I have been trying to write this post for some days now. Each time I decide to do so, another article appears in the press and compels me to change my approach.
OK let us put this in context.
Over the past weeks there have been a plethora of news articles on education. Based on the New Education Policy the CBSE has release its syllabus for 2026-27. For those of you who have been reading my blogs, you know how much I have been harping about how useless and unproductive the education system was in today’s world and how it needed to be turned on its head to incorporate the skills our children will be needing to navigate the employment scenario that awaits them and how we at Project Why have begun incorporating these skills in our teaching approach. So when my eyes fell on the title of an article that read: Rote to reasoning: How CBSE is resetting the way students think, learn and grow I was pleasantly surprised and decided to delve further into the changes that one expected. But before I could do so, another article appeared entitled Papa don’t preach: CBSE’s parenting guide raises concerns about overreach I fell of my chair and felt the need to address it immediately.
Before we delve further into the subject let me share my take on all policy changes specially in education. Think tanks with eminent personalities sit around a table and conjure wonderful policies that look perfect on paper and reflect all the desires of the ruling dispensation. Then these are translated into curricula that would be implemented across the country. Now for some statistics; There are 1.5 million schools in India catering to 280 million children and employing teachers 9.8 million teachers. So whatever policy conjured has to be implemented 1.5 million schools. This sets the scale of things we are addressing. This is what I wanted to discuss in this blog till I read the article mentioned.
But first the reason why I fell off my chair and one more statistic. If there 280 million children in school and we take an average of our kids by family we re talking of 70 million families.
As if is changing curriculum was not enough the CBSE decided to enter our homes! As is said in the article The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has quietly taken on a new role, not just educating children, but guiding how parents raise them too. Through its recent parenting guidelines and outreach, the board is stepping beyond the classroom into homes, nudging families on everything from screen time to emotional well-being. Remember we are talking of 280 million children. The 60 page framework looks like a playbook for parenting. Parenting is no longer private but drawn into the institutional framework of schooling. This is disturbing and discomforting.
It defines what parenting should look like: Bedtime rituals, mealtimes, stories, songs are not extras… They are the primary curriculum of early childhood.” People are uncomfortable with the tone that does not feel like a suggestion but an instruction. Parenting is not one size fits all. How does a mother of let us say 3 school going children living in a tiny hovel and working the whole day set bedtime rituals – often there are no beds or one shared by many – mealtimes, tell stories etc. She often has to deal with a drunk husband who puts on the TV loud and blaring and if she says something would probably be beaten back and blue. The article goes on to say Parenting has never been seen as a standardised activity in India. It is shaped by culture, class, language, family structures, and lived realities. What works in a dual-income urban household may not necessarily work in a small-town joint family. And yet, this calendar reads like there is a single, ideal way to raise a child… one that can be documented, scheduled, and rolled out across schools. This is nothing short of concerning.
The parenting guidelines given seem to be more for middle class urban literate families but our 70 million families are not that. I wonder if anyone who drafted this has even visited a slum dwelling let alone spent one night there. I for one resent anyone telling me how to bring up my child and yes though I understand the need to talk about mental health and the effect of screens it can only be gentle. We at Project Why have a Parent Project Partnership that runs well without diktats.