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The Indian Education System

"Education is the manifestation of the intellect already in man"- Swami Vivekananda
Youngsters in India, do not have the freedom of selecting there career, it is said. They are forced to become engineers, doctors, MBA’s and IAS officers, it is said. Yes, agree. But that is not the problem. The problem is, youngsters in India do not have the vision to think beyond. Neither their parents, nor their grandparents had that vision. This is where the root of the problem is. Generations have gone through a system which sucks. Now the beauty is even the law-makers and educators of today’s India are products of that age old system. That is why no less than a revolution is needed in the education system in India.
Is it marks or intellectuality, which makes future secure and bright? The question is yet unsolved. Who knows whether a chap scoring 90 per cent would have a glittering future or a guy attaining 50 per cent have splendid opportunities? No one can answer this. The reason for this is the failure of India's education system.

Being a bookworm, licking books day and night, sacrificing everything at the expense of enjoyment and then attaining a percentage in the 90s make students feel contented. But this contentment has to be paid for very soon when one realizes that one doesn't stand anywhere in this bloodthirsty world, which is the hard reality of life because world needs practical knowledge, not the theoretical one.


One studies for making his or her career successful, not for the short-lived appraisals by people living around. But Indian education system is cluttered in such a way that even government doesn't know what laws need to be enacted regarding the education system. Constructing a fixed syllabus and setting question papers out of it is the strategy of Indian schools. Why don't they understand that it would not give anything to children at the end? Why don't they focus more on practical or realistic aspects?


Not only schools or government deserve to be blamed, parents are also responsible for this cramming-and-getting-marks approach. The mentality of parents has been set in such a way that they judge their children according to the scores printed in the mark-statement. There is a section of dim-wit parents (I know; I sound brusque) who don't let their children be a part of extra curricular activities because they consider it a wastage of time.
There is a need to understand that the time has changed. We have stepped into 21st century where an employer has nothing to do with his employees academic life, instead, what he recognizes is his aptitude. Gone are the days of certificates and degrees. In fact, skillfulness, resourcefulness, talent and capability are some of the tools, which are demanded in this contemporary competitive world.

Traditionally, Indian education has emphasized on building the scientific temper and linguistic skills. In contrast to the education systems in Western countries, the system lays less emphasis on practical education. Less orientation to practical education is an impediment to on-the-job application and reasoning skills.

Problem-solving and innovation too are not highlighted and this could be one of the contributing factors for the low-risk taking character of Indians. Though efforts are now being made to change the system they are still in a nascent stage to expect drastic changes.

The most popular and sought-after careers in India are engineering and medical sciences. A typical Indian family is known to push children towards science and technology as a choice. Until recently, for students whose choices were not amongst the three main streams, it was difficult to make a career choice. The scene is now changing with myriad openings in streams that are combinations of the core stream subjects. With attractive salaries being offered for the new occupations, the societal impressions are changing, and there is greater acceptance to vocational courses.


In recent times, with the advent of technology, especially the Internet, many new options of higher education have opened up. Bio-informatics, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, technology management, infrastructure management, portfolio management, international business studies are amongst a host of other choices in the technical branches of study. The non-technical area includes fashion designing, office management, fire and safety management and journalism, amongst many more.


India aspires to be powerful, it wants to play a role in the international community, for that to happen, its economy has to grow multi fold and for that to happen, it requires a huge force of entrepreneurs who could transform it into a nation which produces, from the one which only consumes. India needs a huge force of innovators who could make it self reliant in all kinds of sciences and technologies. India needs artists who could make its culture the most popular in the world. A culture which is not only sale-able itself, but also helps in selling India’s products across the world. In a nutshell, India needs Henry Fords, Bill Gateses, Thomas Alva Edisons and Michael Jacksons born and educated in India.


One may say we had few. Yes, we had. M. S. Swaminathan who made India self reliant in food grains, Dhiru Bhai Ambani who proved a common man can become a billionaire, Dr. Varghese Kurien who is the father of Amul milk movement, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who dared to build missiles for India, Pundit Ravishankar who is the ambassador of the Indian music to the world. Such people though in small numbers, were always there. But they are not the products of this education system. This system did not teach them how to become innovators or entrepreneurs or artists. Had it done so, they would have been millions in numbers. These people were inspired themselves. To some of them, their education may have given the technical know-how (though it is hardly conceivable), but not the dream or the inspiration needed. It is the education which should inspire one to become something one really wants to. Education should make you free, should make you experiment and it should make you ask questions. Ultimately, it should make you realize what you are.


The education system has to be revived if India is to be both philosophically and technologically advanced amidst the third world countries. Moreover, parents and students must understand the demand of today's world and must focus more on fruitful facets of life. Students must not limit themselves only to their academic books and must work to become scholars or intellectuals. Otherwise, their future may become dark.


In the words of Swami Vivekananda again, "We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet."

Comments

Sushant said…
I loved your post!! Brilliantly written and a topic brewing in my mind for years and years now.. India definitelly to, and i'll use a different term, "revolutionize" its education system to make the youth and future of India think.

>>India needs a huge force of innovators
Our education system is actually killing this skill as it stops the student from thinking from a very young age, and without imagination and thought no innovators and ultimately entrepreneurs can arise.

Ofcourse there are exceptions. Every rule has exception and this one too. But you can not survive on exceptions. You need a foundation to be built. It is only and only because of the current education system that India will fall just short of becoming a super power.
Kartz said…
@Sushant
Thanks. Yes, I did mean to use the word 'revolutionize', but I felt there has to be a revival first. Let people realize that there is a drastic need for a change. The revolution will follow.

From what I have been hearing- I do not know to what extent it is true, though!- we churn out brilliant baccalaureates. So, there are people lauding our present education system- atleast till the under graduate level. But this has to change. Being a [proud] degree holder myself, I fail to see how long cramming techniques will be the key to becoming a 'bachelor' (pun intended)

Not that I praise other education systems. Just that; we as a nation should keep ourselves abreast with what is happening. And if suppose change demands we focus on entrepreneurship, let's do it! But as you put it, there will always be exceptions.

Peace, and have a nice day.
Tushar Mangl said…
The Indian Education system is in such a deep mess,,,
glad you raised the point.
Also i must chip in that Knowledge is a vital part of Education and its being neglected in a very big way.
Keep up the spirit man!!!
Hope to read many such enlightening posts..
Kartz said…
@tshhar
Thanks...

Yeah, and I graduated from a place where 'knowledge' was restricted to a handful of those involved in the pedagogy. Having heard some 'gurus' speak pearls like "Electrons flow in the direction of current", et cetra, it comes as no surprise to me- the current state of affairs when it comes to our education system.

Anyways... Lets see. Feel free to add to the discussion, everyone.
Priya Joyce said…
**Who knows whether a chap scoring 90 per cent would have a glittering future or a guy attaining 50 per cent have splendid opportunities?

yes completely correct
here I want to say a person can be called successful only if tat person is happy in life.
And I hav seen many of these 90 percenties tend to become reserved ppl in life and ultimately don't njoy life for which they hav worked so hard.
so simple thing is everything shud be done in moderation too much of a thing is not worth.

About the edu system in India I wud only say syllabus is the main culprit and of course parents and peers pressure which ultimately tends to make a saddist out of the stude. The student shud be taught to respect every career every profession so tat no extra prestige gets attached to professions like doctor, engineer and so on.


GOOD POST
Kartz said…
@Priya
Thanks.

Are you sure you mean parents and peer pressure make a student 'sadistic'? Thats something new...

"so simple thing is everything shud be done in moderation too much of a thing is not worth."- how will you define moderate?

"a person can be called successful only if tat person is happy in life."- let us not generalize it. That's your view, and not everyone may look at it in the same way. But yes, you may say- what is success without happiness?

"The student shud be taught to respect every career every profession"- quite correct. Rubbishing careers, study-electives, etc is oft seen.

Have a nice day.
Unknown said…
compared to International education system Indian education system still lacks quality.i read on indianeducationinfo.wordpress.com
that most Indian student's are inclined towards MCa becouz of booming IT industry.
Kartz said…
@Joy
Yeah, that's one reason too.

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