OPEN LETTER NUMBER-2 TO CHAIRMAN CBSE.

Chairman

CBSE-New Delhi.

Dear Sir,

In my Open Letter No-1, I congratulated you on assuming office and mentioned our expectations.

I am pleased to find that you and the CBSE are moving forward in the right direction and tackling issues of concern, one by one.

CCE:

We are mostly glad to know of the proposed changes in CCE Pattern. We read this from Newspapers across the county and each Newspaper claimed that you said so,

We are happy that the Class X Examination will be held by the Board from March 2018.

However, it is not clear whether it will be a test of Syllabus Prescribed for the SA-2 or a combined Examination of the entire Syllabus of SA-1 & SA-2.

CBSE is surely between the devil & the deep sea in this matter. If CBSE decides it to be a Test of the entire Syllabus of Class X, then all those who have been propagating Stress free Examination will raise hue and cry. If the CBSE decides upon the SA-2 only being tested by the Board in the March 2018 Examination; in that case.,our friends who speak of poor performance of students at the +2 Stage will be on war path.

Besides, we have also heard that there will be only two FA’s, one in each Term.

May be this will not be in tune with the spirit of CCE. It may be that the Grades of only two FA’s are carried forward while several FA’s will be there for Diagnostic Remediation.

The CBSE may come up with Scores of FA Manuals, Trainings and Notifications regarding FA’s, Schools and parents will be happy only when these are written paper pencil Tests, Class Tests, Unit Tests; in addition to other Tools and Tasks.

Another issue that concerns all will be the weightage to FA’s, each SA and how the large Number of Descriptive Indicators in the Co-scholastic Area is reduced and yet Objectivity maintained.

EAMINATION BYE LAWS:

The CBSE has recently modified the Examination Bye Laws and we are ally happy about it, especially about clauses that deal with Children who are differently abled and who have Special Needs.

But the decision about not allowing re-evaluation is against the spirit of fairness, transparency and objectivity. I am sure, if such a decision is announced, there will be Parents who will seek legal redress.

SCHOOL FEE:

Contradictory reports have confused all. The CBSE Affiliation Bye Laws do speak of FEES being charged by a School to be commensurate with the facilities offered by the School.

The CBSE would like its autonomy and the Schools that are affiliated to CBSE are being denied Autonomy in dealing with financial issues of levy of School FEE.

We are glad to know that Schools need to put up on the website of the School, information about the School. This was an integral part of CBSE SQAA; which we feel has been put in the cold storage.

I remember having voiced our opinion in several forums, that the Schools need to follow Statutory & Regulatory Rules and Affiliation Bye Laws and choose to seek Quality Accreditation from a National Apex Body – Quality Council of India.

The thinking to have two Fee structures, one GENERAL and the other SPECIAL will lead to discrimination on social & financial basis. Education in Schools must cater to Equity, Quantity & Quality.

STAFF:

I am grieved to see that while populist moves are kept uppermost while bringing in changes and pleasing the masses; the most important kingpin of the school system and one of the stake-holders-the faculty is ignored.

I take this opportunity to express my pain and anguish when I see that affiliation Bye Laws are not followed when it comes to issues of Staff Salary, Service Conditions, Leave Rules, Gratuity, Maternity Leave etc.

Schools appoint teachers on ad-hoc and fire them at will. Recruitment is a farce. It is a matter of bidding. The jobs go to the lowest bidders.

Schools change Principals at will and the Principals instead of being empowered are forced to tow the Management line and deal with staff as wage earners and a third rate commodity.

Schools face attrition of staff and hence they ask teachers to deposit a security amount or else the Managements deduct a part of Salary as Security. No receipts, no accounts and the security amount is never paid back. Schools retain Original Certificates of teachers and if the teachers wants to shift, they are not given either the Original Certificates or the Experience Certificate.

There are Schools that are following the CBSE affiliation Bye Laws; but the percentage of such schools is very less.

By and large the schools treat staff badly; the Principal as their agent and the main mission is seek more & more admissions, procure more and more funds through fees, fines, donations, sale of Books, Uniforms, organizing fetes & fairs, tours & trips and competitions. These Funds go to the coffers of Management and the more the money, the merrier.

The latest trend is sending students on foreign trips under one or the other pretext and depute the Principal or a Staff member along with the students, since the management has no encumbrances as the tour operators are giving free tickets & stay to one staff on every 10 to 15 students.

The CBSE needs to ensure that Staff is paid as per requirements of affiliation Bye Laws. One Way to do so is to pay all staff members through either the CBSE or the State Treasury and ensure that maltreatment and exploitation of Principals and teachers is stopped by having a Common Code of SERVICE RULES.

While we have been thinking of our children and the Parents; we have ignored the most vital element of the School: the Staff, Principal, Teachers, Administrative and Support staff.

I am sure you will surely think of this also while trying to improve Schools & School Education,

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NEW CHAIRMAN OF CBSE

Dear Mr. Rajeev Kumar Chaturvedi,

After months of uncertainty and indecisiveness of the HRD Ministry and the Central Government, we have a full time Chairman in you.

 All of us: students, teachers, Principals, Mentors, Managements and the Society at large have many expectations from you. We are aware that you as Chairman of the largest Central Board of Education will have your primary focus ‘School education in CBSE Affiliated Schools.’

CBSE has been engaged in Research & Development, Assessment, Pedagogy, Quality Accreditation, Training and played role as also looked for space in Higher Education and Sills for Work.

CBSE Scheme of CCE though introduced with pious objectives has suffered like other schemes and needs an immediate re-look. The Formative Assessment of the present scheme is an eye-wash and has neither been diagnostic nor remedial. Schools have used paper pencil tests more frequently now and grading them has been a mere formality. By the way, adding these marks/Grades in cumulative assessment is against the very basic principle of Formative Assessment, which is “assessment for learning.’ Children read CCE as “Chotay Chotay Exams’ and teachers speak of it as: ‘Confusion Confounded Everywhere.”

CBSE has shelved the SQAA Scheme. The very introduction was challenging the Apex Body for Quality Promotion and Assessment: Quality Council of India. Many Schools have applied and paid even a Fee of Rs 55000/ but never heard from the CBSE.

 Capacity Building Programs for In-Service Training of Teachers on a regular basis have been entrusted to CBSE Centers for Excellence without caring for either the location of a School or developing a cadre of trainers and Master Trainers.
The Sahodaya movement has become a showpiece of ‘Rising Together’ to ensure that we pull down one another. The rat race of competition among affiliated Schools has led to several malpractices.

CBSE Affiliation Bye Laws are more violated than followed. There is no pay parity and teachers are exploited at will and parents fleeced. Adhoc appointment, non-adherence & even absence of Service Rules, hire & fire policy, attrition of staff, dynasty run schools with total family control are making education a business without any scruples.

There are exceptions as we have a very large number of GOOD SCHOOLS and we have sufficient examples of Good Practices and these ought have been benchmarked. Instead schools and the managements derive vicarious pleasure in ‘not caring’ and are becoming a power unto themselves.

Absenteeism, irregularity, indiscipline and insecurity prevails and CBSE watches helplessly, giving a feeling that it indirectly promotes all this.

 We have full faith that in the coming four years of your tenure. We hope you will catch the bull by the horn and eradicate the present bureaucratic system and have an open, fair and transparent: student friendly, teacher supportive Board and the managements are made accountable.

Lead us and the nation please, out of the existing chaos.