NHRD Journal - National HRD Network

memorization, the focus of the teaching
learning tends to be preparing the child for the
narrow list of questions at the end of the lessons
and not on the broader issues of education
goals to be achieved through the subject.
The basic beliefs in the National Curriculum
Framework are:
• Learning as a process is unique to each
individual
• Teaching with a 'prepared logical
sequence' decided by teacher or others
may result in little learning, that too, rote
learning
• Pedagogy is but a process for mediation
of resources in the form of meaningful
experiences catering to varied learning
needs of learners
The essential focus of the curriculum is:
• Learner centric, not teacher centric
• The focus is learning - not teaching
• Processes that
• recognize the diversity, flexibility and
varied learning needs of the learners
• Is culture and context sensitive
• Forward looking
• Life related
The above reforms require radical change among
the teachers, the process and the paradigm of
all involved in the delivery of education. The
fundamental difference in an assembly line
approach to education and the child centric
approach is that here the learner is capable of
contributing to herself/himself. That the learner
is able to learn through the exposure to
experiences. That the learner is able to construct
her/his own knowledge based on experience.
This would force the education system to relook
at several issues radically differently. Some
of these would be:
• What kind of people become teachers?
• Is the profession viewed respectable and
rewarding enough to attract the best?
• Is the teacher education curriculum relevant,
experiential, teacher centric?
• How is the process of appointment of
teachers conducted?
• Are we from time to time defining and redefining
the teacher competencies to meet
the challenges of the 21st century?
• How is the in-service training of teachers
carried out?
• Who educates and ensures the quality of
teacher educators?
• How do we reach every rupee of the
education budget to improve the quality of
learning?
• Are the examinations driving a classroom
culture and process that is consistent with
the National Curriculum Framework?
• How are we enabling the teachers to use
their freedom in the classroom - more
meaningfully?
• How do we address the issue of teacher
absenteeism?
• How do we create much higher
performance consciousness among
teachers?
• How do we make parents aware of their
responsibility in their children's education?
• How do we educate the parents on what to
expect as a result of education?
Political Will to Change - Critical in a
Democratic Set up
Many of the above changes need enormous
"Political Will" among the policy makers.
The political masters must get themselves
educated on relevant issues for quality
education. The most critical issues are:
November 2007 NHRD Journal 31