How new curriculum will stamp out absenteeism

Much talk has been on and off the record about the prospects and challenges of the new curriculum. There are conspiracy theorists about the future of this curriculum, and the protest, emerging against the implementation of this curriculum, is mostly galvanized by a vested quarter, whom we can identify at this stage vividly. So far we can put a theoretical framework regarding the ethical consideration of the new curriculum, which tends to underpin that the new curriculum determines to relieve the learners from exam phobia, as we had to experience four public exams- PEC, JSC, SSC, and HSC- a student had to go through before entering higher educational paradigm. And secondly, the proposed curriculum tends to distribute learning, and skills development through interaction and performances in curated real-life situations.

However, the allegation from the guardians may be considerable in the sense that the learners had to be attentive to their studies as they had exams laden on their shoulders. To them, exams are the concrete performance process and results are the concrete proof of their achievement. The unavailability of exams, competitions, and achievement scores align with the chase for something unknown. They doubt that they may lag to sustain the level of their learner-children. Their concern may be verified from the perspective of a conscious guardian, who is always worried about the future of their children. But they cannot visualize other important things, which their children were losing.

No one can deny the greater perspective of the educational institutions. They are not merely the institutions arranging exams, and providing certificates. It is the greatest institution, second to the family, for the socialization of the people. Here, a child comes to interact with teachers, and learners from various socio-economic backgrounds to develop the mentality of fellow feelings, tolerance, unbiased judgment, and compassion to all, irrespective of caste, creed, and color. If you, being a guardian, think that certification is enough for your child, and all other human characteristics should be introduced and taught in the family context, you consider only your child, not the others who are living behind the bars of your family values and ethics. Then, coaching centers surpass public institutions as these commercial institutions guide your children in the best possible way to pass the exams with the highest marks.  
It needs to be mentioned that the dropout rate is considerably high in the secondary and higher secondary level, which has been aggravated due to the pandemic. Again, absenteeism is likely to add insult to injury. The government has taken measures to curb the dropout rate from educational institutions. And the success rate of the government initiatives against dropout is reputable. However, there prevails a gap in the case of finding any way out of absenteeism on the part of the authority concerned. It seems the authority does not have data regarding the problems of absenteeism, which the secondary and higher secondary institutions have been experiencing in the urban and suburban areas.

The research report on the causes of absenteeism in the educational sector finds that families, students, and institutions may increase this rate. In the case of the institutions, poor teaching materials, classical types of teaching methods, lack and negligence of using modern technology in teaching, fear of grading, attitude of the teachers, and increasing cost of teaching materials prolong the problem of absenteeism. Learners seek innovation and novelty in the class lectures and material presentation, which perhaps may be lacking in the grad-oriented education as the focus relies mostly on the attainment of the grades leaving the creation of scope of learner-teacher interaction in various social settings aside. The curriculum needs to make the learners believe that they are innovators and that they will discover their surroundings, and identify the problems through social interaction. The scope of the teachers is here to guide the learners to become. The grading system stigmatizes the learners as it invites superiority or inferiority complexity in the learners. It does not mean that the grading system must be avoided, rather it is to ensure why you are grading your learners.

The curriculum designers and experts put their consent about the matter that the learners do not have to spend much to collect teaching materials as these can be procured from their surroundings without paying any money. The use of zero-cost teaching material as teaching aids may not pose any hindrance to the financially challenged families to send their children to the schools. The learners, while they are engaged in collecting material from their surroundings, develop an understanding of mutual co-existence in the natural settings and find themselves belonging there. Thus, a sense of liability grows in them towards the elements of nature, and real education begins here. It can never be accepted at this trying time that a learner grows without the sense of developing belongingness to nature.

Then, the state of affairs regarding the grade-oriented curriculum is that the educational landscape had to experience a mushrooming rise of coaching centers. No educational paradigm rejects the essence of support services and tutoring services. However, the shocking news lies behind the mushrooming rise of coaching centers as these have been on the chase to compete with educational institutions. They have transformed into shadow learning institutions, and the guardians feel comfortable when they discover their children are now at the coaching center.Needs to be mentioned, that this paradigm shift did not take place overnight, our grade-oriented education system led it to happen gradually. Coaching centers offer chances to earn good grades, and they have been successful in most cases. Alternatively, no institutions can advance with the advertisement of the grand offer, which the guardians are likely to cling to. As a result, the institutions are on the verge of losing the regular students in the class, especially those who are SSC and HSC candidates.

However, the coaching centers are sure to lose their momentum, and the guardians are likely to keep their distance from them if and when students find themselves confident enough to attend classes without the burden of exam phobia. Learners will be marked on their behavior criteria and performance criteria, which are the aggregated results of their continuous activities during school hours. Hence, a learner is obliged to attend the classes, and the private service-providing centers change their time and program schedule if they try to keep their heads up the water.  

The salient objective of the new curriculum must be interpreted as the dictation to integrate learners with the learning process, which is likely to be achieved through social interaction, and performances during class hours. They should learn in reality so that they can apply their skills whenever necessary. Yet, the teachers and institutions must act accordingly so that their arrangements do not pose any barrier for the learners to participate in the new journey.

The writer is a  BCS Cadre (General Education) & Publons Academy Graduate (Research, Review, and Mentorship)