Chapter 3: Academic Standards & Text Books
3.1 Overall general standards
In the absence of standardized achievement tests, it is difficult to identify any objective and reliable indicator of academic standards in Tibetan schools. However, there is near consensus among educators involved with the schools and the community in general that the academic standard in the schools is not up to the mark.
These sentiments are echoed in the IDP II document where it states; " that over 80 percent of the children are at school and are thus literate. Much of the basic infrastructure in existing schools is now in place, however, there remains a great need to improve general academic standards, specially in subject areas of science, technology and mathematics, and Tibetan language, dance and music".
At Class X and XII, it is widely accepted that the CBSE Exam results are the most objective indicator of academic standards. For all other classes, the results of the annual exams are used in this study to assess academic standards. It was our hope to have figures from all 80 Tibetan schools, however, statistics from 55 CTSA/STSA/SLF schools and the major TCV and THF schools comprising about 60% of their total students were available in response to the DOE survey 1998 on enrolment and academic standards. Since the graphic presentations are over a period of five years, 1993 - 1997, it is hoped that they would give us some idea of the standard and trends of academic achievement in our schools.*
In December 1998 a sampling study was conducted in nine Tibetan schools to asses the qualitative academic performance of Tibetan students at all class levels.
| Grades |
Percentage |
|
60% |
50% |
40% |
| XII |
20 |
63 |
17 |
| XI |
9 |
49 |
42 |
| Total |
17 |
59 |
24 |
| X |
7 |
24 |
69 |
| IX |
2 |
11 |
87 |
| Total |
5 |
20 |
74 |
| VIII |
5 |
13 |
83 |
| VII |
17 |
21 |
62 |
| VI |
15 |
16 |
70 |
| Total |
12 |
16 |
72 |
| V |
46 |
16 |
39 |
| IV |
40 |
19 |
41 |
| III |
41 |
15 |
44 |
| II |
58 |
25 |
18 |
| I |
63 |
14 |
23 |
| Total |
49 |
18 |
33 |
3.2 Standard of Tibetan
There is growing concern over the declining standard of Tibetan in our schools. This concern was reflected in the response from teachers to the DOE opinion survey 1997 - 98 on this issue where 82.1 % of the teachers opined that the standard of Tibetan in our schools was very poor. Various reasons for this were attributed by them, of which the prominent ones were:
Elders and teachers are not speaking correct Tibetan
Teachers use mixed languages in class
CBSE Exams in Tibetan is too easy (substandard )
Lack of nice story books in Tibetan
Lack of usage of written Tibetan
Untrained Tibetan language teachers
Influence (negative) of western culture and television
Society and government both are more interested in English
Language used in Tibetan language textbooks is not based on day to day life.
STUDENTS' VIEWS ON TIBETAN LANGUAGE
Based on the DOE opinion survey 1997-98 of children on a wide range of school related issues, the following are the children's views on Tibetan language:
Tibetan was a close second to English as the most interesting subject for the children.
61.2 % of the students felt that the Tibetan language textbooks were interesting, while 27 % felt that they were difficult. Only 6.2 % found them dull and 4.9 % felt that they were easy.
In School, Tibetan was the favorite language, with 58.8 % of the students voting for it. However, the majority of the students found English an easier language to learn.
The majority of the children (61.7%) found Tibetan difficult to learn because its grammar is difficult.
53.6 % of the students felt that English was the most important language in their lives, while 44.4 % felt that it was Tibetan.
3.3 Steps to improve the standard of Tibetan language
The responses on the above subject received from Administrators in Tibetan schools seem to indicate that various efforts are under way. Some of the current practices mentioned by them are:
Essay writing and handwriting competitions in Tibetan
Reading news or passages in Tibetan at the morning assembly
Encouraging teachers to use pure Tibetan
holding debates and quizzes in Tibetan
allocating more periods for Tibetan language
introducing a special best in Tibetan prize for all classes
providing children with samples of Tibetan calligraphy and work books
accepting all applications in Tibetan only to encourage frequent usage of written Tibetan.
3.4 Tibetan language text books
A majority of the teachers (58.6 %) said that they were satisfied with the Tibetan language textbooks currently used. At the same time, they offered various suggestions for improvement:
textbooks for standards I and II are too easy, while the texts for standards VI to VIII
are too difficult for the children.
more exercises are required
the language should be simplified
junior class textbooks should be made more colorful
more emphasis should be paid to language than to religion and history
glossary of important words should be given at the end of each lesson
3.5 Standards of Science and Math
The modern world is dominated by and owes its great success to science and technology. No nation can hope to develop and make strides without progress in science and mathematics. Yet, as the IDP survey indicated, these are subject areas in which Tibetan children are specially weak in, and there is the need to develop comprehensive and concrete measures to improve the standards in these vital subjects.
Some other indicators to underline the need to take strong measures in this area include:-
According to the five-year infrastructure plan developed for STSA direct run schools, science laboratories were woefully lacking in middle schools.
The current survey on existing infrastructure in 55 schools indicate that 21.6 % of the schools had no science laboratories, another 13.5 % said that their science laboratory facilities were inadequate - making it 35.1 % with inadequate or no science labs at all.
The enrolment trends indicate a decline in the number of children opting for science at the senior secondary level. Between 1990-93, 16.9 % of the total students at the senior secondary level opted for the science stream, as against only 10.9 % for 1995 -1997.
The low enrolment of students at the senior secondary stage also suggests the lack of optimum utilization of science laboratory facilities available at senior secondary schools.
3.6 Academic assessment
Two broad systems of academic assessment is prevalent in Tibetan schools: the one adopted by the CTSA and STSA run schools, which is also followed by the smaller autonomous schools and the other in practice in the TCV and THF schools.
The STSA/CTSA assessment system envisages four or more unit tests spread out over an academic session, besides a half-yearly examination and an annual examination. The final assessment of the pupils for promotion will factor in all the above tests with the following weight-age:
| 1. |
Unit tests |
10% |
| 2. |
Half Yearly Exams |
10% |
| 3. |
Annual Exams |
80% |
Pass criteria:
- Pass percentage in all subjects is 35 % and the aggregate pass percentage is also 35%.
- If a student fails in one or two subjects, his/her marks in the failed subject should not be less than 30 % and 35 % in aggregate. In the above condition, the pupil can be promoted to the next higher class.
TCV and THF do not factor in unit test results to assess final student performance. Instead, their academic calendar is divided into three terms with examinations at the end of each term. The final assessment of pupils factors in the results of these three term examinations with the following weightage:
| 1. |
First Term Exams |
20% |
| 2. |
Second Term Exams |
30% |
| 3. |
Third Term Exams |
50% |
The pass criteria is the same as for CTSA/STSA run schools, except that in case a student fails in one or two subjects, he or she must have secured a minimum of 25 % in that subject. Students failing in three or more subjects shall be declared failed.
The above paragraphs take just a quick look at the fundamentals of academic assessment in our schools. It is not feasible to include all aspects of assessment here. TCV for example has separate promotion criteria adapted to the nature of its enrolment, while CTSA/STSA direct run school have their own codes. The details are available in the respective Education Codes of the different school categories.
78.4 % of the teachers opined that they were satisfied with the current system of academic assessment. The following were the recommendations offered by the teachers on academic assessment:-
Testing spoken English
There should by a system of continuous assessment
Cheating should be banned
Guides should be discouraged
We need to change the question paper pattern
5 semester system would be better
Adding internal test marks with final exams should be discouraged; it undermines the importance of the final exams
Give more importance to regular exercise, than a days or 3 hours of exams
Assess as follows : Daily work 25%, Exams 50%, Project 25%
Give grades instead of percentages
Regular and continuous assessment of home work and unit tests
It would better not to have examinations in Class I and II. Their academic assessment should be based on their daily activities
3.7 Educational publications
Initially, Pre-Primary level text materials were introduced in 1962 to cater to the emergency needs of the then just established Tibetan Refugee Schools. As the number of schools increased and school levels upgraded, additional textbooks for all school levels became inevitable.
A set of Tibetan textbooks (classes I to V) was published and revised in 1965. A couple of years later in 1967 text books for classes 6 to 11 were compiled and published.
Since then, Tibetan language textbooks have been revised a few times, in 1975, 1988 (classes I to V) and 1992 (classes VI to VIII). Finally in 1996, the Kashag appointed a High Level Tibetan Textbook Review Committee. It has met twice since then and has recommended the revision of textbooks from Pre-Primary to Class II and again from Classes 6 to 8. Revision work is currently under way and the revised books will be placed before the HLTRC by early 1999. This Committee has also recommended several changes in the syllabi of classes 9 to 12 and will in due course of time review subject textbooks in Tibetan for classes 1 to 5 now in use in all Tibetan schools.
Following the switch in the medium of instruction in 1985, the Education Development and Research Center, (EDRC) based at the Tibetan Children's Village, Dharamsala has brought out various text books in Tibetan for classes 1 to 5. In 1996, the DOE formed a Mathematics Textbook Committee comprising of experts and experienced teachers to prepare Mathematics textbooks in Tibetan for classes 3 to 5. The textbooks for classes 3 and 4 are already in use in schools while the textbook for class 5 is scheduled to be completed by the academic session of 1999.
Besides school textbooks, the DOE has published a number of supplementary books related to the subjects taught at school. The DOE has brought out a series of colorful children's magazines viz. Phayul which was first published in 1990 and Gangjong which started in 1993. Since then 12 issues of Phayul and seven issues of Gangjong have been published.
Other important publications undertaken by the DOE include His Holiness The Dalai Lama on Education, (Collection from 1966 - 1996), Folktales for Children, and Life of Buddha.
The Central Tibetan Schools Administration, (CTSA), New Delhi, brings out an annual CSTA Journal. Similarly, various other institutional and children's magazines are brought out by TCV, THF and by other residential schools in India and Nepal.
3.8 Academic Research & Support
- Academic Research and Planning Section
The Department of Education has a separate Academic Research and Planning Section (ARPS) which primarily focuses on courses for pre-service and in-service teacher-training programs for all level of teachers. It also undertakes academic research work and conducts course development seminars and conferences on matters concerned with the improvement of general academic standard of the Tibetan children.
- Education Development and Resource Center
Education Development and Resource Center (EDRC) at TCV undertakes the translation of various text books in Tibetan language for primary schools. It also conducts pre-service and in-service teacher training. The EDRC also publishes various guideline books for teachers and storybooks in Tibetan language.
However, the activities of these sections are limited for various reasons of which lack of manpower and financial constraints are the most pressing ones.
3.9 Administrative Support System
The Department of Education with STSA and CTSA have an extensive system of inspection and monitoring of all the schools under it. Subject specialized Education Officers have been appointed who visit the schools and undertake extensive inspection of teaching methods in the schools. Evaluation is done and necessary recommendations are made to the schools to further improve their standard. At the same time, a Career Counselor provides year round counseling at all the senior secondary schools and conducts workshops and provides information on colleges and institutions on higher studies to the students.
TCV undertakes its own monitoring system of the schools. The Education Director visits the schools at regular intervals and undertakes extensive inspection of the classes along with the schools.
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