Education System in India: Where is it Going?

Education has lost its essence in the recent past. It has become a mere trade-off against
money. The quantity has gained momentum whereas the quality has deteriorated. The
education level of a child has become a matter of pride and honour for the parents. It’s role of
empowering individuals, to be better human beings, is getting diminished with time.

Of late, the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, declared UGC to be one of the most corrupt governing
bodies in the country. Soon after that, there arose an ambiguity concerning the title of
‘Deemed University’.

The above steps have been taken to increase the transparency within this sector. These days,
there is a flood of Institutions in the country, who claim to be the best among all . However,
they are mere tuition centres, who charge huge amounts of fees ( that is charged by regular
students of a University ) and provide degrees, whose validation is under question. Most of
them donot even follow the norms setup by the Governing bodies to attain some minimum
standards.

Moving from the prevalent scenario of higher education to that of the School level education,
the decision that cannot be ignored is that of ‘ Scrapping of Class ten Board examinations’.
The students of class 10 donot have to give Board Examinations. Rather, they would be
marked through a year long process of Grades.

Reason behind such an action is to make the education system more practical and interesting
for the students.

However, my question is that is it really happening ? Is the system able to impart values it is
suppose to ? I donot think so.

Flaws are many. To begin with, lets consider things at the School level. The higher the
amount of fees charged by the school, the better it is. The School to which a child is sent to
influences the status of the parents and family, in the society.

The school level education focuses so much on the mugging up of facts that the child simply
turns into some sort of a learning machine, rather than having some ability to apply thoughts
practically. The pressure from the parent’s side, on the child, to perform extremely well, is
also touching mountain heights.

Moving from the school level to the graduation level, being  a Graduate these days is a
necessary condition but not a sufficient one, as it was earlier. Most of the students who have
already lost interest in studies, take up some course, that the parents ask them to do ( giving
rise to a concept called as PAPA’S GRADUATION ) for the sake of doing their graduation.

At Post Graduate level, there is a huge divide, on grounds of both high cost of Education as
well as lack of good Institutes. Hence, most of the students move out to work soon after
Graduation, rather than studying ahead.

With all the above, what is needed is not a change in one or two areas or levels of education,
but on the whole. A change in the outlook towards this sector is the need of the hour.
Moreover, inclusion of a Practical thought process in the system, is an important factor. The
curriculum of the school should be light as well comprehensive, such that the students
understand what the reality is rather than just being a  mugger. Parents, too play an important
role in shaping the personality of their child. They should not force their wishes on their
children so much so that the children loose their own thought process. The latter should be
given some liberty in choosing what they want to be and do in their life.

The youth of the country, that is already so active and performing so well, can work to the
best of their maximum possible potential and do even better than what they are already
doing. Only if a better system is put in place than one can envisage a bright future for this
nation.

Hema Nagpal