PUNE: Up to 123 educationists from across the state assembled here on Friday to express their views on the proposal to make mathematics an optional subject for classes IX and X.
School education minister Vasant Purke and SSC board chairman Vasant Kalpande were present at the meeting held at the headquarters of the State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education.
School education minister Vasant Purke and SSC board chairman Vasant Kalpande were present at the meeting held at the headquarters of the State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education.
However, the state's controversial decision to make maths optional for classes IX and X will not come into force in the next academic year.
Purke announced that the government would take its time before taking a decision. Almost 80% of the educationists present vetoed the bid to drop mathematics entirely from the SSC exam.
The most popular suggestion was to introduce two levels of maths—a higher level and a lower one—from which students could take their pick.
P G Vaidya, maths teacher and member of the Ganit Adhyapak Sangh, said students should be given the opportunity to switch from one level of maths to the other if they discovered midway through the year that they were dissatisfied with the course they had chosen.
He added that the current exam system only tested a student's memory, not understanding. "The system should be changed and there should be no definitions and theorems asked," he said. In addition, he wanted more useful subjects in the syllabus, such as financial literacy.
The state has proposed to make maths optional because of the large number of students who fail every year. 45% of students failed maths last year.
"Rural children fail the SSC due to maths and then never return to studies," said Purke. He added that most of them would never need maths for higher studies.
Others, however, felt the move was not attacking the root of the problem—poor teaching and bad facilities in mofussil areas.
"Education is not about increasing the number of people who pass exams," said R P Joshi, principal, Muktangan English School, Pune.
Some said a single-level system should be made compulsory. R M Yevle, principal, Mudhuji High School, Phaltan, said rural children, where infrastructure is poor, would opt for the lower level in a two-level system.
Meanwhile, there were those who supported dropping maths. T P Lahane, professor of ophthalmology, JJ College, and Satish Khadse, cardiologist, said higher maths is not important for medicine.
Purke announced that the government would take its time before taking a decision. Almost 80% of the educationists present vetoed the bid to drop mathematics entirely from the SSC exam.
The most popular suggestion was to introduce two levels of maths—a higher level and a lower one—from which students could take their pick.
P G Vaidya, maths teacher and member of the Ganit Adhyapak Sangh, said students should be given the opportunity to switch from one level of maths to the other if they discovered midway through the year that they were dissatisfied with the course they had chosen.
He added that the current exam system only tested a student's memory, not understanding. "The system should be changed and there should be no definitions and theorems asked," he said. In addition, he wanted more useful subjects in the syllabus, such as financial literacy.
The state has proposed to make maths optional because of the large number of students who fail every year. 45% of students failed maths last year.
"Rural children fail the SSC due to maths and then never return to studies," said Purke. He added that most of them would never need maths for higher studies.
Others, however, felt the move was not attacking the root of the problem—poor teaching and bad facilities in mofussil areas.
"Education is not about increasing the number of people who pass exams," said R P Joshi, principal, Muktangan English School, Pune.
Some said a single-level system should be made compulsory. R M Yevle, principal, Mudhuji High School, Phaltan, said rural children, where infrastructure is poor, would opt for the lower level in a two-level system.
Meanwhile, there were those who supported dropping maths. T P Lahane, professor of ophthalmology, JJ College, and Satish Khadse, cardiologist, said higher maths is not important for medicine.
"The math we learnt in Class VIII is enough for medicine," said Lahane.
कोणत्याही टिप्पण्या नाहीत:
टिप्पणी पोस्ट करा