REFORMING EDUCATION SYSTEM
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| OUR FUTURE - IN THEIR HANDS - THEIR FUTURE - IN OUR HANDS |
PART-3
Reforming Education System is the most urgent and important need in India today.
In 2 parts earlier, we examined -
(1)What Great people think of Education system,and,
(2) The Need to build Character through Education system.
In this third Part, we will examine in brief, the need to build contemporary Life skills into the Education system.
The Education System that we have built up in India - is perhaps the most LIFELESS, PURPOSELESS Education system that ever existed in this country.
Many people think, that this scholastic, generalist Education, with no focus on life - was introduced by the British, when they ruled India - to manufacture clerks and interlocutors whom they needed, to govern India.
And, the same system continues till this day, with minor modifications.
It doesn't teach a single Life skill. At the end of 12 years of grueling education, students find that they know almost nothing - on how they can earn their living or live a purposeful life.
Our Education system doesn't teach anything worthwhile about contemporary India, its problems, possible solutions, its immediate neighbors its relations with them and such other important contemporary history, geography and contemporary problems.
It does not make an iota of endeavor to promote Nationalism, patriotism, love of all people in the nation, irrespective of religion, region, caste, creed, state and so on.
Most students don't even know -
(i) the districts in their state and their capitals.
(ii) the states and their capitals.
(iii) their fundamental rights and responsibilities.
(iv) how parliament and legislatures must function ( not how they are actually functioning)
(v) their rights and responsibilities vis a vis the other people traveling on Roads by their side , living in their neighboring houses and such other basic, common sense concepts.
(vi) how a Post office, a Bank, a Taluk office, a collector's office or a magistrate court functions - and what services they render to people.
But, students know who ruled India 1000 years before and how. And this history is HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE and inaccurate. What one or two men thought - has become history in most cases - much against what most Indians knew as their ancient history.
India has certain heritage problems - like the CASTE SYSTEM. We all think that this system is not the best thing to retain today. We know that.
The caste system could have vanished very easily and all people could have been made to feel the oneness of India very easily - through the medium of the Education system.
This could have been accomplished DECADES AGO.
Instead, India is perpetuating the caste system through reservations and many other caste-preserving legislations.
The CASTE SYSTEM had some real use in ancient days. Likewise. the Reservation system now does give some benefits to some deserving people.
But, overall, if CASTE system could be made to disappear from our minds, while taking care of ALL THE POOR, the Nation could have reaped much larger, more significant long term benefits by now.
Its small benefits apart - the caste and caste based reservation systems have divided India and Indian psyche very badly. The benefits they have given are minuscule compared to what could be obtained by abolishing the CASTE SYSTEM smoothly through the Education system and implementing a poverty based Reservation system.
Telling some people that they are inherently inferior or superior compared to some others is the most unscientific brainwashing that went on in the name of caste system in the past; and THE VERY SAME BRAIN WASHING is now going on in the name of RESERVATION SYSTEM. It is dividing people into two warring camps wholly unnecessarily;
No doubt, India has great heritage and that great part of the heritage needs to be preserved. That could be done very well by all combined - rather than all divided.
The Vedas and Upanishads are great. I do not have an iota of doubt about that. Many other Indian ethos and systems are very great. But, their preservation works well, if all minds unite, and all feel equally participative.
This is one Benefit of Education, which India is missing out - for too long, wholly unnecessarily. Our Education must introduce this concept of National Integration - TODAY. It was needed 66 years ago. It is late now - but at least now, we must wake up to this need.
Second, basic life skills are not taught in our Education, but they are a MUST.
Like cooking skills. It is horrifying that neither Boys nor Girls either know or have interest in this, most simple, basic, important life need of COOKING. Do we know that many divorces today hinge on who should cook at home? Many mother in law - Daughter in law hate-fight-alienation is precisely due to this lack of interest of the D-in-law in cooking? Many National problems will vanish if both Boys and Girls know cooking well.
If only Boys and Girls are both taught cooking skills at school and their interests are kindled in this life-skill, many, many household problems will vanish very easily and life of all in the homes will improve a lot.
Not only that, cooking is a science. it must be treated as such; and it must be vastly improved in India. Our Education system must invest in R&D of this cooking science. As human beings, we do not live for food alone; but we can't live without food. It is one of the great pleasures and needs of life.
Right now, cooking that happens in most homes is thoroughly unscientific, unhealthy and not also tasty. People who cook and serve - do not know the art and science of it. Even serving must and can be done with pleasure and not as a hateful part of life.
All this must become an integral part of the Education system. There must be half a day cooking class in each fortnight of the school study - at school.
Sports and Games must be an essential, INTEGRAL part of the education. Every day-one hour must be devoted to physical education, meaning sports and Games. Today, most Indians are addicted to games like cricket - that too, not playing, but watching. This should change. We must have body building, skill building, strength building sports and games. Indians, boys and girls both, must understand the need to be healthy and strong. Sports also must promote Unity. These must be played - scientifically - and AT SCHOOL, in school time.
How many of the readers know that, over 50 years ago, when we were at school, our sports abilities were tested like in an examination, marks are awarded and these find place in our marks certificate Books - for each class from 8th onwards - and given to us when we pass out from school. That was not sufficient. But, we have now abolished even that system now totally. It is really sad that our contemporary education has no focus on the essentials of the Education system.
All study and no Play makes Jack a Dull Boy. This is the ancient proverbial wisdom - but not learnt and practiced in Indian education system in the last 2 - 3 decades.
In India, health is taking huge beating. Students especially are getting into a mess as far as health is concerned. Drinks, drugs, a bad life style with addiction to TV, computer etc is ruling their lives. Cricket especially is making them lazy watchers of the sport - rather than making them players. We need sports like foot ball, volley ball, tennis, weight lifting, pull-ups, gymnastics, and Yoga - all of which enhance the students' physical and mental health. I am not against cricket - but I am against India as a whole, wasting time, merely as watchers of cricket. We don't see any other nation, wasting so much time in merely WATCHING CRICKET. This should change.
Food and health apart, the next most important thing to be introduced in our curriculum is - lateral, creative and objective thinking techniques. A thinking student can learn, retain and use every thing in life much better. A thinking student will move faster towards wisdom - rather than a student who merely memorizes answers to standard questions, repeats them in examinations and secures marks. Our Education system, and more especially, our examination system, must move on to testing the thinking abilities of students rather than their memorizing abilities only. Both are needed - but thinking abilities are more important of the two.
In examinations, every question is a memory related question and not a thinking related question. All questions - or at least 75% of them - must be thinking related questions. This must change immediately.
The unfortunate paradox today is - many students get depressed if they don't get a few marks more, and some even commit suicide. This tragic stupidity has to be attributed to the shallow education that does not teach thinking skills and values of life.
There are many common life skills that students need. Basic fixing of electrical and electronic gadgets need not wait for Post school specialist trainings. Planting of trees and taking care of them also need not wait. In fact, many such skills are never taught now at school.
Every home has a TV, computer, Telephone, mobile etc today. Why not teach the use of their Basic parts - at school. We find, Engineering Graduates not knowing how to fix simple things in any of these. We all need these basic skills useful in every day life.
I have mentioned a few, most important of such skills. there are many others like this - either equally important or more important than these.
We will see them in another part.
I request readers to discuss, debate and ensure that - together, we reform our education system quickly. I seek all of your views.
Yours
=v.vijayamohan
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