Indian Education System
Education System
“On the stroke of midnight hour, when the world slept, India woke to light and freedom”. These are perhaps the most famous lines ever said by our first and charismatic Prime Minister Shree Jawahar Lal Nehru. A new era was promised by the “Kashmiri Pandit” to the millions of people in India. A promise which, to many, guaranteed a just living environment, equal opportunities in all aspects. The question that I ponder upon is precisely this. In the past 60 years of independence, has India given its people what it initially promised?
One of the foremost and arguably the most important aspect of a developed and just society is the fundamental right of the people of a nation to get educated and make ensure that the next generation gets the best education. This ensures the all round development of a individual which in turn enables him to contribute, in his capabilities, towards the growth of the Nation. Has India, in the past 60 years been able to fulfill her promise under this light?
The Indian education system was drafted along with the Indian penal code in the late 1800’s by the British. Our complete education system is still based and runs, the English way. Today when Indian student are one of the most sought after in the professional world, it is an irony to note that more that 40 percent of our population is still illiterate and uneducated which makes them an easy prey for individuals who thrive and make a living out of fooling these people.
Broadly our education system consists of three sections. The School level education commonly judged by the HSC examination, the senior level education judged by the SSE and the university level education. One of the basic problems, in my eyes of our system is that there is too much diversification and decentralization in our education management. Each state has its own Board which governs the “extent” of knowledge that is imparted to the residents of that state. This in itself imposes the huge problem when that child is judged juxtaposed to a student which comes from a different state because both of them, Irrespective of the same years of education, have a different level of understanding and knowledge primarily because they have been taught in an extremely different way.
The national board CBSE and ICSE do solve this problem to an extent but the extent of its spread is still limited. Both these boards are the preferred study spots of the urban Indian students. The rural India still studies in a traditional environment in a “State” school where the quality of education is nowhere close to what CBSE and ICSE offers. One thing which can solve the problem of “uneven education” is the centralization of education boards. A common plan of study for all would ensure that entire student population of India is taught a common syllabus and moreover a common extent of knowledge is imparted to them.
Another important yet negative aspect of Indian education system is the non availability of high class research centers. Our universities have become a market for the product called a “degree”. This product, so to say, is supposed to ensure that the student gets a job which can provide him(r) with his bread and butter. This is also one of the major problems in my view. A degree is not supposed to be “granted”, it should be “Earned” by a student. Moreover our research and development wing has a pathetic infrastructure and there are way to less research centers to cater to the growing population. Instead of pumping in money in the already established IIT’s NIT’s and IIM’s, the government should set up more such institutes for the masses. This would ensure a greater involvement and our people who have the passion for research but cannot pursue it because of the lack of infrastructure. Moreover, the lack of use of technology in our study system also makes it difficult for our students to understand and ultimately improvise on the knowledge that they have already gained in their childhood or youth. It is also important for our universities to become research centers rather that a degree lending institutes which would help the student population to maintain a interest in their respective areas of curiosity. Unlike the US and the UK where most of the research undergoes at the university level, we in India have universities where people go in to ultimately get a degree and it ends there for most of us. Our curriculum still consists of giving out lectures which would enable the student to pass the term end examinations. Instead of a examination oriented teaching, it would be immensely worthwhile to pursue a knowledge and understanding oriented study. Also, all universities and colleges should ensure that the student gets a all round exposure. It is not only the studies that is important for a all round growth a individual. It is also important to ensure that a student also regularly gets a chance to showcase his or her talents in various fields such as music or arts. It should be the responsibilities of the education institutes to provide such opportunities to the students.
My conclusion says that Indian being a huge country has a massive talent pool. This talent pool should be utilized in the best positive way and the best way to ensure this is to strengthen, centralize and liberalize our education system. Our leaders should be aware of the fact that it is not only the military might of a country that makes a nation a super power; it is the people and the economy which in turn depends heavily on the education that makes a country a super power. It is high time that we realize this and start making an effort to make our way towards a more educated and literate nation, a nation where the spirit of scientific and social enquiry excels.
“On the stroke of midnight hour, when the world slept, India woke to light and freedom”. These are perhaps the most famous lines ever said by our first and charismatic Prime Minister Shree Jawahar Lal Nehru. A new era was promised by the “Kashmiri Pandit” to the millions of people in India. A promise which, to many, guaranteed a just living environment, equal opportunities in all aspects. The question that I ponder upon is precisely this. In the past 60 years of independence, has India given its people what it initially promised?
One of the foremost and arguably the most important aspect of a developed and just society is the fundamental right of the people of a nation to get educated and make ensure that the next generation gets the best education. This ensures the all round development of a individual which in turn enables him to contribute, in his capabilities, towards the growth of the Nation. Has India, in the past 60 years been able to fulfill her promise under this light?
The Indian education system was drafted along with the Indian penal code in the late 1800’s by the British. Our complete education system is still based and runs, the English way. Today when Indian student are one of the most sought after in the professional world, it is an irony to note that more that 40 percent of our population is still illiterate and uneducated which makes them an easy prey for individuals who thrive and make a living out of fooling these people.
Broadly our education system consists of three sections. The School level education commonly judged by the HSC examination, the senior level education judged by the SSE and the university level education. One of the basic problems, in my eyes of our system is that there is too much diversification and decentralization in our education management. Each state has its own Board which governs the “extent” of knowledge that is imparted to the residents of that state. This in itself imposes the huge problem when that child is judged juxtaposed to a student which comes from a different state because both of them, Irrespective of the same years of education, have a different level of understanding and knowledge primarily because they have been taught in an extremely different way.
The national board CBSE and ICSE do solve this problem to an extent but the extent of its spread is still limited. Both these boards are the preferred study spots of the urban Indian students. The rural India still studies in a traditional environment in a “State” school where the quality of education is nowhere close to what CBSE and ICSE offers. One thing which can solve the problem of “uneven education” is the centralization of education boards. A common plan of study for all would ensure that entire student population of India is taught a common syllabus and moreover a common extent of knowledge is imparted to them.
Another important yet negative aspect of Indian education system is the non availability of high class research centers. Our universities have become a market for the product called a “degree”. This product, so to say, is supposed to ensure that the student gets a job which can provide him(r) with his bread and butter. This is also one of the major problems in my view. A degree is not supposed to be “granted”, it should be “Earned” by a student. Moreover our research and development wing has a pathetic infrastructure and there are way to less research centers to cater to the growing population. Instead of pumping in money in the already established IIT’s NIT’s and IIM’s, the government should set up more such institutes for the masses. This would ensure a greater involvement and our people who have the passion for research but cannot pursue it because of the lack of infrastructure. Moreover, the lack of use of technology in our study system also makes it difficult for our students to understand and ultimately improvise on the knowledge that they have already gained in their childhood or youth. It is also important for our universities to become research centers rather that a degree lending institutes which would help the student population to maintain a interest in their respective areas of curiosity. Unlike the US and the UK where most of the research undergoes at the university level, we in India have universities where people go in to ultimately get a degree and it ends there for most of us. Our curriculum still consists of giving out lectures which would enable the student to pass the term end examinations. Instead of a examination oriented teaching, it would be immensely worthwhile to pursue a knowledge and understanding oriented study. Also, all universities and colleges should ensure that the student gets a all round exposure. It is not only the studies that is important for a all round growth a individual. It is also important to ensure that a student also regularly gets a chance to showcase his or her talents in various fields such as music or arts. It should be the responsibilities of the education institutes to provide such opportunities to the students.
My conclusion says that Indian being a huge country has a massive talent pool. This talent pool should be utilized in the best positive way and the best way to ensure this is to strengthen, centralize and liberalize our education system. Our leaders should be aware of the fact that it is not only the military might of a country that makes a nation a super power; it is the people and the economy which in turn depends heavily on the education that makes a country a super power. It is high time that we realize this and start making an effort to make our way towards a more educated and literate nation, a nation where the spirit of scientific and social enquiry excels.
Comments
ive read some books on india before n after british rule, n i dont really agree with the comparisons u made between state boards n isc n cbse. But yes, i do agree, theres a change needed in the mindset of indian masses. We have to improve a lot.