The call by MLAs to upgrade the syllabus of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) so that it can be at par with education boards of other States, is not new. The reasons given for the demand for upgrading the syllabus, that Goan students cannot compete with students of other boards in national competitive exams, is also not new. The issue had been raised earlier with similar reasons proffered, but it coming up again indicates that there has been little progress made in revamping the syllabus that State schools attached to the Goa Board follow. The demand is only of the Goa Board syllabus and not of schools that are affiliated to the ICSE or CBSE.
Goa Board follows the syllabus of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), a curriculum that is followed across the country by other States. This syllabus, that was introduced in the year 2006 has remained unchanged in Goa and in schools in most other States. Since it is followed elsewhere, perhaps Goa Board is not convinced that the syllabus needs to be revised, but is this opinion shared by educationists, or even by politicians?
Politicians, or a segment of them, obviously feel that the syllabus needs to be upgraded so that students from the State are prepared to enter into prestigious institutes of higher education, where admission is through all India entrance tests and exams, where competition is high.
A similar demand had been raised in the Assembly a year ago, and MLAs had feared that compared to the CBSE and ICSE, the Goa Board syllabus was of a lower standard and hence students from Goa found it difficult to compete with their counterparts from other States for entrance to professional courses in institutes outside Goa. One MLA, last year, had pointed out that the poor quality of education at the Goa Board schools was forcing parents to send their children to CBSE schools. The assumption was that while Goan students get high percentages at the Goa Board exam, they fall short in the competitive entrance exams. While there may be no statistics to prove this, it is certain that the number of students from Goa who enter the portals of some of the country’s best institutes are few.
Beyond the Assembly too there have been demands to revamp the syllabus, with the Headmasters’ Association having raised it in the past. The argument is not restricted to Goan students performing badly at competitive exams, but also that there are shortcomings in the curriculum that need to be ironed out. As had been pointed out by the Headmasters’ Association last year, the NCERT syllabus focuses on literacy rather than excellence and Goa being a highly literate State it should be concentrating on excellence rather than literacy. Recently, educationists in the State had also urged for improvements in the school syllabus stating that there is an urgent need to rationalise school curriculum to improve life skills, experimental learning and physical education. The demand, therefore, is coming from various quarters.
Since the syllabus being currently followed is already a decade old, changes are definitely are in order. Goa Board should also review the curriculum being taught on a regular basis so as to remain on par with CBSE and ICSE, especially since the CBSE syllabus is known to impart education in a more scientific manner and with a broader perspective. Goan students should not falter at national level competitive exams to admissions in medicine, engineering, business management and other courses, because the education system or the syllabus is failing them.
