INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
By kishu 2021 The Time For Change
“An investment in knowledge pays you the best interest”.
The role and importance of education system could be best understood by the above lines, because knowledge is something which lasts with you forever. Education is the catalytic tool that has the strength to transform the present and future of the youth and children of a nation. A pre-equipped education is the prerequisite for the smooth, operative and constant growth of a country. A well-established education system serves as a building block for a nation on which the entire socio-economic structure is built up. The goal of a sturdy and effective education system is something which every country cherishes in the present time. India is also running behind this to attain success in the education sector, but with an outdated study pattern. As the current world operates on the principle of ‘adapt or vanish’, similar concept is applied in the field of education too. As it was rightly said by Einstein that“Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”.This is what currently prevails in the education system of the country too. From the time of colonial rule itself we have not moved much from that pattern of imparting education till today which is the root cause of the poor performance of the country in education sector in comparison to the developed nations. The outdated study pattern is the major force which blocks the growth of creative thought-process and out of the box thinking. Lack of practicability is the chief flaw in the education system. As knowledge or education is limited to what is there in the text books. Under this system students are being taught about the old techniques and technologies which are absolutely useless in the current scenario. This is because the text books are not upgraded on time. After Independence, the Indian government paid significant attention in streamlining the educational practices in the country. In 1986 National Education Policy was introduced in the country to fulfil the varying socio-economic needs, with three-layered features i.e. universalisation of primary education, vocationalisation of secondary education and
specialisation of higher education. For this purpose of upgrading the education system
of the country, the notions of the universal primary education, three-language formula
and development of agricultural and industrial education, etc. were also introduced by
the Government of India.
The Central Government’s ‘No Detention Policy’ added in degrading the education
system even further. As per this policy, no student can be detained up to Class 8th
under the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Although as an aftermath, the
policy led to 100% enrolment of students at primary level, but later on, it has been
detected that there are high dropouts at the secondary education level, with the highest
dropout rate being 17% at the Class 10 level.
Contrary to it, in foreign countries education is all about the practical implication of
theoretical knowledge. But the Indian education norms are still stuck to the old story and
put emphasis only on cramming of theoretical aspects, without paying due attention on
its applicability in the real world. However one cannot underestimate the importance of
learning theoretical concepts, as these aid in developing a basic understanding about
the terminologies, etc. of the subject matter.
The need of the hour is that educational framework of the country requires to go through
the process of change and it must cater to the needs of the individuals according to their
abilities and aptitude. In fact emphasis should be given on discovering and nurturing the
talent of the young generation of the nation. In present time there is a need to frame
such kind of education policies which make the people aware about the country at large
together with their surrounding environment.
These days the phenomenon of brain drain is also very much common in India. This
happens because country’s youth is not getting adequate opportunity to exhibit their
talent or in fact they are being debarred from reasonable chances to recognise and hone
their skills. This happens because of some rigid policies of the government, which were
initially introduced to safeguard the interest of minority and also due to rampant
corruption prevailing in the country. Due to this, the fresh talent and young-thoughtful
minds are moving towards developed nations such as the USA, Japan, and Germany,
etc. in search of better opportunities, which in turn leads to outflow of knowledge of India
for the betterment and development of other nations. The irony is that we Indians are
deprived of all those comforts and facilities derived from the scientific researches and
tech-advancement undertaken by Indian scientists in the foreign countries.
As the infusion of young blood is on an upward trend in the country, the youths are
encountering a wide variety of sentiments and hormonal changes, for this suitable sex
instruction is the prime necessity and ought to be actualised by every educational
institution.
As a matter of fact, the educational setup needs to be revolutionised in different aspects,
be it in the form of encouragement and promotion of numerous e-learning platforms, as it
aids in developing a habit of effective utilisation of internet. Because nowadays a major
portion of youth are devoting more than 8-10 hours a day on various social networking
sites, which is obviously not going to add to their knowledge in anyway. Along with this, due emphasis should be given in introducing case-study based questions in every subject (if possible) in school itself as it proves to be helpful in developing better understanding about the concepts in the mind of children. Once there was a time when only hard work paid off but now there is a complete change as this is the era of more practicality and hence more practical approach is being appreciated. This development of practical approach is somewhere missing in current education policies. However, it is not just the sole responsibility of the government and policy-makers to impart world class education to the youth. Change in the outlook of perceiving education can also prove to be helpful in reshaping the entire education system of the country at individual level itself.