State opposes Sibal's education reforms

BJP-ruled Karnataka today opposed Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal’s plans for introducing a uniform syllabus and making Class 10th board examination optional.

“The need of the hour is to discuss what content should be taught to students. We are not opposed to reforms. But it should not be done unilaterally,” Karnataka minister for primary and secondary education Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, told reporters.

Maintaining that the state was not opposed to reforms brought in after a healthy nationwide debate, the minister said, “Presently, the syllabus centres around imparting literacy aimed at getting jobs and there were hardly any inputs that elevate the intellectual standards in education.” Kageri disagreed with Sibal on plans to create a single school board and asserted that “we find utility of SSLC Board in our state”.

It was not right to decide on doing away exams at SSLC (tenth standard) level, he said adding, “if students have fear of exam, efforts should be made to instill confidence in them and not do away the exams itself”. “If there are lacunae in the examination system, steps should be taken to rectify them,” he stressed.