Posted: November 3rd, 2020
Defects of Education in India
EDUCATION in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation and story-telling etc . Oral language developed into written symbols and letters.
Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC The gurukula system was the ancient system of education. A gurukula is a type of school in India, residential in nature, with shishyas living in proximity to the guru, often within the same house. In a gurukul, shishyas reside together as equals, irrespective of their social standing, learn from the guru and help the guru in his day-to-day life. They did not accept fees ONLY ASMALL GURUDAKSHINA WHICH MAY NOT BE MONETARY. INDIA S ANCIENT GURUKUL SYSTEM IS WORTH EMULATING BY ALL INTERESTED IN IMPARTING EDUCATION.
THE GURUKUL SYSTEMBRINGS A SENSE OF RESPECT AND COMMITMENT FROM THE TEACHERS AND THE STUDENTS Nalanda and Takshishila universities were the oldest university-system of education in the world. Indian education suffered a huge blow as Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British empire. the British so cleverly played their cards that even after fifty years of independence we still continue to exist in a state of stupor, unable unwilling to extricate ourselves from one of the greatest hypnoses woven over a whole nation.
Indian curriculum is criticized for being based on rote learning. Our present day education system gives no chance to creativity. It is marks , grades and competition all the way . It should inculcate good values in the minds of students. Emphasis should also be given on physical and vocational training. Teaching of ethics should be incorporated in the curriculum right from kindergarden through high school. Children should be allowed to choose their own subjects acc. to their interests. They must be made to interact with each other in groups and express their views on various topics.
Instead of taking notes from voluminous books , teachers etc they must be made to get information by themselves and share it with the class. This will help them to develop good analytical skills and reading habits . Children must have practical experience . They can be taken on trips to museums, labs, etc where they can learn by interacting with experienced people. Education is to gain and share knowledge. Sharing without communication is impossible. English should not be banned at the primary level as it remains the global language. Learning hindi, the national language and the state language helps in internal communication.
The system of Education in India should focus on learning and not exams. Unfortunately Education has become a lucrative business destroying the real purpose of itself. The bad quality of education in govt schools have given a thrust to the the rise of commercial coaching classes all over India. Students today hardly think of being a teacher due to less perk… many who are hardly passionate about engineering and medicine are studying just for the sake of getting a fat salary and package along with it. Middle class parents pay what is demanded by the coaching classes, this has alarmingly turned out to b an industry in our nation.
Statistically 25% of the Indian population is illiterate, only 7% of the population that goes to school manage to graduate and 15% manage to make it to high school. 80% of schools are managed by the Govt. , private schools are expensive and out of reach for the poor Another reason for poor quality of education is the poor quality of teachers in government schools . Government schools are unable to attract good quality teachers due to inadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. To improve the quality of education , the government needs to spend more money from its coffers on education.
The really critical aspect of Indian public education system is its low quality. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient in government schools. A common feature in all government schools is the poor quality of education, with weak infrastructure and inadequate pedagogic attention. Conclusion School teachers SHOULD BE PAID high SALARIES and, every care is to be taken that these teachers keep on upgrading. The government should realize that these are the people who shape their future generations.
All over India the syllabus must be same, because partiality occurs between students. . Frankly it would be foolhardy to believe that a syllabus consisting a bit of maths bit of science, arts and literature is a foolproof way to educate whole of India. Our present day system of education can be revamped and changes incorporated by getting a group of experienced teachers from various parts of our country. The task is best done by them and not by a bunch of politicians who do not have any training in education. Hope to see the Indian system of education reach its zenith like it did in ancient times!
