At a time when children are becoming habituated to mobile phones, calculators and other gadets, sliding beads on wires in a wooden frame - the abacus is gaining popularity among some of the children in Dehradun for learning arithmetic.
Mahendra Bhandari a parent said, “My daughter Alia used to have problems in mathematics. But now she is able to solve math problems swiftly using the abacus. Earlier the same problem use to take her about five minutes to solve but now it takes her some seconds. I now see in her the confidence which was lacking earlier," he said.
Another parent Shraddha Bisht said, “My son was weak in math but now math has become his favourite subject. It was a very quick change after he started using the abacus and now he finds it less difficult to solve problems. I would say that the abacus is an easy and very effective method of learning.”
Vipul, the principal of the organisation ‘Inspiration’ which follows the Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS) said that abacus is one of the basic ways of educating the children in the five to 13 years age group. He said, “People know the abacus as a tool for teaching mathematics which is true in a way as it teaches children about subtraction, multiplication, addition, and division but it not only helps children to learn mathematics but also develops basic arithmetical knowledge in them which is long lasting. Along with this it also helps the children to develop better concentration and inculcate qualities like speed, multitasking and time management.”
He further said, “Our education system is very stagnant. Students go to school and also attend extra tuition chasing high scores. But now the competition is not just about scoring marks but about learning things and that is where abacus helps the students. It is a slow process but I believe that the abacus will soon become more popular.”