Anitha asphyxiated herself, which means, medically speaking, she cut off the oxygen to her cells until the life drained out of her. Sadly, society is trying to asphyxiate many more Anithas through this dream-killing demon called NEET.First things first: Education was in the State List before it was moved to the Concurrent List in the 1970s. Perhaps I do not understand simple English, but how can something be forced on a State which does not ‘concur’?
Every state has a duty to educate its children, giving them a meaningful education which will help them overcome feudal clutches as well as to use this education to lift others. In a country as diverse as ours with multiple languages and diverse cultures, a decentralised education conforming to a broad basic syllabus would be the best solution. Trying to straitjacket education, ignoring the wide regional disparities, cultures, and language will only end up producing more Anithas.
To put it simply, Education has to return to the State List. The government at the Centre can look after core subjects like External Affairs, Armed Forces, Railways and leave the rest to be managed by democratically elected State Governments. This would form the true essence of a Union of States, which is what India still remains when I last checked.
People are constantly talking about how the syllabus in Tamil Nadu is inferior to that of the CBSE and other boards. I would like to point out that a system needs to be changed only when it is faulty or inimical to society.
Tamil Nadu has an extremely efficient system of education that has evolved over several decades. The students who enter medical colleges from this system of schooling have proven to be good doctors, and most of them served the purpose of their education - they joined government service and served in remote corners of the state. Today, Tamil Nadu can boast of an extremely efficient Primary and Tertiary Healthcare system, all manned [and womanned] by doctors who came through this system. [On an aside, TN has a huge number of lady doctors in government service.
Those who talk about the supposed poor quality of the Tamil Nadu State Board syllabus have to explain how a poor syllabus can produce safe and efficient doctors. The best doctors in Cardiac, Neurology and Transplant Surgery (often seen as the pinnacle of the surgical profession) are all mostly products of this so-called shoddy syllabus.
To drive this point home, I must point out that deliveries have become so much safer in TN that infant mortality and maternal mortality are the second lowest in the country. People who are holding a candle for NEET should explain how this can come from a 'poor' school syllabus.
That is why I strongly believe that trying to tinker with the State Board unnecessarily is not in the best interest of students. Should we revise the curriculum? Certainly. No system can be allowed to become static, but the change should come gradually and it should come from within. Any system which doesn’t reinvent itself constantly will die. All of us know this.
What NEET is trying to do is not to improve the curriculum. It, on the other hand, sacrifices the entire point of schooling to be replaced by a single exam with MCQs. This is disastrous and schools will gradually be replaced by Coaching institutes the likes of which are common in Kota.
Let us also remember that NEET failed miserably in its core objective - stopping commerce in Medical Education. Even today, seats are available to the highest bidder in private medical colleges, provided they have got the MINIMUM eligible marks in NEET.
If we do not want more Anithas, we must allow states to manage education and encourage quality education that does not make students dependent upon coaching classes.
Instead of a single filter like NEET, I would argue that the student's 10th and 12th marks be taken and if the experts feel there is a need, an additional screening test can be added. I would even argue that marks of languages and social sciences are included to calculate the final marks based on which admissions to professional colleges be made. Sports and Fine Arts are equally important.
If we do that, we shall not have Anithas asphyxiating themselves. Let hundred flowers bloom, let hundred schools of thought contend.
(J Amalorpavanathan is a cardiac surgeon who served as the Director Institute of Vascular Surgery at Madras Medical College and was the former member secretary at Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu)
