COURSE TITLE – KNOWLEDGE AND CURRICULUM

PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION

COURSE CODE – BED 212

PRACTICAL ASSIGNMENT
BATCH - (2019-21)

E - PORTFOLIO - “ FOUR
EDUCATIONAL RIDDLES’’
BY Prof. Krishna kumar

SUBMITTED TO – SUBMITTED BY:-

Mrs. Pratibha Garg Abhilasha Chauhan
Assistant Professor (AIE) Enrollment No-00510802119
INTRODUCTION of Prof.KRISHNA
KUMAR :-
Krishna Kumar is an Indian intellectual and
academician, noted for his writings in the sociology and
history of education. His academic oeuvre has drawn on
multiple sources, including the school curriculum as a
means of social inquiry. His work is also notable for its
critical engagement with modernity in a colonized
society. His writings explore the patterns of conflict and
interaction between forces of the vernacular and the
state. As a teacher and bilingual writer, he has developed
an aesthetic of pedagogy and knowledge that aspires to
mitigate aggression and violence. In addition to his
academic work, he writes essays and short stories in
Hindi, and has also written for children. He has taught
at the Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi,
from 1981 to 2016. He was also the Dean and Head of
the institution. From 2004 to 2010, he was Director of
the National Council of Educational Research and
Training NCERT , an apex organization for curricular
reforms in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the
President of India in 2011.

INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE TOPIC:-

Riddles have served the purpose of reminding human

beings since ancient times that life is complex, especially
life with children. Riddles serve adult child relations as
well. Professor Krishna Kumar discussed the problems
in the educational systems through four riddles.
These are as follows:

1. Equity and uniformity

In this riddle Prof. kumar has stated that every child in
the country should be given equal educational
experiences. Educational system should be able to
accommodate every child, i.e. the child of any
background, of any geographical or cultural area of the
country should be able to engage with what is being
taught in the educational system. It also means that
child must get chance irrespective of his capacity or
capability,it is the responsibility of teachers and schools
to enhance their capabilities. This type of education
system would ensure success.
Prof. Kumar explained that how further discriminations
are created when we create different levels of education
to include all the children in educational system. He
gave an example that if there are two levels of education
in mathematics, the children in easier level of
mathematics will get a nominal success in the
educational system but when they move to actual world
they will get discriminated and looked down by the
people with higher level of mathematics. So there
becomes two different team in which the second team
always uncovers the weaker section of society. So the
idea, that distribution will reflect social division comes
into picture.So the question arise, how to marry
different approaches, different abilities with the idea of
equity?

2. Knowledge
In this riddle Prof. kumar said that when child starts to
come to school ,he has a very little knowledge then.
There is the inheritance of knowledge which parents,
community, family brings to the child and the child
benefits from it as he or she grows old.
This kind of local knowledge is not certified by the
educational system, as the education system prefer
universalistic forms of knowledge as the only legitimate
form of knowledge. Thus, the local knowledge with
which the child can relate to is being left out. Any form
of knowledge which has a home value and usability
doesn’t find space in the institutional notion of
knowledge. So, there is a constant tension between the
child’s local knowledge and the knowledge which the
teacher believes as valid, and this tension leads to the
ignorance of the child’s prior knowledge and treating a
child as someone who knows nothing. The teachers need
not instruct the children, rather engage and work with
them to develop their knowledge based upon the
knowledge that they already have. In most cases these
arises a condition in which the knowledge the child
learns at home is considered to be useful at home and
the knowledge which the child learns at school is
considered to be useful for the school.
The child may have a lot of knowledge about various
topics which he inherited from his local surroundings,
his parents, society, local environment, but his
knowledge is not considered to be valid by the education
system. This leads to a condition wherein a child feels
that his/her feelings and knowledge are not welcomed in
the institution

3.Time and curriculum load

In this riddle Prof. Kumar talks about the difference
in teaching and telling. These days because of fixed
curriculum, a teacher transmits all the information
there is through reading from the book, writing on
the blackboard, a few students who are bright grab
the knowledge quickly and rest stay behind, but the
 teacher needs to move on in order to tell all there is
to tell. The system in current times regards
knowledge as a vast body which our society must
receive. Whoever is capable of getting it fast are on
the edge and the rest try as best as they can.
Prof. Kumar stated that 53% of the children are not
able to cope with the education system between
classes 1 to 8, as the system is unable to offer them
knowledge which they consider worthy of engaging
with. The system is unable to offer flexibility so
that the children can succeed in different ways and
is also unable to create a desire to understand
amongst the children.
The system is succeeding in giving information which is
getting the students marks, but it is unable to create the
motivation to do something productive and useful with
that information. So the students are only succeeding on
papers, not in life. The information is just memorized
and not understood. If we have to negotiate with
knowledge keeping in mind the aim of creating
understanding and motivation to use it, then it can’t be
unitized in fixed categories and the students cannot be
tested on the basis of ability to reproduce the knowledge
which they don’t even understand.
4. REFORMS

This is the riddle which tries to find solutions to the

riddles discussed above. To solve the above mentioned
riddles there are following reforms that can needs to be
considered:
 Curriculum reforms
 Examination reforms
 Teacher reforms
 Systemic reforms
In the riddles above, curriculum reforms and what are
the problems in their implementations were discussed.
Examination reforms are not easily made and its
implementation takes up to a decade. These reforms
cannot be hurried as they are accepted at a slow rate and
are opposed very often.
Teacher training also takes time. To retrain a teacher
who has already taken the training in the prior methods
and strategies of teaching is a very hard task and takes
years to become effective.
Systemic reforms between the directors of education or
the inspectors and the teachers are about power and
authority. They take even greater time than examination
reforms to get accepted and implemented.
The public fears that those who talk about the staggered
calendars will not be here when their reforms fail, so let
them not even start. If a certain limited reform is
initiated today in the system if education, it will surely
require the support from the things that can only b done
tomorrow. But tomorrow will bring us nothing if that
limited reform is not initiated today.
There is impatience from the part of parents and
teachers , they want to see the reforms as early as
possible. But it all takes time.

Analysis of Four Educational Riddles w.r.t NEP 2020

Curriculum content will be reduced in each subject to its

core essential, to make space for critical thinking and
more holistic, discovery based, discussion based, and
analysis based learning.

Under NEP 2020 the medium of instruction until at

least Grade 5, but preferably till grade 8 and beyond, will
be the home language/ mother tongue/ local language
and Prof. Krishna Kumar also said that mode of
instruction should be the local language of the area so
that it would be easy for learner to understand and it
would be easy for them to apply that knowledge.

As Prof. Krishna Kumar emphasized on the local

knowledge same as NEP 2020 believes in this. Every
student will take a fun year long course, during Grade 6-
8, that give a survey and hands-on experience of a
sampling of important vocational crafts, such as
carpentry, electric work, metal work, gardening, pottery
making, etc., as decided by States and local communities
and as mapped by local skilling needs.

For reforms Prof. Krishna Kumar suggested a child

centered reform and NEP 2020 also emphasizes on
transforming assessment for optimizing learning and
development of all students with a focus on the
following:

 Regular, formative and competency-based

 Promoting learning and development of students
 Focuses on ‘assessment for learning’
 Tests higher-order skills (analysis, critical thinking
and conceptual clarity etc.)
 Helps entire schooling system in revising
continuously teaching learning processes to
optimize learning

Professor Kumar made us aware about the complexity of

the various issues in education. And also made us aware
that there is no reason to feel depressed about the state
of education.
This document of Professor Kumar also support
Kothari’s dream of a common school system, but they
find this common school as inclusive school where
everyone feel comfortable.

In the last line of the conclusion of this document,

Professor Kumar also said that the teaching profession is
in great danger today, which the National Education
Policy also recognizes. The NEP hopes that other
institutions which are more directly responsible for
controlling teacher educating processes and states which
have been the right and the role to recruit teachers will
gradually be persuaded by civil society and moral
pressure to give the teacher his\her due, not simply in
rhetorical terms, but in real terms as well.

MY REFLECTION
Professor Kumar has well explained about the problems
or the complexities in life, especially of children. He also
discussed the reforms to solve such problems. The
education is a fundamental right of every child so yes
each child should get equal experience and
opportunities. No discrimination should be done on any
basis. Sometimes the discriminations that are done in
the level of education according to the children’s
capability ,creates further discriminations. Schools and
teachers believe that the local knowledge that children
inherited from their parents, family and society is
invalid. They want universalities in their knowledge, so
teachers must help children in developing the new
knowledge on the basis of their prior knowledge.
Teachers should not find the faults in children , because
every child when just enter in the schools has little
knowledge according to his background, his family and
society ,But they should not be ignored on this basis.
Instead it is the responsibilities of teachers to sharpen
their skills and fill their mind with new knowledge. The
child may have a lot of knowledge about various topics
which he inherited from his local surroundings, his
parents, society, local environment, but his knowledge is
not considered to be valid by the education system. This
leads to a condition wherein a child feels that his/her
feelings and knowledge are not welcomed in the
institution. Today in education system curriculum has
increased and time is limited so no teacher bother for
the children who takes time to learn. Teachers are in
hurry to finish the syllabus within the time which is very
limited .They just pass lecture through books and
blackboard. As all children are different in their
capabilities, so some who are bright can gain early and
those who are not so brilliant they just do struggle. It is
true that most of the children are not able to cope with
education system .
So to address all these problems, reforms are definitely
needed. Such as curriculum reform, teachers reform,
examination reform and system reform. No factor is
solely responsible for making children unable to get
education. Curriculum must be designed keeping all
things in mind> Teachers should be trained who can
understand the psyche or minds of the children.
Systemic reforms between the directors of education or
the inspectors and the teachers are about power and
authority. They take even greater time than examination
reforms to get accepted and implemented. Parents
should wait patiently ,because reforms will take some
time but if these reforms are implemented, surely the
good change will come in our education system.