04-01-2007, 11:06 AM
`India's education system among the best'
`Schools should not become commercial ventures and the emphasis should be on spreading knowledge.'
Fr. Jose Akkara
Fr. Jose Akkara, who headed the educational institutions of St. Vincent De Paul Society in its South Indian province earlier and is currently the executive committee member of ICSE board, <span style='color:red'>carries forward the tradition of Chrtistian missionaries who dedicated their lives for spreading education in Asia and Africa.</span>
Talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony at Green Woods Public School, Bekal, Fr. Akkara, who has visited more than 20 countries and has held studies on education systems there, says the education system in the country is among the best in the world.
Our education system makes optimum use of the resources here, he said.
The U.S. and Europe follow a different education system in schools in the sense that they don't teach writing up to Class V, he said. But, they make the best use of technological advances in education. He added that the number of students in each classroom there was only around 15.
Fr. Akkara said he was not sure whether such a system would succeed in our country, as the entire education system here is based on a different concept.
Schools should not become full commercial ventures and the emphasis should be on spreading knowledge.
He noted that the schools of the society followed different fee structures considering the realties of the region where they were situated.
Fr. Akkara, who is also the all India secretary of the ICSE schools association in the country, said the notion that ICSE school syllabi was tough for the children had no basis. The emphasis on English language given by the ICSE would immensely benefit students aspiring to join foreign universities.
He said the system of internal assessment in schools was first introduced by the ICSE board in the country.
Answering questions on the examination system followed by the ICSE, Fr. Akkara said the system was impeccable, as incidents of question paper leakage had never been reported in the history of ICSE in the country.
The full responsibility of conducting the examination rests on the shoulder of the deputy secretary of ICSE and he would be held responsible in case of any incident of question paper leakage or instances of influencing examiners at any level.
The question papers for the public examination of ICSE would not be printed in the same printing press twice. Two sets of question papers would be prepared and the final selection would be made by the secretary himself. The State-level conveners would assist the deputy secretary in conducting examinations in each State, he said. The Principals of those schools selected as centres for public examinations would not have any role in the conduct of the examinations, he said. The superintendent and all invigilators would be from other schools.
Fr. Akkara said the ICSE board would cancel the centre at a school if any malpractise was detected.
A. Harikumar