The school education system in Kerala is going to see an overhaul. The expert committee headed by MA Khader pointed out these suggestions long back but no productive step came from the government.

But now, a special rule is prepared in this regard. Another expert committee has submitted a report to the Education Minister including this content. Fundamental changes in school structure and teacher qualification standards have been recommended. The reforms will be implemented once the government approves the recommendations.

If the recommendations are brought into effect, classes from 8th to 12th class will be known as the secondary category. Five to eight will be the primary category. While classes from 1st standard to fourth will be categorised as lower primary. Those teaching in secondary classes should be PG graduates. They should also possess adept knowledge in particular subjects and should have gone through training in that specialised subject. Primary teachers should be graduates.

Qualifications for lower primary teachers will continue to be Plus Two and DLD till the year 2030. But soon after 2030, changes will be made and a degree will be made compulsory for teachers in the lower primary section. Along with this, the school education structure will also be upended. There will be no more headmasters in the secondary section. Instead, principals will be the heads of schools.

Heads of schools will be principals not only at the secondary level but also in primary and lower primary sections.

The reforms to be introduced in the field of education will surely bear fruition and are also predicted to bring favourable results. However, the system will thrive only when the standard of education is raised beyond the current sedate level.

Highlighting the near hundred per cent success in the 10th and 12th annual examinations is no great shake. It is now an open secret that most of these ‘exemplar’ students who secured 100%, sweat really bad to complete at least one proper sentence in the English language. This doesn’t mean that they are proficient in other subjects. The ballyhoo over the success rate has not brought any mesmeric educational shift in students.

Recently, the State Director of Public Education himself mentioned this, which snowballed into a big issue that later required the educational minister to condemn it. The mainspring for the fall in educational standards is the government’s approach to pass all students to higher classes without really testing their ability to come out successfully from the educational challenges. The teachers on the other hand show a desultory attitude when it comes to making students understand the small complex parts of academics. The students are thus left in an academic quagmire with no assistance from the teachers.

Children finish school without much understanding of anything beyond the mundane lessons they hear from class. The educational system espoused in developed countries provides basic knowledge and training in various professions during schooling.

In Kerala, students who have acquired a rank in 12th standard are seen struggling to cope with dilemmas concerning their daily lives. These rank holders fail to employ their genius in real life, but their wonders will be restricted to academics.

Students should be given the freedom to choose their subject of interest so that they can focus on this particular subject and carve out a niche in their later life. In future, it will be termed as a futile exercise to test the educational prowess of students by making them write exams on various subjects. In these times of changing politics, textbooks and education syllabi are also demanded to conform to the ruling party's interest, such that new chapters are included to appease the political elites, but it is finally the poor students who are falling prey to their shenanigans.