I will talk about that category of students who are not brilliant in the subject but neither are they average or a total loss but somewhere below average.

We tend to lose them on the way because there is no cure if they fall behind.

The class teacher cannot handle every situation. So I propose to have supplementary teachers in the subject in question or maybe, an assistant teacher if it is a primary school.

The class teacher refers the student to this teacher and medicine is given there and then. The medicine may be just one session or it may be longer.

What is happening is that the failures pile up and never catch up. Our educational system is too bureaucratic and rigid to handle such situations.

Also, the school should take a more leading role in taking professional decisions. It is done in consultation with all stakeholders but, ultimately, it is the professional who decides what therapy is needed.

Discipline and order should be enforced, especially the handing in of homework in secondary schools and teachers should feel they are being backed. This does not mean there should be no checks and balances.

Multiple intelligences are not being celebrated. The children should feel they are celebrated. Encouragement contributes much to success.

We see children failing because they do not know the three Rs. Sports, physical exercise, drama, music, dancing, science and the care of the natural environment, religion, etc. should be main subjects too.

A great friend of mine and one of my best teachers says that teachers teach in class what is examined in examinations.

So we should invest more in the setting up of examination papers that test comprehension.

Some examinations are rote; they only test what can be learnt by heart without testing whether the student has understood.