Principals of secondary and higher secondary schools in Khasi-Jaintia Hills have urged the Education Department to make mathematics a compulsory subject in the MBOSE curriculum if the government is really serious about improving the educational outcomes of students in Meghalaya.
Yesterday, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma said that changes to Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) textbooks and the curriculum could be initiated as the state has some of the poorest outcomes in the country with the highest dropout rate and the lowest ranking.
Sangma met with nearly 40 principals today. The two sides held a thorough discussion about certain issues like making mathematics compulsory again, change of textbooks and improving the syllabus.
Principals had raised concerns and suggested changes of some textbooks so that they are at par with national standards.
“Many of the teachers are of the opinion to make mathematics compulsory but, as of now, the government is yet to decide. In due course of time we will reexamine and look into suggestions made by the principals,” Sangma said.
Concerning textbooks, teachers had raised the concern about the set-up and the contents in the existing textbooks. They feel they are too lengthy, which reduces learning potential. The minister added that there are some MBOSE schools that do not even use the books prescribed by the board.
A meeting of the textbook revision committee will be held on October 31 to listen to the recommendations. The committee will also hear from the Directorate of Educational Research and Training (DERT) since they have been conducting a study for the last half a year. DERT has been meeting and consulting experts, academics and several others concerned to understand the educational lacunae.
Currently, MBOSE gives the option to students to pick their best five out of six subjects. As a result, many tend to opt out of maths, Sangma said.
“We have asked DERT to also research before this option was given and now how many perform well in maths and how many fail in this subject,” he added. , “Everyone wants comfort and easy subjects. If maths is made optional many students will opt out of it, which is certain. In this generation, going to higher studies without maths will be difficult.”
According to MBOSE rules in 2016, a student sitting the SSLC exams must clear five out of the six subjects. The student will have passed if he/she meets this criterion, even if the failed subject is maths or science.
