A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.
The above statement recommends that a nation require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college. I cannot completely agree with the statement since I think that it is can lead to a myriad of possibilities and consequences,both positive and negative. This recommendation,if implemented,will definitely have mane positive consequences.For example,students from different parts of the country,having studied the same subjects,will be at par when they will enter college or other such national institutions. In our country,India,among many educational boards,two main boards are ICSE and CBSE boards. along with that,we have a multitude of different regional educational boards,all of which have different syllabi and different curriculum.If a student wants to pursue engineering or medical,he has to sit for the national medical and engineering entrance test. . The syllabus of this test has been under a lot of scrutiny and deliberation,because of the fact that that is resembles CBSE board and puts students of other boards at a disadvantage. It is for problems like these that schools require a common curriculum.
Along with that,another advantage of a common curriculum is that it will bridge the gap between the education given at villages or outskirts and the major cities,since students of both these areas will be studying common topics. If the national curriculum implements the inclusion of certain topics like basic computer applications,they will be advantageous for both urban and bucolic children alike,since at this time and age,knowing how to use computers is not an asset,but a requirement. On the other hand,having a similar national curriculum has its shortcomings. In a country as diverse an India,which prides itself in the concept of 'unity in diversity',every state has its own distinctive culture and its own language,which makes it unique. A common national curriculum cannot accommodate for all these different languages and it will definitely put a lot of pressure on the students. Eliminating such regional languages will eventually lead to children not being educated about their culture and will result in the slow but quiet death of the rich heritage our country is known for.This will result in the formation of a nation-wide multitude of homogeneous children with no distinctive background and interests.
Another reason a common curriculum will not be advantageous is that certain rural places might not even access to facilities like computers.Even though the latter is very important,teaching children computer applications without any means for its applications will be a waste of time.
Thus ,I believe that,instead of having an exactly similar national curriculum,the basic structure and the major subjects,like English,Mathematics,Science,Civics,etc. and their contents should be same. But there should be a little flexibility in the syllabus so as to accommodate certain subjects that are specific to a region,along with the permission given to students to be able to choose any extra subjects he/she wants as this would lead to a more holistic development of the nation's children.
