CURRICULUM IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
 

I

IMPROVEMENT IN CURRICULUM

For many decades there has been a strong and persistent criticism of the existing Secondary school curriculum. During the course of our investigations we heard these criticisms repeated over and over again.

The main points of these criticisms are that

(i) the present curriculum is narrowly. conceived;

(ii) it is bookish and theoretical;

(iii) it is overcrowded, without providing rich and significant contents;

(iv) it makes inadequate provision for practical and other kinds of activities which should reasonably find room in it, if it is to educate the whole of the personality;

(v) it does not cater to the various needs and capacities of the adolescents;

(vi) it is dominated too much by examinations ; and

(vii) it does not include technical and vocational subjects which are so necessary for training the students to take part in the industrial and economic development of the country.

A Narrow Conception of the Curriculum

In our opinion, there is room for some of these criticisms. It would, not be correct to state, as some maintain, that the present curriculum has no goal in view. What is true, however, is that it Is narrowly conceived, mainly in terms of the admission requirements of the colleges. This continues to be the case even today in, spite of the many attempts made from time to time to remedy the defect. At one, time, the examination at the end of the High school was known as the "Entrance Examination," thereby clearly indicating Its scope and purpose. At a later stage it came to be known as the Matriculation Examination denoting very much the same thing though in a different manner. The word 'matriculation' implied that its purpose was the registration of students for entrance to the University. The present practice is to call it the School-Leaving Certificate or Secondary School Examination implying thereby a certain shift of emphasis In the purpose of the examination. But. unfortunately, this is more nominal than real. Even now most of the pupils who, sit for this examination aspire to join college. If they do not, or cannot do so, it is, generally due to financial reasons. The demands of collegiate education still hold sway over the entire

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field of school education in India. We were informed that certain High school courses are unpopular. because there is no provision for pursuing them at college. This has tended to bring the high school course into closer conformity with the pattern of University courses. Another factor which has had the same effect is the close dependence of public services on University degrees. Most of the higher posts in the public services are not open to any one who has not passed a University examination. Elsewhere in this report we have discussed at some length the adverse effects of the present method of recruitment to the public services on Secondary education and have suggested certain measures for improving the position.

Emphasis on Bookish Knowledge

Owing to the great influence that the college curriculum exercises over the Secondary school curriculum the latter has become unduly bookish and theoretical. University courses are by their nature, academic and theoretical and deal largely with abstractions and generalisations. It is only in the last fifty years that practical and applied aspects of different branches of knowledge chiefly the sciences, have found a place in the University courses but even now the emphasis is more on the academic than on the practical aspect. At the high school stage we definitely need a different approach. The High school pupils do not yet possess the intellectual maturity to deal competently with abstract theories and generalisations. Moreover, these schools have to cater for pupils, many of whom are not academically minded and all of whom will certainly not go to the university. In fact, under normal circumstances the majority of the High school-leavers do, and should enter into practical life. For such students a narrowly conceived bookish curriculum does not obviously provide the right kind of preparation. They need to participate in various kinds of intellectual and physical activities, practical occupations and social experiences which is not possible through the mere study of books. In the course of the last half century, a realisation of this fact has brought about almost a revolution in the conception of the High school curriculum. In many educationally progressive countries, its scope has been very much widened and its purpose is to cater for the entire range of the pupil's interests and capacities-intellectual, physical, emotional, aesthetic and social. For his all-round development, we must provide a wide and varied range of occupations, activities and experiences. We must give him practical training in the art of living and show him through actual experience how community life is organized and sustained. We have to do all this, not because we necessarily want out pupils to start earning their living immediately, but because such knowledge and experience contribute to the all-round growth of their personality. This advocacy of a broad-based curriculum catering for an all-round development of the pupil should not, however, be confused with another .issue which many of the witnesses raised regarding the content of the various subjects of the curriculum. They complained of the overcrowding of the present syllabus, of the multiplicity of subjects and the heavy content-load in the different subjects. There is a great deal of

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justification for this criticism. It is desirable, in the first instance, to reduce the multiplicity of subjects as much as possible. It is not often realised that the complaint of over-crowding is largely due to the multiplicity of subjects, presented as separate entities, without bringing out their organic inter-relationship. So in forming the curriculum an attempt should be made to see whether certain subjects can be grouped in large, organically related units dealing with certain broad areas of human knowledge and interest. Thus it is psychologically preferable to present subjects centering round the study of the social environment and human relations under the comprehensive heading of "Social Studies" than to teach a number of separate subjects like History, Geography, Civics and Economics in water-tight compartments. Similarly, the study of the physical environments and man's relation to Nature can be presented fruitfully through a coherent and organically related syllabus in "General Science". Teaching of separate subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Hygiene, etc., may have certain advantages from a narrow instructional point of view but, apart from the fact that this involves over-crowding of the syllabus, that approach does not give the students a realistic and organic understanding of the world in which they are living. Each particular subject becomes a group of facts, principles and formulae to be learnt rather than a window opening out on a certain significant aspect of life. A clear reali- zation of the difference between these two approaches will provide a valuable principle of guidance both in organization of the curriculum and the choice of right methods. Moreover, if children are given an opportunity to carry on practical activities in connection with the various subjects that they are learning-for instance, laboratory work in the teaching of science it tends to reduce the feeling of boredom.

There is also an undoubted tendency to crowd the syllabus of each subject with too many facts and details, often of little significance and an unwelcome burden on the memory. Our curriculum makers have usually suffered from the besetting sin of the "specialist" who tries to put as much of his favourite subject-matter as possible into the curriculum and the textbooks and is more concerned with the logical and scientific demands of the subject than the needs, the psychology and the interests of the learners. Often Committees of Courses which meet for the reorganisation of the syllabus end up by introducing additional subject matter, unrelated to the students' life and interest, instead of carefully sifting the contents from the point of view of their significance and relevance' The syllabus of History is good instance of this ten dency where, even at the Upper Primary or Lower Secondary or Senior Basic stage long-forgotten incidents and persons of ancient history have 'been resuscitated under the fond delusion that learning certain dull facts about them will enrich the students' mind and deepen their appreciation of national culture. This wrong approach is due to the failure to realize the difference between rich subject-matter and a large heap ,of miscellaneous items of information. Only that curriculum content is justifiable, in schools which adds to the understanding or the appreciation or the efficiency of students and can be grasped by them intelligently, pleasantly, and with a clear realization that, in some 'way, it is

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contributing to the enrichment of their life and activities. We have stressed this fact at some length because we are convinced that unless the syllabus of every school subject is, on the one hand, lightened by dropping overboard the cargo of inert, uninteresting and useless subjectmatter and, on the other hand, enriched by the inclusion of interesting, and significant material that will give 'joy and insight to students, it cannot become a truly educative medium. And the criterion for deciding what is interesting or uninteresting, significant or otherwise, must not be the recommendation of the scientist or the historian or geographer or the literatuer but the attitude of the students and intelligent, understanding teachers. In view of the importance of this matter we would recommend as a proposal of high priority, the establishment in such States and at the Centre- preferably in association with Teachers' Training institutions-of Bureaus or Boards charged with the duty of curricular research on lines which have been successfully tried in some Western countries, notably the United States. It should be the function of such Boards constantly to evaluate and sift the existing curricula in the light of students' psychological interests as well as the changing and developing sociological needs. The details of the curricula in each subject should be settled on the basis of this continuous research.

In this connection it is important to bear in mind that it is neither possible nor desirable to teach children all the facts, even the most important of them, that they are likely to need in later life. It is often this ill-conceived desire that is responsible for the present over-crowded and unsuitable syllabus; if it is resisted, they could be considerably lightened. It is more important to awaken interest and curiosity in the child's mind to teach him the methods and technique of acquiring knowledge than to burden his memory with miscellaneous information "against the rainy day". If he has acquired this mastery over the tools of learning, he will be able to add to his knowledge under the spur of felt need. Our teachers should remember that completion of the school course or of the college course is not the end of education which is, in reality, a continuous life-long process. Even a little knowledge, acquired pleasantly and thoroughly and with the feeling that it has real significance for us, is better than a great deal of miscellaneous, ill-digested knowledge unrelated to life. The former will quicken interest and open the gateway to continuous learning; the latter may kill curiosity and create distaste for further learning. In organizing our curricula and selecting methods of teaching, we must not lose sight of this crucial principle.

Lack of Adaptation to Individual Differences

During the period of adolescence, pupils develop individual tastes, interests and special aptitudes, but the present curriculum hardly takes note of these individual differences. At one time it was generally held that these differences begin to manifest themselves at about the age of 11 and this provided the basis for a break at that age in the educational pattern. But later researches tend to the conclusion that this development takes place nearer 13. Whatever be the precise age when these differences appear, they have an important educational significance

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which educationists must reckon. There have been many attempts to. classify these varied abilities under certain broad categories for purpose of education and educational Organisation. In England three broad categories are recognised academic, technical and practical corresponding to which there are three different types of Secondary schools Grammar, Technical and Modem. In India also a few States have made an attempt to introduce different types of Secondary courses for pupils of different abilities. But, on the whole, the present curriculum does not make adequate provision for this diversity of tastes and talents. High school courses do provide for certain 'option'; but very often the scope and range of such options is narrow and limited. What is needed is a broadly conceived curriculum which will give free room for the, development of different types of abilities through studies and activities, congenial to such development.

Domination by Examinations

There can be little doubt that the present Secondary curriculum is dominated by examinations. It is a matter of everyday experience to which teachers, parents and children can all bear testimony because. all suffer under its strain. We have discussed the influence of examinations on education in a separate chapter and it is not, therefore, necessary to dilate on this problem here.

Lack of Provision for Technical and Vocational Studies

There is a long standing complaint that secondary schools have made no provision for technical and vocational subjects. To meet this criticism attempts have been made from time to time-for example, in 1882 by the Indian Education Commission which recommended the introduction of practical and pre-technical and pre-vocational subjects to set right this deficiency. These and some recent attempts made by universities and other bodies which control Secondary education, have not proved very successful. One main reason for this failure is that provision for Technical education must go along with the development of industries; it cannot precede or bring about such progress. Lack of industrial and commercial development in the country was responsible for the unpopularity of such courses wherever they were introduced. Absence of well-trained teachers and proper material facilities was another contributory factor. Moreover, the immense prestige of the universities and the lure of their "academic" courses also stood in the way of those new courses meeting with proper response. The situation has, however, radically changed now. Our industrial revolution has started and, under its impact, the character of Indian economy has begun to change slowly but inevitably. The Second World War has greatly hastened the process and accelerated the pace of industrialisation. With the attainment of political freedom recently, the expansion of industries has become an integral part of national policy. The Planning Commission has drawn up an elaborate plan for the rapid industrialization of the country and the first Five-Year Plan has been launched already. All this underlines the importance of TechnicaI education and holds out the hopes that new avenues of employment

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will open out of persons possessing technical training and competence. In the field of Secondary education this calls for the introduction of diversified types of courses to meet the needs of an expanding indus- trial economy. If Secondary education remains exclusively academic and does not develop practical skills and aptitudes, suitable candidates will not be forthcoming for admission to Technical institutions which will not, therefore, be able to pull their full weight in our national life. On the other hand, a suitable reorientation of Secondary education will help to produce skilled workers and technicians who will provide efficient personnel for industry and make our various national projects successful. In fact it is the special function of Secondary education to provide the country with the second line of its leaders in all walks of national life-art, science, industry and commerce. The present unilateral system is not planned to provide such leadership which is yet another argument for its diversification.

We might perhaps sum up all these criticisms by saying that, like Secondary education, the Secondary curriculum is out of tune with life and fails to prepare students for life. It does not give them a real understanding of, or insight into, the world outside the school, into Which they will have to enter presently. The starting point for curricular reconstruction must, therefore, be the desire to bridge the gulf between the school subjects and the rich and varied activities that Make up the warp and woof of life.

The Basic Principle of Curriculum Construction

We are now in a position to enumerate briefly the principles on which the curriculum should be based. These have been brought out by implication already in the preceding discussion but it will be helpful to restate them clearly and coherently. In the first place, it must be clearly understood that, according to the best modern educational thought, curriculum in this context does not mean only the academic subjects traditionally taught in the school but it includes the totality of experiences that pupil receives through the manifold activities that go on in the school, in the classroom, library, laboratory, workshop, playgrounds and in the numerous informal contacts between teachers and pupils. In this sense, the whole life of the school becomes the curriculum which can touch the life of the students at all points and help in the evolution of balanced personality.

Secondly, there should be enough variety and elasticity in the curriculum to allow for individual differences and adaptation to individual needs and interests. Any attempt to force uncongenial subjects and studies on children, unfit to take them up, is bound to lead to a sense ,of frustration and to hinder their normal development. There are, of ,course, certain broad areas. of knowledge, skill and appreciation with Which all children must come into contact and these must find place 'in the curriculum. We shall discuss presently what these subject-areas are, but it is necessary that they should be kept to the minimum and should not be beyond the students' powers and capacities. In other words, the same standard of achievement should not be expected' of all.

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Thirdly, the curriculum must be vitally and organically related to community life, interpreting for the child its salient and significant features and allowing him to come into contact with some of its important activities. Obviously, this would imply giving an important place to productive work which is the backbone of organized human life. It would also postulate that a general curriculum, which may be prescribed by the Education Department for a whole school system, must be capable of adaptation to local needs and situations. The teacher should build up in the minds of students a lively sense of being an integral part of the local community and the local community should be enabled to realize that the school is a vital and Invaluable part of its life.