Difficulties students face in today’s Indian education system

“Guru Govind dono khade, kiske lagu pai? Balihari guru aapki, mohey Govind diyo dikhai!” This Sanskrit shloka celebrates the importance of a teacher being superior to God because it is his/her teachings that help a student realize God! Such was the depth of the ancient Indian education and such was the importance of a ‘Guru’.

Eons passed by and modern patterns shaped the new education system in India. Starting from its necessity, impact, privilege, charity, up to its contribution in the GDP, education is a strong thread in the social and economic fabric. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that, half of the world is woven around it. Yet, the most intriguing debate; on the effectiveness of, the Indian education system, still lingers.

There is no doubt about the wonderful quality of education that our pride-instilling institutes like, IITs, IIMs AIMS, etc are providing. Yet, as a nation, we are far from realizing the dream of designing an ideal educational fabric with rich threads of; curiosity, abstract thinking, confidence, wellbeing, and emotional intelligence.

The current education system in India has turned into a manufacturing prototype, producing subservient degree holders. Students being the biggest stakeholders, face maximum issues arising from its weakened threads and plaintive designs. Problems faced by students are at three levels:

1. Curriculum:

Old ideas, stale statistics, and uninspiring textbooks eat away the fun of learning. Lack of choice in subjects and irrelevant chapters are spirit stealers. Though, the National Education Policy 2020 brings a ray of hope. It will be a game of wait-n-watch to see how it actually unfolds when it comes to execution.

“Education is not learning of the facts, but the training of the mind to think.” – Albert Einstein

2. Methodology:

It’s an appalling reality that though we have technologically advanced ourselves as a race, our classroom delivery methods still suck. Owing to this and a strict degree-based teachers’ selection process surely offers qualified teachers, but with lack of interest and zero skills on ‘how to teach’. It is a teacher’s duty to arouse curiosity and spirit of exploration rather than curtailing it inside the pages of the textbook.

“It is a miracle that ‘curiosity’ survives formal education.” 😉 – Albert Einstein

3. Approach:

The last and the most important factor is the flawed approach that has led to students despising education. Rote learning over creativity and peer-pressure over initiative have produced qualified robots instead of sensitized human beings. Marks are celebrated and brains are diminished. Increasing competitiveness has led to a marks-centric approach rather than student-centric growth. Certain fields of study are given respect while other fields are looked down upon; forcing students to unfollow their dream careers. Students are easily judged and tagged for the choices they make and marks they secure. The change in this approach will have to be initiated at home, at school, at every individual level.

“Intelligence plus character is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

The current system does not spare us the concern felt while looking at our degree holders being, intellectually impaired, creatively cluttered, and practically pallid individuals. The problems faced by students when they enter the real world are due to the disparity between academic theory and practical reality. Education should aim at making them ‘life-ready’ rather than ‘boss-ready’.

Students need to be taken out of the boxed approach and given the opportunity to explore unconventional thought processes, careers, and ideas. Also, restricting them to old-fashioned age brackets to experience innovative skills or courses should be done away with.

Our initiative of JuniorMBA opens up a similar avenue for students to weave in threads of skill development and practical exposure making their experience of the real-world’s fabric rich with internship opportunities in companies like BMW and Samsonite. Being able to experience the ethos of practical working at an early age empowers them differently. Let’s gift students, various threads of practicality to help weave a fabric of their own and wrap a life around it. Click here to know more about JuniorMBA.

“Education is a skill, not a theory. Teaching is an art, not a degree!” – Purvi Mehta