More reforms to reduce students' burden: Govt

New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) The government today assured the Lok Sabha that it was considering further reforms in school education to reduce the burden on students and check the rising trend of suicide among them, particularly at the time of Board exams.

The proposed reforms would cover the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), schools and the examination system, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi said in response to a call attention debate on the issue.

The Centre had already made several changes at all levels -- pre- primary, primary, secondary and higher secondary -- to reduce the pressure on students, but admitted more was required.

While the government had exempted the students of class one and two from annual exams, home work and the need to carry books to school, it had recommended only a few text books for primary students.

The National Curriculum Framework 2005 had made eduation comprehensive, shifting the focus away from text books to cover sports, dance and music for the all round development of students.

Raising the issue through a call attention, Mr Sandeep Dikshit and Ms Priya Dutt (both Congress) said putting too much stress on the board exams was responsible for suicide among students. The entire House agreed with their views.

Mr Fatmi said the government was willing to consider all the demands and suggestions of the members and these would be incorporated in future educational reforms.

He, however, said that states should also play a major role as education was a state subject.

The environment at schools and homes was equally important to deal with the unnecessary burden on students and as such parents, teachers, counsellers and society at large had a major responsibility, the Minister said.

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