Articles by J S Rajput

Prof J S Rajput, a former head of NCERT, works in education and social cohesion.

Academic years 2019-20 and 2020-21 were indeed tough on children, parents and for over 50 school boards, for whom COVID posed a serious dilemma β€” to hold or not to hold exams. Finally, the Prime Minister had to chair a meeting to arrive at a consensus saying β€˜No’ to holding class 12 examinations under the CBSE. Then a new search began: how to declare Class 12 CBSE results in that case? The only way was to depend on Class 10 board exam results, performance through Class 11 and internal assessments conducted by the schools, including the pre-board exams. But this…

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It would be impossible to recount any occasion in human history when tens of millions of children were forced to stay indoors for over a year, deprived of meeting friends, playing outdoor games, attending classrooms, talking to teachers, and enjoying the fun that makes childhood so special! Human curiosity and creativity just cannot come to a sudden halt. Alternatives to confront the situation were explored. Teachers and students swiftly acquired the skills necessary to substitute β€” to the extent possible β€” the face-to-face teaching by online learning. As off-line was ruled out, online really reduced the tension and stress among…

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