Are CBSE's Digital Initiatives Truly Teacher-Friendly? A Ground Reality Check

CBSE deserves appreciation for taking bold steps towards digitalization — initiatives like OSM, On Screen Marking, DIKSHA and DIKSHA Courses show a clear intent to make education more transparent and modern.

But as a teacher working on the ground, I feel there is a gap between the intent and the implementation.

1. The Challenge of Last-Minute Deadlines and Server Load

Many times a new training or module is made mandatory with a short deadline. When thousands of teachers log in together on the last day, the app shows "Under Maintenance" or the OTP does not arrive.

The result is stress for teachers who genuinely want to complete the work on time, but cannot due to technical issues.

2. Multiple Apps for Similar Purposes

Currently we have DIKSHA App and DIKSHA Courses App. Both ask for frequent updates. One often says "new version available" even after updating, while the other sometimes shows "device not compatible".

A single, stable and lightweight app would be more helpful than multiple apps for the same objective.

3. OSM and On-Screen Evaluation — A Good Idea That Needs More Support

The idea of On-Screen Evaluation is excellent for transparency. However, during evaluation time, teachers often face issues like bundle not loading, app crashing, or issues in marks. When this happens due to technical reasons, the teacher is under pressure to explain.

Stronger technical support during evaluation weeks would solve this.

4. An Irony Worth Noticing

CBSE rightly advises us to reduce screen time for students and encourage offline learning. We fully support this.

At the same time, a teacher's screen time has increased significantly — completing online trainings, uploading marks on OSM, attending webinars, and filling feedback forms. Most of this time goes into waiting for pages to load, rather than actual learning.

We need to ensure that digital tools truly reduce our workload, not increase it.

A Humble Suggestion

We respect CBSE's vision. We only request:

1. Please test any app update with a small group before a pan-India rollout.

2. Give reasonable time windows and ensure servers are stable during the last days.

3. Provide one unified, stable platform.

4. Have an active helpline during OSM and DIKSHA deadlines.

We want to teach with full dedication. If technology supports us smoothly, we can implement NEP 2020 in its true spirit.

Views are personal and based on ground experience as a teacher. I may be wrong at some points but I write what we, teachers face mostly at ground level.

The Fake Pride of Being Blunt

People say, "They speak what they think about others." They flex it. They say they are bitter, but not sugarcoated.

Is it something to flex? Is it something to feel proud of?

No.

Being impulsive is not honesty. It is lack of control.

If you have guts, then speak wrong about yourself. Have guts to criticize yourself. Accept your follies. Don't filter yourself to be perfect. That needs real courage. Confront how you feel and what you think. 

It will give you courage to face your own dark side. 

What people call blunt is often sadism. They feel pleasure in giving pain to others — no matter if it is physical or psychological. And psychological pain is more deadly. It harms more. It stays longer.

But there is another side too.

We should be strong enough not to get affected by others easily. Be unaffected. Untouchable. Let them not hijack you. Don't give power to their words.

Someone's opinion about you is not your truth. Only your awareness is your truth.

And this balance — not hurting others and not getting hurt by others comes only when we surrender to the Supreme Consciousness. Breaking the constraints of mind and body is very important.

Only then we are free.

Prudence — The First Step to Spirituality

28 August 2017, Flashback

"A religion which makes you blind and biased cannot be called a true religion. Because a true religion first gives you the eyes of prudence — which is just the first step to spirituality. It makes you the master of thy mind, whereas pseudo religion makes thee slave of thy senses."

~ Sudhir Singh

I knowingly used the word religion because spirituality can never be understood by all. It is quite deep and sometimes misunderstood by people. That is why Osho is misunderstood. That is why J. Krishnamurti is not known to all laymen.

Why?

It is just because people like cheap material. A material which gives them only thrill. And thrill kills prudence.

In present religion, there is a lot of thrill, a lot of noise, a lot of disturbance. You lose your inner calm. You feel a pseudo confidence which comes from crowd. But here comes the most dangerous part — now you can be easily manipulated, you can be used as a potential weapon. And for this, only one thing is required: a slogan.

True religion gives you eyes.

Pseudo religion gives you a crowd.

One makes you awake.

The other makes you blind.

Transparency is not ignorance. It is courage.

For the past few years, I have seen a new trend. People are learning psychological tricks, cold behaviour, dark psychology, and mind manipulation from reels and YouTube. And they are using it on their own family and friends, without understanding its dangerous impact on their own mind. 

People start living a secretive life. They hide their weaknesses, they never show their true feelings, they always act calculative. 

But why do they need to do this? Are they Prime Ministers or King who has a threat to be assassinated? Are they in politics where they have to hide everything?

I think the real reason is fear. They manipulate others, so they live in fear that if others know their weakness, they will also be manipulated in the same way.

They may succeed in manipulating others. They may defeat others. But this success comes at the cost of their own inner happiness. After doing this, they can never remain happy.

Such habits slowly create narcissistic and sadistic traits in them. A narcissist is selfish, so he cannot see others' suffering. A sadist does not feel others' pain; he smiles when others are in trouble. And both use these tactics in such a way that when the victim complains, they manipulate the story and show the victim as the culprit.

Thus the victim is psychologically killed from both sides — from inside and from outside.

That is why I don't like such content. I write everything about myself. I believe in transparency, self-expression, and no secrecy. This is not because I am ignorant. It is because I am also a student of psychology. I know how the mind works.

And I have faith in HariHar, Shree Krishna — that it is He who dwells in every living being. So if He puts me in trouble, He wants to strengthen me from inside as a student of Spiritual Science.

Yes, when I am in body and mind, I too feel good and bad. I may feel hurt too, perhaps more than others, because I feel intensely.

My path is harder — because when we are transparent, people may hurt us more because we feel intensely. But in the long run, this path will give peace. 

Follow me at your own risk. My path may break you if you are weak from inside, to rebuild you stronger.

Respect Over Money - Why My Salary is Enough For Me

Our former Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji, lived a simple and economical life. He proved that a man’s greatness is not in his wealth, but in his values and honesty.

I believe in the same.

In 2015-16, I was earning Rs. 12,000 per month. At my father's friend's family function, my father pointed at me in front of everyone and said, "Look at him, he earns only 12,000." People looked at me with disgust.

I know his intentions were good. He did it for a rightful purpose. But one should know if the way is right.

I was young, talented, and giving my best. I had cleared CTET and later PSTET, but there were always exams after exams. Time was slipping like sand from my hands.

Out of humiliation, I walked 15 km back home that day, avoiding all public transport.

After one year, during that tough phase, I met S. Kashmir Singh Thind Ji. Sir told me, "Beta, teach with stability. There is nothing in four-five thousand rupees more. When you change schools repeatedly, your value becomes zero." 

I kept his words in my heart and fortunately get a guide Mrs Amarjit Dhaliwal, the Principal of GMT International Public School.

Today, I earn a handsome amount of salary. Yes, it may seem less to you when I tell, but for me it is more than sufficient.

I was always honest about my salary. Before my marriage during COVID, I showed the Screenshot of my salary and savings to my in-laws. They said they wanted honesty, not money. But later, the taunts for my simple living started again.

I don't have Scorpio or Thar Cars like my cousins. I have a Scooter Maestro Edge, and it serves the purpose. I wear a Rs. 200 shirt and Rs. 500 pant, and that too serves the purpose.

I don't want debt. I want to bear my own expenses, educate my only son, do my teachings, stay fit, and spend time in Naam Jap. That's enough.

Since childhood, I had only one passion — to discover my true self, the Cosmic Consciousness. For that, I was called "not practical."

Maybe I am not practical for them. But for me, they are not practical — they are chasing something that will perish one day. I am who I am, without a mask. Perhaps that annoys them.

Let it annoy.

The Words That Stayed With Me

It was 2017. I resigned from Sacred Soul Convent School, Dhandhra Road, near Duggri. I had successfully completed two years there, but the place was too far — 15 KM one side! The school management is good and they are providing quality education in rural areas.

I learnt a lot from the Principal at that time, Mrs. Navjot Kaur Takkar. She was the first who taught me how to write minutes of a meeting, how to set a question paper using minimum space, as she believed in saving paper to save trees. I have many good memories and many more life lessons from there. And how can I forget the P.T. Teacher, Mr. Kamal, who had his own gym at school and I too got the opportunity to work out there under his guidance. He is a very good human being with a great sense of humour.

Then, my best friend Mr. Bhalinder Singh, who came from Jassowal village. He had great knowledge and a superb understanding of almost all areas of Education. And the best thing about him was his way of teaching. He taught in a very unique way. Most of the time his class was one of the noisiest. Students enjoyed his teaching. Sometimes he would tell students, "Haven't you taken your lunch? Shout loudly." And I was the one who suffered the most because my subject needs silence and discipline to teach new concepts. But he is indeed unique and his students always scored more than 90%, while mine were only 5 or 6. Two teachers using different ways, but still best friends.

It's because our alma mater is same — GHG Khalsa College of Education, Gurusar Sadhar.

When I resigned, I came to know about GMT Public School, Jalandhar By-pass. There was a vacancy for PGT English. So I went for an interview. It was July 2017... No, perhaps I don't remember the month. Yes, now I recall, it was September 16, 2017. My interview was taken by S. Kashmir Singh Thind Sir, the Director of the school, and Principal Mrs. Charanpreet Kaur, Vice Principal Mrs. Geetu, and Head of the English Department, Mrs. Anju Sabarwal. They asked me a few questions and then I had a final interview with S. Kashmir Singh Thind Ji. After deciding the salary, he said I could join from October 03, 2017. I agreed and he said I may go now. I rose and went towards the exit door, then suddenly I was called back.

Sir said, "Kake, gal sun, tik ke padhaai. Char-panj hazaar vich kuch nahi rakhya. Jadon tusi school baar-baar change karde ho, tuhadi value zero ho jandi hai. Sab kuch phir zero ton start karna painda hai."

In English: "Beta, listen. Teach with stability. There is nothing in four-five thousand rupees more. When you change schools repeatedly, your value becomes zero and you have to start everything from zero again."

Those words got printed in my mind. I pondered, "Will I ever achieve that ideal?"

He gave me a new direction that day. Unfortunately, I resigned after his death, but again I got an opportunity to work in his one more institution, GMT International Public School, under the guidance of Mrs. Amarjit Dhaliwal Ma'am. Here I got clarity and stability. Now I have successfully completed 8 years in this school.

So, today when I was on my way to home, suddenly the image of Kashmir Sir came to my mind — a contented face with a smile.

Finally I achieve his ideal! But it would never have been possible without the guidance and support of Dhaliwal Ma'am.

I am thankful and will remain indebted to both of them.

Three More Holidays: Am I Becoming Like Others?

There is an off for three more days.

Though I mostly don't like holidays, this time, I too feel happy. I felt light, with no morning hurry, no assembly bell, no fear to confront intense and aggressive traffic. Just a quiet relief.

Then a thought struck me — am I also becoming like others? Am I also becoming like most of us in India; that very Indian trait — laziness and procrastination, the joy of postponing work?

Perhaps yes, and perhaps no.

But this is something we all should know: our subconscious acts like the environment we are living in, like the people whom we accompany. If we live with driven people, we become active. If we live with people who count holidays, we also start counting.

That’s why company is so important. It’s not just about good or bad. It’s about analysing the self through the Self.

And this is where discipline comes in. Violence isn't the synonym of discipline and strictness. Values and learning can't be imposed forcefully. They can only be implemented by presenting right conduct in a strict and disciplined environment.

Perhaps that's why we as teachers need to provide an environment where students develop an inclination to learn. Because if we as teachers get affected by our environment, then what about students? Aren't they more vulnerable? They are less mature, have less self-control, and more dominance of Id, which works only on the pleasure principle.

And to understand this is very tough. Indeed, it is.