Abacus in Chandigarh

The enterprise kicked off with a lot of support from the parents and the SIP franchise officials. It was one of the most popular activities on campus for some time. But within a few months, the number of students started to drop. And somehow, the mathematics of running it as a welfare activity didn’t prove to be very fruitful.  Ultimately, we had to close the enterprise.

It hardly mattered to me then as I wasn’t a parent. Until one day I met a group of parents whose children were still continuing with the classes at a center 40 kms away from the station. The parents used to take turns to drop the children due to their busy schedules. They blamed the poor administrative arrangements and my lack of interest in popularizing the activity for the added burden on them. Feeling hurt, I took it upon myself to restart the enterprise once again. This time there were two very strong lobbies of opinion amongst the parents about the abacus. 
Lobby in favour of Abacus said:
1. Children liked this activity. Parents could see the results of doing it in their child’s performance.
2. It made mathematical calculations easy.
3. It laid stress on basic concepts of arithmetic: BROD MAS ( Bracket open, Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction)
4. It helped children to visualise numbers with the help of abacus ( a Japanese instrument with beads) in the beginning. And then slowly, enabled them to do mental calculations.
5. It progressed step by step concentrating on one competency at a time,say, addition & subtraction of single digit numbers, then double digit and so on.
6. It helped to bridge the gap between school curriculum and the students’ abilities/needs.
7. It removed the fear related to large Mathematical calculations with practice.
8. It made children competitive amongst their own age-group as they participated in competitions at many levels. 
9. It was financially viable and conducted inside a classroom.
10. It did not need any fancy accessories except an abacus and writing material.
11. It is better than sending children for expensive mathematics tuition at a later stage. 
12 The sooner the child starts the better.

Lobby against the Activity said:
1. It was not an Indian method of teaching/learning Mathematics. Vedic Mathematics would be a better option.
2. It meant an additional burden on the child as the method was totally different from what was taught in schools.
3. Children of older age group got confused as to which method they would follow in exams.
4. In fact, it was of no or little help for higher classes as their levels were only limited to calculations of sums. There was no co-relation of this method with practical problems in mathematics. It couldn’t help to teach my child linear/ quadratic equations. 
5. Its focus was only on speed and accuracy of arithmetic calculations. It did not focus on other competencies of Mathematics.
6. Parent could not be of any help to the child till the time they learnt the method.
7. Parents would not be able to know/crosscheck the learning of the child and would have to believe whatever the teacher said. 
8. Amongst the various franchisees of abacus too there was no universality. Say, the methods used by SIP are different from those used by SEMAS/ Brainobrain and so on. 
9. There was no guarantee that the child could continue this activity in the next station. So there was no reason to burden the child with an additional skill. 
10. It was an indoor activity which taxed the child of the mind instead an outdoor activity like Martial Arts would be much preferred. 
11. There is no need to make children face competition at such an early stage.

Although many parents will find nothing great in her doing so as she gets all the financial benefits through it. Yes, very true. But she doesn’t make it so obvious. She doesn’t just benefit from the parents’ capital but also knows how to provide them and their wards infinite opportunities to excel, celebrate and grow in life.