AS A STUDENT...

I am a student, and a part of the present day Indian education system. Hence, I am thoroughly exposed to the benefits and flaws of the system. As an intrinsic part of the whole affair, its flaws naturally seem magnified in comparison with its benefits (the negative is always the mountain and the positive the suggestive dawn behind it!). Also, the information and ideas I have of other education systems in the world, such as those in the USA and the UK, makes them seem more superior to the one prevalent now in our country. But, this would be a biased judgment, as I have no first-hand knowledge of the systems there. The lack of complete knowledge prevents me from drawing any conclusions based on any comparisons I may make between them. And, anyway, the grass always seems greener on the other side!

As far as I can see, there is no established system in this world that is completely flawless; be it on the political, cultural, economic or scientific scenario. In such a case, one would not expect the education system, which lies as a root and a consequence of the rest, to be an exception. However, I am of the strongest opinion that the number and intensity of the negatives in the current education system can be reduced. Note that I am dealing only with the Indian one in this article.

We all know that the literacy rate in India is comparatively low and has been struggling to rise. Coupled with poverty, unemployment, population explosion etc, we enter the ever-so-famous vicious circle of economic and social degradation. I shall not deal with that here. The government, NGOs and many investors are taking steps towards improving the situation, and I shall not concern myself with that part of the system, though it being one of the pithiest parts. What I am going to do in this article is to portray my views drawn out of personal experience in the profit-making private schools of the urban areas, their methods and what I would like to change about them.

We are seeing a marked rise in the number of graduates our country is producing, and most them come from private schools and institutes of higher studies. In the light of India fast emerging as a global power and more and more Indians going abroad and representing our country, strong and practical methods of imparting education is a must.
The basic learning required to pass most of the exams today can be done by rote, and that is all that is asked of the students mostly. Understanding is not the focus of the system, as far as I can see. This kind of system highly benefits the truly interested, who make an extra effort to understand, and also learn by rote, as is required for the examinations. So, they have the most benefit. But the majority, who does not bother to “understand” (as they can get by just as well with only rote-learning), are at a loss, unseen at this stage, but felt later in their work-environments. Thus, the system has its positive side, but felt most only by the very dedicated.

The quality of teachers is not very good, either. It is not specific to “this” system alone; and is a major drawback. This happens in the public and private sector of education. There is another vicious cycle involved here. Bad teachers lead to drop in interest on the part of the student, which means low performance, thus less competence, and hence low probability of getting a good job. At the same time, there is an acute lack of teachers in the society. More demand and less supply leads to employment of lower quality teachers. The ones who don’t have great jobs resort to this profession as a last hope and there we go, more bad teachers...I guess you get the picture...and the vicious cycle is established. There are few people who are passionately interested to teach and take up their jobs as a teacher. You should consider yourself very lucky even if you have one such teacher. Such is the lack of good ones! In your life, if you don’t come across even a single good teacher (the probability of which is very high), then you tend to draw the conclusion that the term “teacher” itself connotes something negative, and hence, you might be unwilling to get into that profession. It becomes a kind of dogma; teachers come to be looked upon as pedagogues, and one cannot blame you for your impression, as it is probably the truth! (That exceptions do exist, we must remember.)

This problem is prevalent at all levels of education; primary to the doctorate level. Only, it’s much more damaging at the primary and secondary levels, as teachers form an essential part of a child’s development. The spirits of thousands of kids are destroyed everyday by the irresponsible and I-don’t-give-a-damn-about-these-kids attitude of hoards of teachers. The kids are left unmotivated and lose their interest in their most essential work at that stage – studying and understanding. This leads to a moral corruption and overall depravity.

We hardly see innovation these days. Even with the invent of multimedia, teachers here are slow to catch up. Most of them still rely on age old methods of droning in front of the blackboards, only concentrating on how soothing their ‘lullaby’ is! We are discouraged to ask questions, thus crushing our curiosity; we are not encouraged to prove the science fundas we learn through experimentation (there is not enough time, you see), classroom discussion is hardly encouraged (same reason) - overall personality grooming? (OH FORGET IT!!) I don’t need to tell you how bad teachers can be, I’m quite certain you would have experienced it first-hand.


Certain other shortcomings I have taken note of are the choice of career streams one has to make at a very early stage, at the end of class 10 itself, when one is hardly knows where one’s real interest lies. One is forced to choose between the science, arts, and commerce streams, when one is hardly prepared to make decisions, especially affecting one’s course of life…
Also, there are numerous syllabi (CBSE, ICSC and each state with its own different syllabus) operating in the country at the school level, and the disparity in the content and level of each causes much confusion. Also, the syllabi themselves are politically motivated and altered. Every time, a new party comes to power, we see a change in syllabus! It calls for a unification of boards and moderated alterations.
What a child is really interested in is almost never taken into account. There is no flexibility of subjects, in school, pre-university or college levels. If you take up science in the PU level, then the whole focus is only on science, which is naturally as it is intended to be. But I feel that this should not be the case, as most of us are interested in more than just one particular field, such as science, or arts, or commerce. There should be more choice and more combinations.
There is an immense amount of latent talent. But the lack of teachers and the lack of interest in them fail to recognize it. Overpopulation is the reason for this.

We must realize that if these vicious cycles are removed, then the country is bound to improve for good. The overall outlook towards life of the future citizens of the country will improve, thus naturally increasing the productivity of our Nation. As all these problems are entwined in a crooked mess and a vicious circle, any difference can be made only if we take off tangentially from it. A team of morally responsible persons with a fire to make a difference must emerge ( I think it has already started emerging, as I do see many nowadays interested to teach, their own experience of bad teachers being one of their prime reasons!!). Politics will definitely come into the picture, hindering the process as much as possible, but it can be overcome. If the cause is right, for progress, for the better and is taken-up with dedication and perseverance, it WILL succeed, come what may!

BY BHARGAVI