Education minister my ass

I cannot argue as well as Gaurav, Amit or Falstaff, or even Dhoomketu, so I usually don't put forward very cogent presentations on why some things suck.

I go for the gist of the idea instead. Hence, I think I make my feelings perfectly clear when I call this proposal the MOST MORONIC IDEA IN TEH WORLD EVAR!!1eleven.

'Nuf said.

No wait, since Mumbai Mirror links vanish (WTF aren't they doing something this anyways?), here's the entire article:

Make Maths optional, says Minister

Education Minster Prof Vasant Purke has proposed this for students after Std VIII; will discuss it with experts and the public soon

If you're a student and hate the very mention of the word 'maths', the state education department has some good news. It is proposing to make maths optional after Std VIII, offering subjects like computer science, agriculture and handicrafts instead.

Education Minster Prof Vasant Purke has already started meeting academicians and
educationists to discuss the proposal. However, a final decision will be taken only after a huge public meeting to be held next month, where the common man's opinion will also be sought.

Prof Purke's proposal comes in the wake of numerous cases of students from the city as well as rural areas unable to complete their SSC because of maths. Presently, most students are forced to take expensive tuitions to pass the subject.

"We are looking at agriculture, computer sciences and handicrafts as optional subjects but will finalise a list only after feedback from all quarters," said Prof Purake. "We will also consider public opinion and after compiling suggestions will decide on subjects that can be offered in place of maths," he added.

According to education department sources, "Maths is the one subject that most students fail in the SSC exam. We are looking at those students who give up studies after failing the subject repeatedly. Day by day the exam burden has increased and students are under tremendous pressure because of maths. Prof Purke has put forward this decision after receiving numerous complaints from parents."

President of Jagrut Parents Association Suresh Lad said, "It's a good decision. Students who are weak in maths can now be encouraged to at least complete their basic education till Std X."

Two things:

1. You can't do "computer science" without at least 10 years of schooling in Maths. Solitaire, clicking on "Start", MS Office, heck even VB do NOT count as computer science. That's just "computer awareness", and not that even, really. That's just Microsoft Windows awareness.
2. At the end of the article is an anecdote of a guy who dropped out of school in the 10th std because of Maths. He had problems in Algebra and Geometry. And he's now an accounts excecutive. He says the government should remove the subject from the curriculum so that it would deter people from dropping out.

About #2, WOW, just WOW! Super logic. Hey, Bill Gates dropped out of college, and made a HUGE pile of money, runs a HUGE company, and is HUGELY charitable too. He didn't need college to do all this, so why would anyone else?

I love the solution being proposed here - too hard? No problems, drop out and blame the government. Guilt trip the government into making brain-dead moves.

Most of my argument can be summed up by what a professor had to say about this, in the article:

Maths is an important aspect of modern technology as the world is making big strides by introducing technology in all walks of life. That's why maths cannot be left out of a curriculum. Removing maths will only make the future generation of this country incompetent.