The Fallacy Of The Education System In India
The fallacy of Education System in India
We live in a country where the people see education as the only means of climbing the social and economic ladder. Thankfully, we now have enough examples that prove otherwise.
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, David Karp, Pete Cashmore, John Mackey, Bryan Adams, Sheldon Adelson… the list goes on. Back home, we have the likes of Gautam Adani, Subhas Chandra, Vinod Goenka, Azim Premji, Walchand Hirachand and many more who dropped out of formal education system.
If a formal education does not guarantee success, then what does?
Ideally, it should. These gentlemen broke the paradigm through grit, hard work and a keen insight. But what about those who slog just to get that coveted degree. What about their knowledge that they learned over years of schooling?
Obviously, there is something missing in our education system.
Our children are not actually being educated but tested for short term memory levels and obedience. These are the two parameters for grades in exams and homework. Better the compliance, better the marks.
The general education system is focused on examinations, following a global pattern. The focus is not on training students for future by evaluating their knowledge and understanding of the subject. The result is that students are forced to take tests that show only their retention powers. Because of the information overload, the students become increasingly confused about life as a whole. As a result, we have engineers who cannot do actual technical work and we have doctors who treat patients using the internet for simple prognosis.
Modern day education also fails to inculcate moral values and discipline in the young minds that could make them evolve into more responsible human beings. The rising number of crimes and suicides committed by juveniles is proof of the inadequacies of our education system.
A frightening scenario indeed.
Education is a big booming business in India. Together with healthcare, this is one industry that is recession-proof. With the mushrooming of private institutions all over the country, quality of is one factor that is not given its due importance.
In ancient India, to treat education as a business was considered to be a sin. Education was never considered as part of a business activity – but more of a mandatory social initiative. Students were free to choose depending on their area of interest, and nurtured accordingly. The universities at Nalanda, Ujjain, Takshashila & Vikramshila stand proof of this noble cause.
Parents spend their life’s savings or borrowed money in trying to get their children educated, but the children either fail to find the employment of their choice or end up as part of an unrealistic rat-race where there is zero creativity and originality of thoughts. This results in changing of focus to money making only, leading to nuclear families, separations, depression and suicides (physical or mental). Crime rate has also increased as the base was not established solidly during childhood through proper education. We now find major heinous crimes being committed surprisingly by educated youths.
We in India, have the maximum number of doctors, engineers and lawyers; and the best we can do is service the medical, technical and legal departments of others. India is now a Back-office hub of the world. Even the current buzz around entrepreneurship talks of servicing others. We created high end products for others. The Make-in-India slogan might improve our economic strength, but it will also ensure that we remain focused on supporting others.
India has been a land of greats – the land of the oldest religions of the world; the mathematical hub of the world; the scientific cauldron of the world; the oldest universities of the world and the list goes on.
Where has that creativity gone? Why are we still being trained to follow others? Why are we not able to see the obvious? Why can’t we re-invent our education and moral systems? Why do we still have quota system in education that paves the way for disaster? Why can’t we build a better India for the future by bridging the caste, religious and monetary divide that starts at school?
We need a new strong education system in our country and it’s high time that we start doing so.