This comes in direct response to the post put by Kartz on the education system of India,not that I don’t feel that the system needs a “Revolution” or a “Revival”, but I think, without understanding why we have such a system in the first place, trying to change it on the basis of its shortcomings purely may not necessarily lead to a more fulfilling educational system.
Let’s start with analysing the socio-economic condition of a majority of our population. A family that barely manages to scrape through the last days of a month does not think about living in palaces, rather their every waking moment is spent thinking on how to ensure a safe and decently comfortable future for themselves and their children.Their primary aim with regards to their children is to see them clear their courses and become capable of earning a decent living.This does not imply that they dont want their children to be the next Tendulkar or Kalam, it merely means that they want to first see to it that their children become capable of standing on their own legs, and then later if they can,then follow their dreams.Why ? Is it because they don’t have faith in their child’s potential? No,It’s simply because they don’t have a good enough “Risk appetite”.
“So ? How does this justify our present system of education”,will be the obvious question in your minds,so read on..
The current education system is faced with two major problems.
1) The lack of infrastructure and funds.
2) Lack of opportunities for non main stream courses in our economy.
One can always come forward and debate over the fact that the first problem mentioned above is not really a formidable one and can be easily achieved via funding from the government and other sources.Agreed,but can a majority of the people afford the cost of such an education?? What I am implying is that there is a certain cost involved in making the education system more practical oriented rather than theoretical, even if we can establish the infrastructure, can we keep it running? Think about the majority of ppl here,those who scrape through the last week of a month and not the well to do families in the metros.The harsh answer is “No”! They cannot afford it, and if we have schools which have the infra and the funding to provide such a medium of instruction,and they have students whose families can afford it,well and good,let them implment such a system alongside with following the norms put down by the boards of education.Its not forbidden by law, is it ?
Secondly,I am myself a person who supports the concept and implementation of co and extra curricular activities in a school to bring out and further hone the skills and talents of a student,and am against a kind of a system which concentrates on mostly making every other student an engineer or a doctor.Whatever I may support, I have to ask one question however.Does a system that lets a child grow holistically and provides him with a wide variety of decisions, have enough sources which engender opportunities that can sustain these students ??
I am talking of fields like music,sports,arts etc.How many of these fields can assure you of a decent living, an assurance that comes somewhere near to the assurance you get after having a btech of Be degree or an MBBS ??Nowhere near that,and this is one reason majority of the arents do not encourage their children or the schools to conduct such activities.They do not have the risk appetite.
The fact is that our education system does have certain flaws but are they really that grave ?Has it really killed innovation? I dont think so,it might have lowered the rate but certainly has not dented it to a great extent because we are here and we are writing and thinking about it and many other things and we are products of this very system and believe me you we are no exceptions.The system may have its flaws but it caters to the primary need of our society,which is to make us capable of earning a decent life and stand on our own legs.The scenario will change slowly and the economic conditions will as well and when that happens you will see changes in our education system.We need to understand that people out there who make these decisions do not always lack common sense.
7 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
lack of funds is not the only reason for no infrastructure development in college… the managements collect capitation fee or in some states the tution fee is as high as 1.5 lakhs per annum .. so wher does all these money go ? moreover u can encourage industries to set up their labs in coll … it wil help both the industry as well as coll ..
also indian education system is not like US edu system .. ther the alumini contributes to the univ .. ther are several examples of ppl leavin their property to the univ after their death .. moreover the edu system needs a revamp .. i am against this system of keepin a final exam .. a person should be continuously assessed n not based on just an exam at the end of yr..
even though students opt for streams like mech , civil , chemical engg ,etc whic r non IT related fields , they r content with joinin IT companies .. wats the point of doin engg in core fields then … its as gud as wastin for 4 yrs of life doin ur bachelors degree …
Regardin the education at 11th n 12th std level , its pathetic for those who r tryin for engg or med seats.. eamcet , iit , bitsat , etc… ppl just muggin up watever is ther in guide n tutor … college, coachin class n wat not they attend … i know ppl who used 2 slog from 5 am to 11 pm durin Intermediate time .. y is it not possible 2 either keep a common test for all engg branches ? moreover u must be judged on ur performance in subjective test .. n not in MCQ wherin u dont have 2 know the concept to get it right .. half the problems r solved by substitution of answers …
ppl r not going to become innovative with this kind of education system .. children should be encouraged to think differently from their school days itself .. encouragement should be given to the kids who have an interest towards other curricular activities .. unless something is done from the grassroot level itself , the std of edu is only gonna deteriorate…
Good post!
Our system has one of the highest standards worldwide,but what it lacks is practicality.If that could be changed,coupled with the amazing amount of theory,it would become the best worldwide
@sreedhar ..
I will not say that anything you stated above is incorrect.. because it is not … but you have highlighted the same point i stressed upon ..by saying that even mech and civil guys are happy with IT jobs … because it is a source of livelyhood and decent future for many … lets understand that a majority of a population is not blessed like we are … and sreedhar i will con test the innovation part though .. i know many of my pals including you are innovative and are nurtured by this very system..
@sameera .. yes you are right about that .. we do have very high standard when it comes to the syllabus we cover … but its the practical knowledge thats lacking
glad u liked it
hey sid
nice to see ya’ve moved
abt the eucation system, i liked how ya’ve made ya analysis..
i have one thing to say- i dunnowhy india is still stuck to mainstream conventional education!
i mean why not encourage more children to become ice sculptor,s a radio content writers, celebrity pr’s n sooo on? why is that we’re restricted to engineering/medicine..
well, on the up -side, things are changing n the country is broadening its horizons, with international exposure , combined with extreme indigenous talent:)
let’s cheer to a diversified youth in the future!!!
education*
@ jane thanks and welcome here
Well in response to that question, its because we dont really have avenues which willl give a decent livelihood to a sculptor in this age of industrialisation .. as an art you have to be a grreat one to earn a living … so you see its the economics that plays the role