ICSE paper leak: Why Indian education system needs a makeover

Till now, there has been no reaction from the HRD ministry regarding the leak

The reports of Geography paper leak of Class X at Bombay Scottish school in Mumbai conducted by ICSE board is shocking and alarming and once again brings the focus back on the urgent need for a makeover of the Indian education system.

The leaked paper at Bombay Scottish during the prelims was exactly similar to the final paper  thus robbing the chance of a fair exam from 1.6 lakh students who are giving the exam this year.  

Till now, there has been no reaction from the Ministry of Human Resources or from the HRD minister Smriti Irani but the government can use this opportunity to restructure the current entire examination process which is full of loopholes and gives opportunity for manipulation.  Apart from attending schools, millions of students across India attend extra tutorials to get high marks and admission to good colleges. Tutorials are earning crores doing the primary job of schools while the students barely get any time to play or for extra co-curricular activities. This is because the Indian education system gives a lot of emphasis on memory with students trying to memorize the books rather than working on innovation, discovery or inventing new things.  

Time has perhaps come for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take charge of the situation.  Just before the exams, Modi gave an inspiring speech to the students via radio asking them not to worry about the results and focus on writing the exams well.  With a paper leak controversy hovering at their head, students are already at their wit’s end.

The boards should also take immediate steps to stop the rot in the system. Indian students are one of the best in the world – learning three languages by the time they reach Class X. The new generation of students are far smarter, tech savvy and have access to multiple sources of information. This is a big advantage in a globalised world as students are aware of what’s happening around the world and how to compete with students from other countries.

Instead of giving them question papers in advance and thus putting lakhs of other students at disadvantage, it’s perhaps time for our education system to teach them ethical values, the need for transparency and fair play.

In an earlier blog,  I talked about why Smriti Irani's diktat pushing Sanskrit in schools  was plain wrong. I wrote about why HRD minister should realize that in a globalized economy, an additional language skill is a very important asset and can provide more job opportunities to Indians compared to their peers from other countries. In this episode, the silence of Irani is shocking.

The minister should immediately draw up a plan to restructure the education boards, and reduce the burden on students by making the exams more innovative instead of the present system.