Define academic standards for schools: IIT experts

There is an urgent need to define the academic standards which a student needs to achieve as he is promoted to next class in schools, believe experts at IIT-Delhi.
"If a class X student cannot write proper English or doesn't know Laws of Newton, it's not his failure in that class but in earlier standards from where he has been promoted so far. We need to define what level of knowledge a student need to achieve in what standard," said Harish Chaudhary, Faculty, Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi.
"Define standards for each class during schooling" and "Integration of scholastic and non-scholastic activities", are the agenda of the 6th International conference on 'Excellence in school education-Creating High Achieving Schools'.

Organised by experts at IIT Delhi's Management Institute, the annual conference is attended by over 500 principals of private and government schools across the country.
The recommendations are then compiled in a book form which is shared with stakeholders involved in contribution towards better schooling education.
"Although there is a set curriculum for each class but the academic standards set by each school are different and there is no uniform policy. What a student has to learn in Class II should necessarily be taught then only, why should it be rectified at later stages," said Chaudhary, who is the conference co-ordinator.

The experts, however, believe that the current 'no retention policy' followed in Indian schools should not be changed but the teaching standards need to be improved, according to Chaudhary.

"In India, a student completes schooling, then graduation followed by post graduation and is then told that you lack so and so things that make you unemployable. Why didn't the teachers rectify him all these years?" he asked.
"While the higher education system is responsible for knowledge generation and skill development, its performance is dependent on the schooling system's output," he added.
The three-day conference is scheduled to be held from December 28-30 at IIT, Delhi.

Prior to the conference, three workshops have also been scheduled for Principals on 'Creating Cyberspace Schools', 'Financial mantras for school principals' and 'Greener India starting with green schools'.
While the conference is free for principals from government schools, there is a fee of Rs 5000 for private schools.