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Education in India

"Education of mind is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think".

-Albert Einstein.

Education is the key to one's transformation in leading one to be a responsible individual. India jumped five ranks in the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI) 2019, as per a report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit grabbing the 35th position globally. India secured a total score of 53, based on three categories – policy environment, teaching environment, and overall socio-economic environment. The country ranked 40th with an overall score of 41.2 across categories in 2018.

The new education scheme launched in 2020 is designed to provide skill-based learning. India has made particular strides in the policy environment with respect to the new national education policy that explicitly mentions future-oriented skills such as critical thinking, communication, and entrepreneurship. 6% of GDP is to be allocated to the education sector alone. The Ministry had also proposed to start a degree level full-fledged online education program along with apprenticeship embedded degree or diploma courses in 150 higher educational institutions which will begin by March 2021.

But will this bring about any change to the existing model of the boring semester system prevalent in Indian universities?

Some of the major problems of the Indian Education system (especially in the higher education sector) are-

1. Privatization of educational institutes and Fee Hike

What is common among countries such as Germany, France, Sweden? Yup! Free education!! Yet a degree from these places is world-renowned. For example, all educational institutes of Germany are Government funded and are always in touch with industries.

In addition to private universities, technical and professional institutes like IIM’s have an expensive curriculum. For instance, IIM’s charge Rs. 2 lakh per semester for MBA classes; most of the Private Engineering Institutes charge around 2 lakh an academic year. It is beyond the reach of the common man. Privatization of higher education has led to the growth of profit-hungry entrepreneurs.

The pandemic hit students hard even in terms of fees where they had to pay for resources they aren't going to use such as sports facilities, library, college WiFi when it is uncertain when the student is expected to return. Students also pay a hefty sum to clear backlogs.

2. Reservation and Scholarships-

There is nothing worse than this! There are several deserving candidates who lose out to a student who has reservations. From a student's point of view and on a personal note, it is not wrong to reserve seats for the backward classes, but at what cost? The cut-off for getting admission anywhere is ridiculously low!! In some cases, it is as low as negative marks wherein technically a candidate simply can write his/her name on the sheet and walk out knowing that there is no competition while students who are from the general category need to slog even more. This extreme advantage reservation candidates get, creates a big hole in the general category student's confidence due to the severe competition.

If there must be a competition, it must be a healthy one and on equal terms.

There is no fault in providing financial aids to such economically backward students. However, it is INJUSTICE when a general category student loses out a seat due to such preferences. There are several students who buy fake caste certificates to gain an edge and there is no system to verify the same.

Another quota which adds to the misery is "DISABILITY". Ask yourselves! Is it really important? In what way has this disability stopped you from studying? It's not that you are blind and couldn't read. I have seen people who have a broken toe/leg or a broken finger in the non-dominant hand getting a PwD certificate and reducing their cut off marks to succeed or gain entry into institutes.

3. Quality of Teachers

This is common not only in Universities but also in rural schools. There is always a fear to ask questions because it may not be taken well by the teachers. There is a sizeable figure of lecturers/profs who fail to answer the doubts of the students and blame the student for their incompetence. As students, let us face it, we've been teaching ourselves. There are very few teachers out there who genuinely teach the subject. A proper system must be introduced to filter out the teachers and train them in general.

Today as much as a professor would claim to lecture in class, it is a mere PPT template that has been running in the department from time immemorial. Several Professors are overqualified on paper but underqualified to teach. What is the point of all those degrees and doctorates if he/she can't teach properly?

Teaching is a gift and having a great teacher is always a boon to a student. Statistically, a student falls in love with the subject even more only if the teacher is amazing! The same teacher is also responsible to make a student feel repulsive towards the subject because of the latter's sloppiness.

4. Outdated Syllabus

What can be more annoying than learning something that has no practical value in today's fast-paced technological world? Even though we have reached wherever we are because of the predecessor tech, too much emphasis shouldn't be given. Modern-day adaptations of the previous concepts must be taught in addition to the archaic method.

5. Getting Certified through various Platforms

As useful it might seem from a knowledge point of view, it isn't particularly useful when it comes to non-circuit courses or even circuit courses for that matter. Students just have to solve MCQ's (to which already they have answers) or a format of repeated questions to clear the course and obtain a "Certificate". Let's be honest, we don't even remember what was taught in the course 2 semesters down the lane due to a lack of opportunity to apply what we learned.

6. Ridiculous Timelines-

Every semester is so tightly packed with tons of pointless assignments, tests, quizzes and what not?. Deadlines from colleges end up with one compromising their personal tasks. A student is bound to have fun during the semester weekends. You can't expect a student to work day in and day out without any period of relaxation by dumping pointless assignments. The student is mounted with unnecessary pressure and in most cases given work only in the last moments.

7. The Attendance Drama

No student will shy away from the fact that the main reason for going to class is to maintain a "minimum" attendance requirement of 75-85%. This bogus rule to ensure that a student has to attend class does not guarantee that he/she is learning in class. The fact that students feel forced to attend class rather than feeling enthusiastic for the same, speaks volumes for itself.

The overall education system is to be blamed. The craze for a few branded courses like engineering and medicine is another thing that our society has to look beyond. The University management is an embodiment of Poor structure and planning and the system is trash in several colleges. No matter which institute, the system is just a lazy lump of corruption. Certain managements do not even work on their student's needs in order to get placed in companies and blame the students for their incompetence. They do not provide the necessary training to the students who later finds a lot of difficulty in seeking a job due to the lack of strong fundamentals. Greedy managements tactfully lure the parents into enrolling their children there. The students thus do not know the value of that course and simply assume that marks, grades, and the degree certificate will enable them to be industry-ready.

The Education Policy 2020 looks promising for the fact it is a good start considering the present scenario. It has its own advantages and disadvantages. In short, academic, vocational and extracurricular activities have been given weightage. As amazing as it looks on paper, its implementation is going to play a key role in the change!

As a society, we must change the notion that having a degree and being qualified are two very different things. You can have a degree but still, be an idiot.

Let us just hope with crossed fingers that the upcoming generations have a better system than ours with the successful implementation of the Education Policy 2020.

#education #india #times of india #thehindu #future #student

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