I
have been in the education industry for a long time now.
There
have been instances where I have experienced extreme emotions that I didn’t
understand how to deal with.
Here,
I'm going to talk about a few subjects which we are familiar with in our
education system but have not paid much attention to them.
Let's start with what is rote learning?
I
have seen students wired to think that their success depends on how well they
score in their exams when in reality, there are various factors that influence
the matter of success, where its definition is relative.
This
is known as rote learning, memorizing information only to forget it after the
exams. Such kind of learning practices leads to unclear basic concepts that
might be helpful in the future.
While
we are talking about the future, let's talk about how the government is
striving to bring a change:
Every
person involved in the education industry feels like they are the real victim
of the system:
·
students
in constant stress and being burdened with excess work
·
parents
running with the mindset that their children should score the highest rank
·
teachers
wanting to be paid more for the amount of trouble caused to them
it
might seem like a real circus.
In 2009, the RTE (The Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education) act was implemented according to
which each and every child should be provided free education by the government
up to class 8th. For a country like India, this was a big step. It is mandatory
for schools to maintain a 30:1 PTR (Pupil-Teacher Ratio) according to the act.
This is what India is
doing, but do you know what is going on around the world?
·
Around the world, there
are about 59 million children who are denied education due to various reasons.
And these are just the students eligible for primary school. An approximate of
65 million are denied secondary education.
·
If this number is compared
with the statistics that the Indian government has calculated, we see that
about 3.5 crore children have not been enrolled in the education system.
I bet you did not know
about the education system before the Britishers:
A man named William Adam made a fine
observation that was recorded in the book “The Beautiful Tree”. According to
the book, William Adam observed that the villages in Bengal and Bihar had about
1,00,000 schools in the 1830s. In fact, many other British officials found the
same to be true. Every village having a school or such institutions was common.
Take a look at how our
education system has changed since then:
Taking this into consideration, the
question as to where we went wrong with our system comes into our minds. Now,
even if we decide not to fall into such details, it becomes clear that the
education department should be prioritizing changes in the curriculum,
qualification details, assessment methods, and the participation criteria in
classes.
Talking about assessment methods, it
is a wonder how our methods of teaching have been able to survive for as long
as they have. If we look at how gurus imparted knowledge in ancient times, we
would understand the true meaning of gaining an education. Except for oral
recitation, various other methods like storytelling, practical knowledge,
introspection, critical analysis, etc. were essential for gurukuls. This
doesn’t mean we can’t accept technology and use it for betterment.
Did you know that today, the Indian
education system supports 2% of the global GDP, with 17% global population?
With these numbers, we start to
understand that the urban population is running toward gaining employment
through a more advanced education system. This chase needs to be spread
throughout the country to contribute more than 27% of the global GDP in the
coming years.
To reach this goal, our education
system has started adopting new methods that will ensure a long-lasting impact
on the students' minds.
A more technology-inclusive
system:
Technology can be considered as one of
the best things to have been associated with education. It has become possible
to open up the educational resources for students who cannot reach the schools.
Along with that, through personalized learning, the teaching approach can be
altered according to the need of a specific student.
This could drastically reduce the
drop-out ratio (23% in the nation's capital, according to the 2011 census) all
over the country. Along with that, bringing about a reform in the importance
given to ranks/scores/marks throughout the school and college life of a student
could take off significant amounts of the burden from their shoulders.
Jumping over a hurdle to
reach our goal:
The fact that Indian children move out
of the country for higher education just goes to show that majorly two things
need to be changed:
·
The level of education and
its quality
·
The need to memorize
information rather than understanding it practically
That being said, such information cannot
be generalized. There are various schools and universities around the country
that are striving to provide the education our young generation deserves.
Educational institutes that provide
top-notch education, to its students, produce the kind of students who are not
only book-smart but show great traits of being aware of the applications of the
theory they were taught. Students who are well articulated in the art of
speaking can form opinions that are not only unbiased but show a great degree
of thoughtfulness.
It has also come to my attention that
students who are given information by making it relevant to them, in various
ways, make it easier for their brain to retain it, and use it wherever
necessary. Take into account teaching history. Coming up with ways that can
give them a first-hand experience to the incidents will ensure that the
incident sticks with them.
Slow and steady wins the race:
Using innovative ways for teaching has
been a major influencer on generating curiosity in students. This doesn’t have
to limit to schools and colleges. Education and knowledge can be imparted by
parents and relatives as well to ensure that a child craves for new information
every day.
Education
has to be one of the largest industries in the research field. Reforms have
been altered, courses have been changed, and many initiatives have been taken
up to formulate a stable structure of the education industry.
While
the education system will always face some amount of criticism, the fact that
the education system in India has come a long way since British rule, cannot be
ignored.
The
education system shall improve, one day and one student at a time, and it shall
grow to become a system that surpasses all expectations!
Author Bio:
The writer is a career
mentor and motivational speaker. Currently, he/she works as a professor at St.
Kabir Indian International School, Gujarat. The school ranks among the top CBSE schools in
Gujarat.
