‘Rat’ta Race
“Ek hi solution hai tere mushkil ka yaar ratta maar”. The lyrics from the song ‘Student Of the year” is apt to symbolize our degrading educational system. Our Education System is the brand ambassador of “Rat Race” and it only indulges in number game so if your numbers are great you are Albert Einstein otherwise you are “dumb as a doorknob”. The main purpose of education is to educate students and help them appreciate the better points of the knowledge that is being imparted to them. However, that seems to have been shortchanged right now with the added emphasis on grades and marks. Currently the system only tests the size of our human database. Larger the size better your grades. It is basically survival of the ‘mug’gest to be honest. There is clearly no scope for engaging with learning if examinations continue to be designed to reward rote learning. Exams cannot reflect the true personality of the child .For that he has to get exposed to the outer world.
The most apparent failure of our education system is that students are not able to get jobs after completing their graduation in any discipline. It is simply because it is a complete mismatch of the skills that are required in a job market and the education imparted in the college. All that a student is taught in his entire school and college life is almost redundant for job markets.
The system needs to be one that enables students to truly learn what they are being taught so that it is permanently absorbed as compared to being transient for the duration of the exam. It needs to be more long term than what the situation is at present. At the same time it also needs to be practical so that the students’ abilities are properly tested. For example the final year of engineering should completely be kept for live project.
It is important to prepare students for the future instead of having them know too many things that they may not use in the future. The high school (After 8th Standard) is the right time. At this stage the school can have a discussion with the parents on the subjects he has performed well in and hold interviews with them as well as the students and suggest the subject where he or she is likely to excel in future. I don’t know why there is so much of noise over some traditional languages like Sanskrit language in the school curriculum? Certain foreign languages like German or French should be included in the curriculum instead which could be an asset in the future.
India is not too far behind when it comes to student suicide and given the rapid nature of present day life things may only get worse a few years down the line. Perhaps it is the duty of the ones in power as well as the parents and teachers in India to make sure that such incidents are less in number and we have a young generation who decides for themselves their ‘kundalis’ rather than their parents and teachers architecting one. Education system should be designed to make our children successful entrepreneurs rather than opting for a salaried job. Our education system rarely rewards what deserves highest academic accolades. Deviance is discouraged. Risk taking is ridiculed.
Currently, the system is a production house which manufactures robots programmed to do specified tasks.
Disclaimer: The views presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any educational institute.
