An alumna of Calcutta University, Rupa Sen is principal of the CISCE, IB (Geneva) and CAIE (UK)-affiliated Trivandrum International School (estb.2003), ranked Kerala’s #1 international day-cum-boarding school in the EW India School Rankings 2017-18. A hugely experienced educationist, she has served on committees of the CBSE and NCERT.

Are you satisfied with the Union Budget 2018-19 allocation of Rs.85,010 crore for education?

Although this year’s Union budget has raised education outlay by 4 percent in absolute terms, I believe Rs.85,010 crore is insufficient to fund grassroots public primary education — the first formal and foundational stage of education. Despite the Central government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All) programme, most government primary schools lack basic facilities such as separate toilets for girls and drinking water, forcing too many children to drop out of the school system.

What are your Top 5 suggestions for reforming K-12 education? 

Basic infrastructure provision. All schools must make it their goal to offer safe learning environments with basic infrastructure and ICT-driven classrooms.

Curriculum revamp. We need to move from textbooks to academic-cum-skills education. This is a critical requirement of the 21st century jobs market.

Teacher education overhaul. Teachers need to be trained periodically on not what to teach but how to teach. Our current teaching-learning process is outdated. Contemporary pedagogies are the need of the hour.

Examination and assessment objectives must be redefined. Our school and public examinations test knowledge, not its application. Rote memorisation must be abolished as it has led to deterioration of assessment standards.

Teacher demotivation and poor quality of work need to be addressed with urgency. One of the primary reasons for teachers’ lack of motivation and efficacy is overcrowded classrooms. Affiliation boards must set a cap on the minimum number of students in each class. Schools are not factories of mass production.