Written by Mathirakshana
Edited by Bipasha
Illustrated by Shreya Srinivasan
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It’s application season.
College applications read:The notice is up. We need talent. Now you hit the button for school flashbacks. Hurriedly running through your memories.
“Pass here!”“That’s the right note, yes.”“And a 5, 6, 7, 8!”Familiar sounds of deja vu, for anyone who indulged in the art of staying back at school, after hours to finesse their craft- be it a sport, music or dance. Personally, I had my eye set on the goal, quite literally, with my football studs and knee pads. The sports rush is real.
Extracurriculars and co-curricular activities cement a great deal of who we are. Today, we shall see how they fit into the Indian Education system and in context of the rural education system, diving deep into the access and longevity of the practice.
In 2018, as per the Global Education Census conducted by Cambridge International, Indian students accommodate a higher amount of activities into their schedules in comparison to the 10 countries surveyed. Ranging from tuitions to sports and extracurricular endeavours, it is evident of school systems transitioning from a rote learning culture to overall development of the students, physically, socially and emotionally. It is also witnessed however, there are 58% students, deep-rooted in their conventional career paths, rushing to extra classes, especially for Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. This puts forward a path for them to reach an expected goal, with the stress on engineering and medical fields lingering for them.
Another research in 2015, conducted in the region of Lucknow indicates that extracurriculars are incorporated in most private and government schooling institutions there, and students do develop an attribution to the same. However, for most of India’s rural periphery, extracurricular and co-curricular activities are a privilege. Government school students do want to engage in learning, and learn some basic needs as well, like cooking, gardening, pottery, carpentry, etc, as evidenced in an article in the Deccan Chronicle. Most students are forced to take up part-time jobs alongside academics to earn money - therefore they would prefer to learn such skills that can help ameliorate their experience and direct them towards a better job experience, making them earn more.
Additionally, students from rural areas have expertise in the ancient crafts of India, ones that are slowly subjecting to eradication through Westernisation (like a watered down version of imperialism) - these can come to the forefront when encouraged at the school level. Lack of resources, budget and access are major problems that hinder their path to an enriching learning system beyond the curriculum.
Furthermore, when we grow up, the academic pressure also progresses. While stepping onto the secondary school, students become advised and warned to forgo their penchant for extracurricular activities and practices. Board examinations are then their foremost priority. Co-curriculars would not wear away but the much of the focus would be levied on academics. Much like income taxes.
CBSE board, for example, employs an exam-centric approach that leads to lower time dedicated for other activities, thereby resulting in a loss of that. And facilitators are mostly trained to cater to the academic needs over co-curricular or extracurricular needs. On the brighter side however, there is still a notable rise in students' interaction with their talented halves. Even government schools in Tamil Nadu are making extracurriculars a mandate- such as clubs for literary arts, quizzes, art and competitions to liven up the learning practices.
In conclusion, there needs to be a more centralised focus on academics and extracurricular and co-curricular activities for a balance. In the competitive Indian realm, this is our key and there is change developing in our education system.
WANTED posters are already going up for talent and this is the rise of the talented apes humans. We unite.
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