| Makeover time for BMC schools | ||
| University of Mumbai celebrates 150 years, but what about baseline tests? Mihika Basu Mumbai: The University of Mumbai may have been busy celebrating its 150 years, but what made headlines were two aspects of primary education: baseline tests and board examinations in class IV and VII. Brainwaves of state education minister Vasant Purke, baseline tests and content tests under the quality improvement programme were first proposed in December 2005. But their well-meaning nature notwithstanding, the move led to the government facing a lot of flak. |
Though the government prefers to stay quite seeking to take the “sub-judice” route, it has been advocating before a two-judge High Court bench that such tests had been well-received in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. “But, the bench,” says, Municipal teachers’ union general secretary Ramesh Joshi, “is no mood to hear such baseless arguments.”
Even after the Deshmukh government bowed to parental opposition and put on hold baseline tests in private schools, Purke was determined to have his way. And why not? After all, the government is said to have spent Rs 19 crore in trying to introduce the idea.
“It’s a political game being played by certain teachers and politicians for personal benefit,” Purke alleged.
A few days after the government’s decision to stop them in private schools, the High Court stayed the tests in civic schools too.
To prove his point, Purke who conducted a series of meetings with representatives from select schools in the state to seek their opinion, claimed there was no opposition to the tests. Now, his ministry has prepared a detailed report on the feedback received at these meetings _ convened in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nasik, Amravati and Latur _ for the High Court.
If you don’t want baseline tests, conduct board exams in class IV and VII. That was Purke’s message to schools after the government approached the High Court. But this idea too was widely opposed. “If the tests can be replaced by the board exams, why then does the education ministry want to introduce them in the first place,” asked Joshi. The case comes up for hearing on January 12, 2007.
Moving away from controversies, the year saw a number of positive initiatives by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to improve quality of education in its schools. For example, for the first time ever, it implemented a centralised system of education for over 4 lakh children. The logistics were staggering: 25 million printed question papers and a budget of Rs 2.5 crores.
“Before this, the concept of printed question papers did not exist. It was time to change this,” says deputy commissioner (education) S S Shinde. What’s more, even answer sheets were provided to the students.
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