Jun 07, 2016 04:59 PM
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(Updated Jun 14, 2016 12:32 PM)
In a country where the Right to Education is a fundamental right, inefficient application and weak institutions have stolen the essence of the right itself depriving millions of quality education in the country. Corporal punishments banned by the law continues, the no detention policy and the continuous evaluation system envisaged in the law has been misused to the extent that even children studying in higher classes are unable to read or understand basic concepts. The Indian education system needs an overhaul and its high time we realise that.
A child's ordeal starts from pre-school where he is asked to appear for an interview at an age when he/she is unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation. By the time they enter primary school their bags start outgrowing them, some end up carrying backpacks heavier than themselves
Children are hardly taught to think freely, they are pushed to conform with the prevailing norms of the society killing individual initiative right in its bud. You can rote your way to the top of academic ladder. Textbook definitions are more important than your understanding because its about acing exams and not learning anything. Hence, parents help children to cheat in exams.
75% is no longer a decent score. 90% is the cut-off, you being in the general category cannot keep up because your caste determines your merit and your seat. Reserved get a preference over deserved. For those with no caste certificate, money can buy a seat as well as a marksheet but that cannot buy you an IQ - Bihar state topper thinks Political Science is about cooking.
Textbooks instead of clearing stereotypes solidify them, facts are distorted and sometimes even erroneous. Delhi University textbooks describe Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a "revolutionary terrorist." Children textbooks portray fair as beautiful and dark as ugly. Talk about racism. Gujarat and Rajasthan University books describe mythological figures as historical.
The Social Taboo: Sex education is banned on "moral" grounds in the most populous country. No subject is as important as Math or Science. Acing in literature is "fine" but scoring less than Sharmaji's son in Maths is "not fine". You should be ashamed if your neighbour/peer scores more than you. No career other than engineering or medical has a "scope". Hence, in India you figure what you want to do after you become an engineer. An engineer ends up as a writer, an electronic engineer ends up working in IT. And when unable to cope with pressure or meet the expectations, the student takes his own life.
Its a widely understood fact that intermingling between genders in an educational environment helps create a gender neutral mindset required to uproot patriarchal norms. Some of our institutions think otherwise, in Chennai, co-ed colleges have separate staircases for boys and girls (Rest in peace, Gender equality) A girl is accused of "developing bad habits" if a boy helps her in project. A behaviour in-charge'berates' students for violating rules like talking to the opposite sex or not wearing a salwar-kameez with a v-shaped dupatta pin-tucked on both sides (Heights of moral policing)
Gone are the days when our teachers set lofty standards for their students. The ills of plagiarism has afflicted even the noblest profession. UGC grades professors based on the papers they've published which are most of the times plagiarised because they end up in magazines/journals with no credibility.
The apex educational regulation institutions including the UGC, MCI, AICTE are all riddled with problems of corruption, favouritism and nepotism weakening our educational and infrastructural standards. The lack of which has led to enormous brain drain.
A government job has always been a sign of income security and societal status(though private sector credibility has rise after the economic liberalisation), the lure for it has led to a spate of murders in Madhya Pradesh(Vyapam Scam).
Colleges with questionable credibility have been mushrooming across the country due to lax regulations and deepening corruption. Some with powerful political patrons start even without necessary certifications and infrastructure. Thus making education one of the largest streams of generating black money.
The essence of education is lost in our system, the progressive ideas are getting regressive and competitive. Makes it difficult to stand out because we try to fit in. The entire system is flawed where individuality is lost. Knowledge is lost. Its only about certificates and degrees, education is lost.
