TOWARDS CHANGE
She broke all norms. She gambled with life. Her son’s life to be precise. The stakes were high. And she won. And we were left with awe and envy at her victory. After her son completed his tenth std she took him out of school and put him in a reputed tutorial. When the results were out last sweltering June, her son had got through to one of India’s prestigious IITs although his Board exam (which he gave in private) results were nothing to write home about. Yes it was a definite personal victory. But beyond that victory lies a sense of shame for all of us. It has proved conclusively how redundant the Indian education system has become. On the other hand there are incidents (numerous I’m sure) of students scoring in their nineties yet unable to get through even the prelims of competitive exams. Thus we have come to a sad turning point in our history. Do we really need to send our children to school? And that too at a point when schools all over India are gradually abandoning their co- curricular progammes to lay more emphasis on academics. So where does that leave us?
Things can’t be any worse. The authorities must realize that the syllabus of any Board has to be revised to keep up with the requirements of the times. Things are happening so fast in all fields. The world is no more a closed oyster. Technology is making giant strides. So shouldn’t the base of all social institutions-the education system make effective changes. To begin with, we definitely need one uniform Board to do away with discrepancies, which play favourites with students’ lives. In which other country would you find the toppers of two different states having a difference of percentages like a 97% and a 75%. And then what happens when admissions to reputed institutions are based on these results? To be very practical in today’s India, education should be all about learning skills to be able to be economically independent immediately after matriculation. This will make education more meaningful and practical. Higher education should be an option for the academically inclined only.
Herein lies the requirement of a new player in education- the industry. The industry, I feel should be roped into the field of education by conducting summer camps, workshops, panel discussions, quizzes, exhibitions, competitions, debates, part time jobs. Let me cite an example of how this will improve the quality of school life as well as do away with the excessive stress factor that a student is now facing. Say for example a student is good in drawing and not so academically bright. Now what happens in today’s scenario? He is derided for his “worthless” pursuit and is pressurized to better his grades whereby his latent talent is deleted and blocked. He later becomes a social misfit. But if an interior design house or an architectural firm or an animation graphics agency (invited by the school authorities), spots the talent, nurtures it, counsels and channelizes it, this same student develops a healthy self-esteem, is absorbed into industry and probably does much better than his batch mates. Thus let the students be exposed to the competitive world in the safe and secure school environment. Let them abandon petty and unhealthy competition amongst themselves and arm themselves with skills to take on the larger world. Let education and industry work closely to lessen unemployment, to increase the joy of learning and make education practical and viable.
There is no time like the present to break free from imperfections and substandards in our quest to improve the quality of life of the student community. It is our right. It is our responsibility to actively participate in the movement towards change in a field, which holds the key to the solution of a lot of problems: unemployment, population explosion, rising rate of suicides and homicides, intolerance, communalism, terrorism. Is anybody listening?
Things can’t be any worse. The authorities must realize that the syllabus of any Board has to be revised to keep up with the requirements of the times. Things are happening so fast in all fields. The world is no more a closed oyster. Technology is making giant strides. So shouldn’t the base of all social institutions-the education system make effective changes. To begin with, we definitely need one uniform Board to do away with discrepancies, which play favourites with students’ lives. In which other country would you find the toppers of two different states having a difference of percentages like a 97% and a 75%. And then what happens when admissions to reputed institutions are based on these results? To be very practical in today’s India, education should be all about learning skills to be able to be economically independent immediately after matriculation. This will make education more meaningful and practical. Higher education should be an option for the academically inclined only.
Herein lies the requirement of a new player in education- the industry. The industry, I feel should be roped into the field of education by conducting summer camps, workshops, panel discussions, quizzes, exhibitions, competitions, debates, part time jobs. Let me cite an example of how this will improve the quality of school life as well as do away with the excessive stress factor that a student is now facing. Say for example a student is good in drawing and not so academically bright. Now what happens in today’s scenario? He is derided for his “worthless” pursuit and is pressurized to better his grades whereby his latent talent is deleted and blocked. He later becomes a social misfit. But if an interior design house or an architectural firm or an animation graphics agency (invited by the school authorities), spots the talent, nurtures it, counsels and channelizes it, this same student develops a healthy self-esteem, is absorbed into industry and probably does much better than his batch mates. Thus let the students be exposed to the competitive world in the safe and secure school environment. Let them abandon petty and unhealthy competition amongst themselves and arm themselves with skills to take on the larger world. Let education and industry work closely to lessen unemployment, to increase the joy of learning and make education practical and viable.
There is no time like the present to break free from imperfections and substandards in our quest to improve the quality of life of the student community. It is our right. It is our responsibility to actively participate in the movement towards change in a field, which holds the key to the solution of a lot of problems: unemployment, population explosion, rising rate of suicides and homicides, intolerance, communalism, terrorism. Is anybody listening?
Comments
incredible. It seems that you're doing any distinctive trick.
Furthermore, The contents are masterpiece. you've done a fantastic task in this subject!
my page ... find more