 1950-51 to 1224 (lakh) persons in 2003-04 in the age group of 6-11 years. For the development of education at elementary level several provisions were laid down by the government.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

The Scheme of Sarva Shilksh Abhiyan (SSA) was launched in 2001. The goals of SSA are as follows: (i) All 6-14 age children in school/ Education Guarantee Scheme Center/bridge course by 2003. (ii) All 6-14 age children complete five year primary education by 2007 (iii) All 6-14 age children complete eight years of schooling by 2010 (iv) Focus on elementary education on satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life (v) Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010 and (vi) Universal retention by 2010. The programme covers the entire country with special focus on education needs of girls, SCs/ STs and other children in difficult circumstances. The programme seeks to open new schools in habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grant. The SSA has a special focus on girls and children of weaker sections.

District Primary Education Programme

 The Centrally sponsored Scheme of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994 as a major initiative to revitalize the primary education system and to achieve the objective of universalisation of primary education. DPEP adopts a holistic approach to universalize access, retention and improve learning achievement and to reduce disparities among social groups. Adopting an area-specific approach’ with district as the unit of planning, the key sensitivity to local conditions and ensuring full participation of the community. DPEP is based on the principle of ‘additionally’ and is structured to fill in the existing gaps. The programme components include construction of classrooms and new schools, opening of Non-formal/ Alternative Schooling Centers, appointment of new teachers, setting up early childhood education centers, strengthening of State Councils of Educational Training through District Institute of Education and Training(DIETs), setting up of Block Resource Centers/Cluster Resource Centres, teacher training, development of Teaching Learning Material, Research based interventions, special interventions for promoting education of disadvantaged groups, girls, SC/ST, etc. initiatives for providing integrated education to disabled children and distance education for teacher training have also been incorporated in the DPEP Scheme.

Education system in Kerala – History

• Gurukul System
• Pallikkoodams by Christian missionaries - irrespective of caste or religion
• School for girls was established by the Maharaja in 1859, which was an act unprecedented in the Indian subcontinent
• In the 1860’s, the government spread the educational programs into Malabar
• Kerala's achievements in the field of education - near total literacy, free and universal primary education.
• Low drop out rate at the school level, easy access to educational institutions, gender equality in access etc. –
• In these respects, Kerala is often compared not only with the other Indian states or developing

    countries but also with some of the developed countries.

Division of education system

• Kerala Primary Education  --   Kerala High School Education
• Kerala Secondary Education [+2]/Vocational Secondary Schools
• Kerala Higher Education  ----  Distance Education program in Kerala.

Boards of Education

• Many of the schools owned by private sector are aided by government.

ú  Kerala State Education Board

ú  Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)

ú  Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE)

ú  National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

     No fees(or a nominal fees) are required in schools run by or aided by government. Fees concerning the higher and technical education are very low; the ratio of recovery of government's revenue expenditure was 2.6% in 2009–2010

Major Govt. Interventions

• 1994 – DPEP (District Primary Education Programme)

ú  A major initiative to revitalize the primary education system and to achieve the objective of universalization of primary education.

ú  DPEP has so far opened more than 1,60,000 new schools

ú  Village Education was given more importance

ú  About 1,77,000 teachers, including para-teachers  have been appointed

• The most negative part of the DPEP –

ú  it gave the children's a lot of negatives

ú  It made d language and spoken abilities of our students worse

ú  they were made to collect match boxes n feathers, well they were aimed at giving practical

ú   experience for children - but what did it actually gave them?  something is still a question mark…

• 2001 -SSA – (SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN)

ú  Centrally sponsored scheme at the end of the Ninth Five Year Plan to improve the educational status.

ú  Education for girls, scheduled caste and tribal children

ú  Education of sc/st children

ú  Free textbooks to all girls/SC/ST children up to Class-VIII.

ú  At least 50 % of the teachers to be appointed have to be women.

ú  Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).

• 2007 - Higher Secondary centralized Allotment Process (hsCap)

ú  Popularly known as Single Window Admission

ú   The software is developed by taking care of all the existing rules of rank generation and Communal reservations by the DHSE (Directorate of Higher Secondary Education)

ú  hsCap provided by NIC has eliminated the requirement for a student to apply in multiple Schools where the student is seeking the admission and also eliminated the task of virtually appearing for interview in multiple schools

Other Govt. Schemes

• Kalakshethra

ú   Kalaksethra is a district training centre where special training/ coaching will be given to artistically talented but financially backward students.

• Merit Cum Means Scholarship

ú  Comprehensive scholarship scheme of the Higher Secondary level for the meritorious students belonging to BPL families.

• Remedial Coaching

ú  Remedial coaching is  implemented to give special coaching to weak students in selected Government Higher Secondary Schools having pass percentage below 50.

•  National Service Scheme

ú  NSS provides platform for leadership practice life-skill acquisition etc and help the volunteers learn how to live among others

• Adolescent Counseling and Health Care Programme

§  These was some of the very useful schemes introduced by the government.

2008 - Choice Based Credit System

• The Four Pillars of the UG reforms

ú  -Semesterisation   ---- - Choice-based credit system - “Courses” to “programmes”

ú  - Continuous assessment  --- - Grading