Syllabus dilemma

KOCHI: The preference for Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus to Kerala syllabus among parents across the state is still a bone of contention.Recently the unification of syllabus was mooted at the teachers conference held in Kozhikode, with many arguing in favour of implementation of CBSE syllabus in all schools.It is against this backdrop that the state committee of the Kerala School Teachers Association published the ‘Kerala Padyapadhathi Samrakshanam Enthinu? Kerala-CBSE Syllabussukal Oru Tharathamyam’ (Why the need for protecting the Kerala syllabus, a comparison between Kerala and CBSE syllabus) which points out the merits of Kerala syllabus.It is inevitable that the Kerala syllabus which has been considered a model by the Centre be protected, it states.The pages reveal that the Kerala Curriculum Framework based on the National Curriculum Framework with its revamped syllabus and text books imparted with the aid of information technology has helped Kerala march ahead in the field.The Syllabus is childcentred.The mother tongue plays a large role in the development of a child and primary education should be based on local environs.Statistics on the performance of the students in the SSLC examination over the past few years is used to prove their stand.The syllabi have been contrasted with regard to each subject.Pointing that mathematics, like languages should be taught against the backdrop of the history of the land.The book lays stress on the merits of the state’s maths syllabus.Maths should be taught by integrating it to materialistic world and not just as numerals and digits.The concepts are not imposed on the students but they are let to understand each step and come to conclusions.The same subject is imparted in different ways when both the syllabi are contrasted.Science is taught in a scientific manner with practical classes and based on the phenomena seen around.It also encourages students to be aware of the scientific aspects of all the happenings in their daily life.The Kerala syllabus also helps students enjoy science by distinguishing its strengths and weaknesses.The effective ways of guiding students in Physics, Chemistry and Biology through practical classes have been highlighted.As for social studies, it is imperative that the salient features of Kerala be included in the syllabus.The contents of the book also asks ‘Whose right is it to adulterate language learning?’.The syllabus is for a better tomorrow and should not be sacrificed to cater to business interests, it says.Though the book proves that the Kerala syllabus is exemplary, but the CBSE has another purpose.“The state syllabus is good but CBSE helps those with transferable jobs to educate their children in places across the country,” said a few teachers and parents.“Unification of syllabus has been mooted but both the Kerala and CBSE syllabi have their merits.We are yet to consider the proposal as implementing it is far from practical,” said general education Secretary M Sivasankar.