Curricular Battles: Is it Possible to Win the War even if a Few Battles are Lost?
This paper is a response to the two commentaries (Sircar, 2012; Sarbadhikari, 2012) written for the article â€œReforming Medical Curriculum in India in Recent Years: Conflicts of Political, Regulator, Educationist and Professional Nature and Strategies for their Resolutionâ€ (Sood & Ananthakrishnan, 2012). Considering the enormity of the process of bringing about a change, often compromises have to be made for a step wise approach to make the proposed changes more acceptable across the board. A â€˜one size fits allâ€™ approach is unlikely to work in India because of numerous conflicting pressures and the solution has to be tailored to the specific situations in the country. While a national exit examination as a measure of quality control looks admirable, a number of issues have to be addressed before it can become a reality. The authors conclude that a much higher role of educationists and professionals, consensus building, and political support are essential to achieve successful curricular reforms. A strong regulatory agency could play a definitive role in maintaining standards.
Reforming Medical Curriculum While Ignoring Examinations: A Commentary on Sood and Ananthakrishnanâ€™s â€œReforming Medical Curriculum in India in Recent Years: Conflicts of Political, Regulator, Educationist and Professional Natures and Strategies for their Resolutionâ€
Successive national initiatives in India to improve the medical curriculum are plagued by the lack of objective data that can help grade the existing quality of medical education. Without such quantitative data, which can be conveniently obtained through national exit exams, it is infructuous to embark upon curricular reforms. The results of the national exit exams must serve as a starting point for all subsequent reforms.
Church, state and schools in Britain, 1800-1970
Originally published 1971, this volume unravels the complicated history of the religious question in British education. The background of the key Acts of Parliament which established the "dual" system - of Church and Local Authority school - is examined. The changing policies of different religious groupings are analyzed, and their outcome in legislation brought out.