Cumulative Comprehensive Education (CCE)?

A very interesting item of news is buried in the vast volumes of print and net news during the last two days. 66,00,000 (6.6 million) students took the Uttar Pradesh Board Examinations (UP Board) for standard 10 and 12 this year. The examinations started on February 6, 2018. There are some dropouts or absentees in every examination and the number is usually less than one to two percent. By third day of this examination, more than 6,00,000 students had dropped out, making it 10 percent of dropouts. On the fourth day, the number went up to more than 10,00,000 (one million), making it more than 15%. The highest absentee rate recorded in UP itself earlier was 6%. Thus the past records was far exceeded this year.

The numbers themselves may not tell the real tale. The Board introduced many new measures this year to curb unfair practices during conduct of examination. Eduction mafia found that mass copying was tough going indeed, this year. Installation of CCTV cameras, rounds by special squads, and even inspections by the state's Deputy Chief Minister who holds the Education portfolio were among the measures to prevent mass copying and impersonation. These measures made the task of complicity by invigilators impossible. Reports indicate that the absentees were mostly those from other states who would enrol at schools in UP not for study but for having been assured of a pass in the examination! Many of them never attended classes in the school. Impersonation was one of the methods adopted for ensuring a pass in the examination. This became impossible due to installation of CCTV cameras. Sure success was no longer that sure now.

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Those in the touch with education field lament about the drop in the level of education over the last several decades. A BA (Honours) degree from Madras University was considered as something special six or seven decades ago. A B.Tech or ME degree was a pride possession three decades ago. Mushrooming of educational institutions, colleges providing assured degrees, drop in invigilation and evaluation standards and introduction of multi-choice questions have all contributed their mite to drag down the standards of education. Questions that have answers in them (MCQs) were a novelty when introduced, but diluted the necessity of hard work for securing marks in the examinations. Their introduction was with the arguments that examinations were memory tests rather than testing knowledge and skills earlier. The joke today is that a student cannot answer a question asking his name unless he is given four options!

Cumulative Comprehensive Education (CCE) or sometimes referred as Continuous Comprehensive Education is now used by organisations like CBSE and State Education Boards all over the country. CCE aims at helping improve a student's performance by identifying his/her learning difficulties at regular intervals of time right from the beginning of the academic period and thereby employ suitable remedial measures for enhancing learning performance. The scheme of CCE has continuous inbuilt flexibility for schools to plans as per guidelines provided in the scheme. Formative and Summative Assessment methods are used for awarding marks and grades to students. Generally two tests before mid-term examination and two tests between mid-term and final examination are held and marks obtained in them with prescribed weightage are added to mid-term and end-term examinations.

At the outset, this method of Formative Assessment (FA) and Summative Assessment (SA) looks a good combination indeed. This method provides for continuous evaluation of a student and does justice to a student who has a bad day on the final examination day. One of the elements of CCE is recognising and encouraging specific abilities of students who do not do well in academics but do well in other co-curricular activities. Thus a student will get marks for attending classes regularly, behaving well with other students and taking part in non-academic activities even though he may lag behind in academic work. Though the objective is laudable, its impact on academic standards cannot be underestimated. A child getting more interested in music and dance than academic work will also get due weightage in the overall education evaluation. This also calls for maintenance of exhaustive records by the teachers, thereby increasing their desk work. This is one of the complaints of teachers in this system.

Cumulative assessment has another interesting feature. The system of formative assessment and weightage given to extra-curricular activities ensures that students accumulate the required marks for passing even before the final examination, thus reducing the final act as a mere formality for many of them. If memory test was the weakling in the earlier system, this methodology is a major deficiency in the cumulative assessment system. Lack of requisite skills in preparation of quality question papers and their regular leakage add to the problem of conducting worthy examinations.  

The effect of such evaluation is now returning to haunt the system in the form of difficulties in selection of teachers for the next generation. Someone who passed out of the system by getting the benefit of such evaluation has now the responsibility of teaching his students in academics while he himself did not excel in academics when he was a student. The teacher training system also suffers from teacher trainers, who are products of such evaluation standards. Persons sitting on interview boards for selection of teachers struggle to select one out of those appearing in the selection process since they are unable to find a candidate meeting the required standards. They are often confronted with candidates who are unable to demonstrate handling of a class suggested by the interviewing committee. The committee has to perforce judge them on the basis of a demonstration suggested by the candidates themselves!  

Educational institutions are also under pressure to show higher result levels to enable them to compete in the market for intake of students in the next academic year. Strict evaluation means lower pass percentages and lower popularity among the community. Easier way out is rehearsing "important questions" repeatedly before examinations. Excessive and unnecessary reliance on "student feedback" on evaluation of teachers tends to further complicate issues. Provision of grace marks lowers the bar and brings down the overall academic standards even more.

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The academic standards are fast dipping. It is generally said that each generation blames the next one for lowering standards of life in various disciplines. Even after providing for this criticism, the standards of academics is indeed dipping. We are producing graduates in various disciplines who are falling short of the expected levels. Many of them are unemployable in their respective areas of academic degrees. A lot of effort is put at the top level for opening more educational institutions of excellence. Various shades of politics in academic institutions is gathering more and more strength. Administrators are under severe pressure from various quarters. There are many challenging issues confronting those assigned with the task of strengthening academic standards. The tendency of those in authority not recognising these challenges has confounded the problem.

In this background, it is time now to make a comprehensive review of the CCE, both in its content and implementation.

The Little Girl's First Book

Schooling and Education has undergone a tremendous change in the last five decades.  Of course, it has been undergoing change constantly over several centuries and the last few decades is no exception.  But for us, having seen three or four generations in the past decades, changes that have taken place make an interesting study.  In our childhood days, schooling was something that hardly caused any worries in households.  The number of children in each family was large enough and provided sufficient examples to teach the early lessons in Arithmetic.  There was neither any need for queuing up near schools before the child was born nor planning for a child after ensuring that a seat will be available three years down the line.  Children were considered as an integral part of a family's wealth and every new arrival was treated as a new chapter in the Lord's scheme of things.  Nobody said "We cannot afford children" in those days.  If anyone grumbled about the high number of children in the family, an elder member of the community would admonish him or her instantly.  "People ask you how many children you have.  Not how much wealth you possess!" would be the refrain.  Basic concern for the families was providing food for all.  Other things were secondary and assumed to take care of themselves.

Schooling in our childhood days began at the age of five or six.  There was no concept of pre-schooling and pre-pre-schooling.  In rural areas, Government Schools were the ones available and met the requirement.  There were no issues about the availability of seats.  Like the proverbial "Pushpaka Vimaana" (an airplane that expanded its seating capacity as and when passengers entered it and always had one seat vacant for the next entrant), schools accommodated any new student without hesitation.  The school fee was also nominal and the concepts of "Freeship" and "Scholarship" were taking care of even this minimum fee in most cases.  There was no requirement of school uniforms and some students were lucky to have an acceptable level of dress on them. Uniforms became the norm later on in High Schools, say from eighth or ninth year of education.  Once admitted to first standard at age five or six, a reasonably agile student could reach a level of High School education.  College education was a luxury and only a fortunate few got that distinction.  A graduate was more scarce than "Doctorate" scholars of today.  The situation was slightly different in cities and some private educational institutions were available.  But the overall situation was nearly the same as in rural areas.

Early schooling, known as primary schooling, had only one book to study each year.  Written mostly in local languages, once prescribed as a text book it was in force for several years.  A single book was used by many siblings and was often sold as a second-hand book when there were no other children at home to use it.  Carrying lunch box to school was unknown and school bags and baskets were not heard of.  Early schooling was with a slate and chalk-piece.  Local language and arithmetic were the basic subjects taught at schools.  Teacher was a God for the students and disciplining the students by beating with sticks was an accepted norm in society.  In fact, parents would meet the teacher and tell him to take care of their ward, meaning an additional dose of reprimanding and beating. A student complaining of beating by a teacher at school was assured of another generous installment at home. Home work was indeed very little as there were no books for doing it.  Fortunately for the students, slates provided a limited area for assignments. Student notebooks were indeed a luxury and many children finished their education without using even one in their life.

The contrasting events of today and the amount of preparation to receive a new born astounds us.  Inquiries about schooling facilities starts immediately after the newly-wed couple return from honeymoon.  Some, of course, may decide that they never will have kids to avoid all the resultant problems unmindful of the fact they miss the innumerable pleasures of being parents and thereafter grandparents.

I chanced upon a neatly printed and bound book recently, presented to an expectant mother by her friend.  The title of the book was "Thank heaven for little girls".  This was going to be the first book of the little girl and it was waiting for her even before her arrival.

• The book - "My baby book" - starts with details about the mommy and daddy of the baby and their history since their birth.
• Then there is provision to record the family trees of the mother and father, going up to the arriving baby's great grand parents on either side.
• Details of the arriving baby's initial details follow, including the expected date and actual date of arrival.
• It chronicles the first reactions of the would be parents and the many preparations made by the parents for receiving their baby.
• it records the guests present at the "Baby shower" function and the gifts they presented.  (Do not go to a "Baby shower"function without a gift.  Otherwise it will be "NIL" against your name!).
• Then there is a page for recording the details of the "day before"and all the excitement that it brings to those who were there to "see my arrival".
• The next page puts on record the actual arrival and incidental details including the name, length, weight, color and what people thought "what I looked like".
• The child's birth certificate and tiny prints, hand prints and foot prints, are imprinted thereafter on the soft page that follows.
• Headlines of World news, National news, Local news on the day the baby was born is written down on the next page.
• Two pages are reserved for the "homecoming" and those who waited at the home to receive the baby with the gifts they brought with them.
• The world around the baby with even the price of a measure of milk, diaper, gas, car, computer, and even babysitting rates can be noted down in different pages.
• After immunity chart for mentioning dates of various injections and inoculations, growth ingredients are put on record month after month.
• The recordings continue till first day at school after which other books take over!

If you look at it physically, it is just a book or just another book.  If you view it with feelings, well, it is much more.  It is a chronicle of beginning of a new life and nature's continuity process.

The Drunkard's Daughter

The years spent in Middle School (5th to 7th year of education) were indeed wonderful days. General economic conditions in the early 1960s were difficult.  Aftereffects of Indo-China war of 1962 and Indo-Pakistan  war of 1965 had added to the misery.  As students, in the age group of  11 years to 14 years for most of us, we were hardly in a position to understand that.  We lived in our own world and school days were merry days and playful as usual.  Lunch break at 1.30 PM was eagerly looked forward to by all my classmates and I was no exception.  Students coming from nearby houses would run home to have a quick lunch and return to school for post-lunch classes.  Those staying away from the school had to perforce stay in the school compound and eat lunch from the boxes brought with them in the morning while coming to school.  Of course, there were many who did not have the luxury and practice of having lunch.  They were used to food only twice a day; before coming to the school in the morning and in the evening after returning from the school.  This had its own advantage; they never suffered from indigestion and related ailments.

For the children staying back in the school compound during lunch time, there were other activities.  Playing cricket or football was one of them.  There was no practice of giving pocket money to children in those days mainly because the pockets of the parents themselves did not have any money in them.  There were a few kids from relatively affluent families who carried small change in their pockets.  They had  attractions just outside the school gate abutting the main road of the town.  Two carts carrying items for sale beckoned them.  One of them carried groundnuts and uppukadale (salted chana) and the other laden with cut fruits available in the season.  Uppukadale and Groundnuts were acceptable, but we had strict instructions not to touch the cut fruits.  The threat of cholera was always lurking round the corner.  My mother's advice was soft and firm.  If any child in the family is tempted to eat any fruit sold on the cart, she should be informed.  She would arrange for getting the item and serve it at home in hygienic conditions.  If the instructions were violated and someone fell sick, she would not take care of them.  The threat was enough and there was no need to test her resolve.  We understood her perfectly and she ensured that the instructions were always complied with.

The cart with cut fruits was tended by one Hanuma.  He would procure the seasonal fruits like Guava, Mango, Jack fruit, Papaya and Watermelon.  Pineapple and Apple were also seen but rarely.  Mother's instructions were not to touch them; there was no ban on watching him clean and cut the fruits.  He was an expert in his trade and probably worth an award these days when everything is measured and awards given away.  He had his tools - knives of different sizes and shapes to handle the variety of fruits ranging from the hard and thorny jack fruit to the softer fully ripe papaya.  Processing activity of cutting and arranging the fruit pieces went on simultaneously with the sales activity of handing over the cut pieces to children, collect coins, count them and store them below the gunny bag table cloth.  He did brisk business during the lunch break and moved away to the nearby bus stand once the children got into their classes.

Hanuma was a hard working man and was always involved in some work or the other.  He had a small plot of land by the river side and grew vegetables there round the year.  After harvesting them for the day's sale he would proceed with other errands like sale of cut fruits.  His wife Ramakka carried the vegetables basket on her head selling them from house to house in the morning.  The quality and freshness of the vegetables ensured that there was no carry over of inventory for the next day.  Between them they earned a decent wage.  But the one weakness of Hanuma ensured that the family always lived in abject poverty.  Drunkard and inebriate are terms for a person who drinks hard liquors habitually. Drunkard connotes willful indulgence to excess. Inebriate is a slightly more formal term than drunkard.  Dipsomaniac is the term for a person who, because of some psychological or physiological illness, has an irresistible craving for liquor. The dipsomaniac is popularly called an alcoholic.  Hanuma was probably all of them.  He loved his family but it appeared he loved his evening drink even more.

Ramakka suffered silently and somehow managed the family affairs.  All her efforts to bring round Hanuma failed.  One evening she appeared before our house and wanted to see my father.  He had just returned from school and took his usual place in the front yard.  Their conversation went on like this:

"Swami, Hanuma's drinking is killing us.  Why don't you help me?"
"How can I help you, Ramakka?"
"Hanuma respects you a lot. Please advise him to give up drinking."
"I have advised him many times.  Every time I talk to him, he promises not to drink again.  But he does not stick to his promise.  His friends are not good.  He also cannot resist the evening drink."
"Then what is the way out for me?"
"We have to keep trying and hope for the best.  By the way, who is that girl hiding behind you?"
"This is our daughter Saraswati, Swami."
"How old is she?" 
"She is six years old, Swami."
"Have you admitted her to school? All children at this age should attend school."
"What will she do with school, Swami?  She helps me with household work and selling vegetables.  That is fine with me.  Hanuma also wants the same."
"Do not talk nonsense.  Do not spoil her life.  Bring her to school tomorrow.  I am the headmaster.  I will admit her to the school.  Ask Hanuma to meet me in the morning."

Hanuma duly arrived in the morning.  The discussion went on like this:

"Swami, It seems you wanted to see me."
"Yes, Why have you not put Saraswati in school?"
"What is the use of school for us poor people, Swami.  Moreover I cannot pay school fee."
"No need to pay any fee.  I will get her fee waived by the Government.  I will get her free uniform from Headmaster's quota.  I will also arrange for books from some other students who are promoted to the next class.  You have no excuse.  She should be in school by the time I reach there."
"Swami, should I really do it?"
"Yes, otherwise I will get you arrested by the police for violating government order."

Hanuma was afraid of government and police.  He did not even think of checking with someone.  He complied with father's orders.  Saraswati was admitted to first standard at school.  She was better than average in studies.  She passed her examinations every year.  By the time she came to High School, I had left the town and was working in a far away city.  On one of my home visits I learnt that father had arranged for her learning typewriting and shorthand in the local "Institute of Commerce". The Institute head was persuaded to give her a slot in the early morning class when the attendance at the institute was thin.  No need to mention that the fee was waived by him.

The last I heard of Saraswati was that she had secured a job as a Stenographer in the State Government and working in a building near Vidhana Soudha (State Secretariat). That was thirty years ago.