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Problems of and remedies for
science education There is a growing debate whether the education in the sciences both in the universities and the schools is catering to the demand for manpower requirements of Sri Lanka. Various governments and policy making Institutions such as the National Education Commission and the National institute of Education have from time to time proposed ad hoc changes, but none have been successfully implemented up to the present time. The purpose of this article is to highlight some serious shortcomings in our secondary science education in schools and also to focus attention to certain problems, which these deficiencies create at the tertiary level of education in sciences. The demand for science education has been steadily increasing over the past few decades owing to the opportunities available in attractive professional courses such as medicine and engineering. During pre-independence years and also the first post-independence decade there was greater emphasis on arts subjects since an Arts degree in the university enabled bright young people to join the Ceylon Civil Service. However starting in the 1960s there had been a tilt towards more science based subjects especially in city schools since well equipped laboratories were available only in such schools. The central schools too had well equipped laboratories and could compete favourably with the older well established schools in the cities. However, most rural schools could not complete successfully in the sciences since they lacked well-equipped laboratories for carrying on the practical aspects of science education. Teaching science without imparting practical knowledge will never produce personnel who could apply scientific knowledge. A crucial decision taken in 1972 was to have long term repercussions on science education in our country. This was the year when the existing system of having practical examinations at the A.L. Examination was abolished. Although the Education Department at that time tried to implement a continuous assessment of practicals in schools, it was a dismal failure. The net result of all this is that science is taught in our schools with little or no practical training. In fact, Sri Lanka is the only country in Asia where a student could pass out from schools doing subjects such as chemistry, physics, botany and zoology without any evaluation of their practical knowledge. The reasons for abolishing practical evaluation from the A.L. curriculum are perhaps best known to those who took this decision in 1972. This was thought to be a solution to some malpractices at the examination and instead of solving this problem in the authorities decided to scrap this examination! We in the universities have long felt the adverse effects of this decision. Practical skills are something that is acquired through years of working with one's own hands and these things should be rushed through a crash course of a shorter duration. This is like trying to be a good swimmer, the longer the training is, a better swimmer can be expected. At present, what we are trying to do is no better than trying to produce a good swimmer by a correspondence course without actually experiencing a swimming pool. It is pertinent to say that the average graduate passing out of the university today has far less practical skills than those who passed out prior to 1972. Obviously those in the later category had two extra years of practical training in their schools. The net result of its effect is felt to a much higher degree amongst those A.L. science students who fail to enter universities but go for technical jobs in the employment sector. Lack of laboratory skills manipulating instruments or equipment, failure to analyse problems scientifically is the end result. Science cannot be mastered only on the theoretical knowledge in like arts subjects. It is imperative to get hands-on experience so that this knowledge can be extended for real life situations. The private sector laments that the type of manpower they need specially at the intermediate level is not there in adequate number. Scrapping practicals from schools is the main reason for this dearth of manpower and this will be a major factor in our ambition to become a newly industrialised country (NIC) in the year 2000. Students who enter science-based faculties in the universities get some practical training during their courses. Since practical skills are evaluated in these courses, students have no option but to take their practical courses seriously. However, practical skills cannot be mastered overnight, a longer period is necessary for acquiring the necessary practical skills which should be started from school level. It is our experience that students who have got A grade passes for A.L. subjects do not necessarily do well in the university courses, specially the examinations in practical courses. In fact there is no correlation between A.L. results of students and their achievements at the university. The failure and the dropout rates at the university first examination is also high which can be attributed partly to the lack of practical skills and partly to the tuition system operating at the secondary school level. Sri Lanka has not changed its science education at the secondary and tertiary levels in keeping with the rapid advancement of science and technology and more sophisticated reaching methods. We find that even at most universities the same old subjects of chemistry, physics, botany and zoology are taught in the way it was done in the 1940s. Some attempts have been made to introduce new degree programmes with emphasis on introducing courses relevant to development. At the University of Peradeniya we have introduced a two subject science degree programme with minor subjects such as management, archaeology, statistics and computer science for the general degree course which is a step in the right direction. Rapid developments in information technology and the proliferation of personal computer have revolutionised the world around us. Yet how many of our undergraduates are computer literate? The worldwide trend in education has been the broad basing at secondary and tertiary levels with specialisation to follow at senior undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Towards this end some meaningful steps were taken in the 1970s where NCGE and NCHE examinations replaced the G.C.E (O/L) and G.C.E (A/L) examinations. These examinations were based on a much broader based curriculum so that the students were taught how to relate any science they learn to other areas of study such as social science. Even at the NCHE, the emphasis was again broad basing where Botany and Zoology were replaced by Biology (including Human Biology). Subjects such as Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics were also there with more emphasis on fundamentals and applications rather than concentrating on volumes of descriptive material. At that time it was a progressive step taken in keeping with world trends where the broader science education was imparted to all science students with no distinction at the school level into biological and physical streams. However, immediately after coming to power the previous government restored the GCE (A/L) examination where narrow specialisation and division into biological and physical science streams was restored perhaps due to pressure from certain groups who were keen for their children to sit the London GCE (A/L) examinations. This was really a destructive reverse of the broad based science education envisaged in having NCHE examination such narrow subject contributions at an early stage in schools where there are separate bio science and physical science streams are highly indesirable in keeping up with global trends and for training students to face challenges in the future. With the boundaries of traditional disciplines opening up giving way to multidisciplinary areas of science it is absolutely essential that students at the secondary level of education should be well conversed in the areas of science and should not be confined to divisions such as physical and biological streams. Thus, for example, a student doing biological science aspiring to be a doctor with no exposure to mathematics will find it hard to grapple problems such as statistics so often encountered in medicine. Even medicine, itself is getting enriched day by day with new equipments, the understanding of which involves a fair amount of physics. Use of computers and modern tools of information technology would become easier if an advanced knowledge of mathematics is incorporated into their courses. There have been a number of proposals regarding the revision of A. L. curricula in recent years. Reduction of the number of subjects to three and the introduction of an IQ test have been formulated by the National Education Commission. This, I feel is a step in the wrong direction where instead of giving a broader background of knowledge attempted further narrrow down the scope of science education. This is just one example to illustrade the short sightedness of formulating important policies without adequate feedback from a greater section of the educationists. In Sri Lanka owing to the high earning capacity of doctors, parents have been forcing their children to do biological sciences in preference to physical sciences. Since the numbers admitted to medicine are limited, the leftovers with very high aggregates are left high and dry. Thus while the cut off marks for entry into bio science has remained around 250, the corresponding cut off mark for physical sciences is only around 180. Hence, a relatively higher percentage of students in the bio science will fail to enter a university, while students in the physical sciences have a chance to enter universities into engineering and science courses with relatively low marks. These problems can be averted if the following proposal is implemented. Have a unified science course for all students after GCE (O/L) encompassing the subjects, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathamatics and also minor subjects such as Computer science, English, Commerce and Management. My own view is that English and Computer science should be made compulsory for all science students since these are the languages spoken at all levels of science. In addition the introduction of liberal arts courses such as sociology, philosophy etc. would definitely enrich an individual. The flexibility for students following such an array of courses would come in very useful at a later stage since the world we are living is changing so much that the challenges we face today may not be the same as the ones we have to face in 10 years from now. Such a proposal will ensure equal opportunities for all students to compete for prestigious courses in the universities and also give the students better opportunities to go into intermediate levels. Opposition When educational policies are formulated the policy makers think mainly about those gaining entry into universities. It is important to realize that less than 3% of all students who sit GCE (A/L) enter the universities while the rest saturate the job market at the intermediate level. It is this category of students that we should be concerned with since they represent the majority of the unemployed youth. Ignorance is not bliss for Calcutta teens It's Saturday night in this eastern Indian metropolis. Teenagers in trendy clothes throng night clubs, where they dance and swill alcohol before spilling out into the night. Couples drift off. But scratch beneath their ultra-modern veneer, and you will find school girls and boys, confused and unprepared for sexual-decision making — not unlike teenagers elsewhere in the world. The province of West Bengal, of which Calcutta is the capital, has not mandated sex education programmes in state schools, unlike some other Indian states. Even voluntary organisations offering short courses on AIDS awareness have been sent packing by some school principals, despite a serious problem with HIV/AIDS, which is largely spread by unprotected sex. There are between three and five million people living with HIV in India, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). Worldwide, millions of young people who do not have the knowledge and means to protect themselves are sexually active with catastrophic results. In West Bengal, government health researchers note a rising incidence of unmarried, teenage pregnancies and an increasing frequency of sexually transmitted diseases among both sexes. One gauge of teen sexual activity, according to experts and health providers, is the number of young women who seek out illegal abortionists in a desperate bid to protect their anonymity. Illegal and unsafe abortions can be deadly: the World Health Organisation estimates that they kill between 50,000 and 100,000 women and girls worldwide each year. India-wide studies on the frequency of abortion — both legal and illegal — among unmarried adolescents do not exist. But researcher Shireen Jejeebhoy believes that at least half of all unmarried women seeking abortions are adolescents — many less than 15 years old. Ignorant about their condition or unaware that legal and safe abortion services exist, many delay termination until their pregnancies are well-advanced, increasing health risks. In terms of illegal abortions, Calcutta gynaecologist Arati Basu estimates that teenage girls account for half the clientele of such abortionists. According to B. R. Satpathy, additional secretary of the health and family welfare ministry, unmarried adolescents account for at least 60 per cent of the clientele of illegal abortionists in rural West Bengal. 'Girls in school uniforms come to our clinics,' confirms Indrani Mukherjee of the Reproductive Health Education Training unit of Parivar Seva Sanstha, the Indian chapter of Marie Stopes, which offers safe abortion services. 'Their fear of being found out is so extreme that they do not hesitate to take hazardous steps. Many girls deliberately leave behind their prescription for (post-operative) medicines, fearing that parents may find it'. But where parents and teachers don't listen, others may. Radio producer Arindam Sengupta and his team used to produce a half-hour FM radio phone-in programme called 'Friday Happening'. They would field hundreds of queries about sex from nervous school-children, calling from public booths or whispering into their home telephones. Nearly 200 letters flooded the studio every week with questions like: 'Does French-kissing cause AIDS?'; 'Can masturbation give you jaundice?'; 'Can one act of intercourse cause pregnancy?'; 'Do large breasts mean a girl has more sexual prowess?' Punctuating pop music with factual discussions of topics that are too hot to handle for schools and families, the year-long programme was one of Calcutta teens' few sources of reliable information, until coming to an end in March this year. Fortunately, Calcutta schools are lowering the drawbridge for non-governmental organisations. At Ballygunge Government High School, students queue up for individual counselling. Often girls confide shocking episodes of sexual abuse, including rape and molestation by family members, Mukherjee adds. Another 25 Calcutta schools are considering adapting teaching aids on sexual health. Traditionally, Indian society demands chastity before marriage, and adolescent sexuality is a taboo subject. For nearly 50 years the reproductive health needs of teens, who account for one-fifth of the country's 900 million population, went unrecognised by federal government. 'It is tragic to see how families misinform children rather than enlightening them,' says Veena Lakhumalani, senior project officer with the British Council, which conducts AIDS awareness classes. She recounts the confusion of one boy who confessed to her: 'My father told me that my wife may give me a child, but to get sexual pleasure I must visit a prostitute. So tell me, how can I protect myself from AIDS?' Adolescent girls, in particular, need information and skills so that they can negotiate contraceptive-use with their partners if sex is desired or fend off unwanted demands. Needs vary. A pregnant 14-year-old, who believed she wouldn't get pregnant if she 'did it only once', blames her boyfriend who accused her of being old-fashioned. But medical student Swapnendu Bose asserts: 'I find the idea of love without sex ridiculous...why should I wait for a marriage licence? Society allows us to watch explicit movies and yet expects us to stay chaste till our wedding day'. The Indian government aims to provide sex education to all young people through the national curriculum but the huge and sluggish official machinery is only just staggering to its feet. In 1996, a new Reproductive and Child Health Care Programme acknowledged for the first time that teenagers have reproductive needs mandating information and services. A national framework for sex education exists, but it may take five more years before policy becomes reality, admits P. R. Dasgupta, Education Secretary in the Federal Department of Education. This is because teachers need training and parents need sensitising — at the same time, parent-teacher associations are weak and in many places non-existent. Some women's rights campaigners fear that the long-awaited policy, instead of promoting responsible individual choice, will merely preach abstinence until marriage. 'The obsession with chastity is an expression of the patriarchal value system,' says Professor Jasodhara Bagchi, a reputed academic and women's activist. 'The concept of responsible choice is undoubtedly central to sex education. But we couldn't keep it in our framework,' admits J. L. Pandey of the government's department of Population Education, citing strong objection at the top. Calcutta teens don't have five years to wait. In the meanwhile, NGOs continue to battle 'principals who say we can talk about AIDS but not condoms; menstruation and hygiene but not pregnancy or the health risks of too-early childbirth but not contraceptives,' Mahua Sen of Parivar Seva Sanstha says./PANOS |
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