India needs a New Education System

New Education System for a New India

Amongst the civilizations of the world, India has always been the torchbearer. If world would have been a garden, India would be its crowing lotus. History had been the witness of our rich education system. We were amongst the most rational people existed on this planet. This rationality of thought produced the most just and lawful rulers of the country. We propounded the ‘Gyan Yoga’ school of thought and pave way for the philosophy of unification with the almighty through knowledge. ‘Gyan’ which according to our ancient scriptures is considered as the highest virtue, is not confined to bookish knowledge alone but is the amalgamation of knowledge, wisdom, values and Dharma.    

  

India had always been the land of gaining enlightenment through knowledge. We propounded world’s greatest universities when half of the planet was under the darkness of barbarism. These universities were showering the nectar of their knowledge not only to the natives but to the foreigners as well. The recent news of the excavation of another university named Vikramshila at Telhara near Nalanda glorifies the rich past of our nation. Telhara was visited by Chinese traveler Heuen Tsang in the 7^th century A.D., and it was mentioned as “Teleadaka” in his account. These institutions were ransacked and destroyed by the rulers of the Mamluk Dynesty gradually taking India into its darkness. With the advent of the British Raj in India, the ancient education system got its last nail in the coffin.

Since independence, we have failed to carve out an education policy for us. Numerous commissions have been setup for this purpose but failed to deliver a policy to take entire nation in its purview. From elementary education to research and development, the chains are all broken. The state has failed to produce even a single university to feature in the world top twenty. The school education is amongst the worst of sufferers. There is no state run school in India to be known internationally. Only a few handful institutions have progressed that too with private aid and support. 

Educationalists are of the view that we are currently in the third phase of education system. Education sector comprises of three vertices i.e. teacher, syllabus (subject) and student. The first phase of education had its focus on the ‘Guru’ (teacher). The teacher had autonomy to decide the time, place and domain of education. Neither the subject nor the student had any predomination. It is the teacher who enjoyed the prestige and power. Ancient Gurukuls are the examples of this system of education. The second phase shifted the limelight to the syllabus (subject). Neither the teacher nor the student enjoyed any privilege. There used to be a fixed syllabus for each subject. Markets were flooded with guides, help-books and kunjis. Even if there is no teacher, still one can manage to pass the examination. All those who are above thirty years of age are all the product of this system. Phase three culminated about a decade and half ago where all the focus shifted to the student. Now student has become the centrifuge of the education system. Neither the teacher nor the subject enjoys any prerogative.

With over a decade of practising this system, the teachers and students have been conditioned accordingly. Private schools remained at the receiving end as they have gradually become pampering agents rather than agents of education. Continuous feeding of undue attention since childhood has made the students attention seekers even so at senior secondary levels. There is a huge paradox between the proposed moral values and actual practices. On the other hand, being a teacher, particularly in a private school, in today’s employment pyramid is seen at the bottom. The respect this profession used to command has become extinct. Degradation of values in the students has not happened overnight but is the outcome of the silent churning in the society that has occurred over a period of time due to the gradual decay of the fabric of education system. Private schools play host to teachers drawing salary ranging from as low as a thousand to ten thousand bucks which is even less than a government forth class employee.  

  

The finance minister of India proposed an increase in the education expenditure in this year’s budget speech. He even talked about reforming the sector by introducing new schemes like in-service teacher’s training, setting up Ekalavya Model Residential schools and instituting “Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022”. This is a positive step but it’s not enough, our education system needs complete overhauling. In order to refurbish the education system, some immediate steps need to be taken by the government. First of all, government should announce a uniform pay system across the country for all the school teachers, both public and private. The education boards should monitor this and the dereliction should be liable to fine and even lose of affiliation. This will attract the best young minds towards this profession and will help in regaining its lost ground. This single step will bring uniformity in fees and will bridge the unhealthy gap of school rankings. Secondly, the state should allow professionals like engineers, management degree holders, chartered accountants, doctors, national level sportspersons and lawyers etc. to teach in the schools. This will not only open new employment opportunities for them but also help in building quality of education. The students of senior secondary level will draw immense advantage both at knowledge and career counselling domain from them. These professionals will also aspire and motivate them to chase the best career graph in life. 

The government should implement the recommendations of Subramanian Committee on new education policy.  An Indian Education Service (IES) should be established as an all India service with officers being on permanent settlement to the state governments but with the cadre controlling authority vesting with the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry. The outlay on education should be raised to at least 6% of GDP without further loss of time. Compulsory licensing or certification for teachers in government and private schools should be made mandatory, with provision for renewal every 10 years based on independent external testing. On-demand board exams should be introduced to offer flexibility and reduce year end stress of students and parents. A national level test open to every student who has completed class XII from any school board should be designed. Top 200 foreign universities\schools should be allowed to open campuses in India and give the same degree\certificate which is acceptable in the home country of the said institution.

In this upcoming age of artificial intelligence, we need teachers equipped with such technological expertise, more importantly equipped with mental setup being ready to learn the ever changing intricacies of education. The need of the hour is to make the education sector alluring for today’s youth entering the market force as precious human resource. At last, what can only be said is, “The future of the country is in, what lies in my classroom today.”

Jagdeep S. More, Educationist