Corona Crisis And Changed Perspective Of Our Education System
Concept Of Education
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We all human beings are born with specific talents, to pursue learning. This learning is our utmost power. To keep it ever-increasing we developed specific learning patterns known as our education system.
This system is the very basic foundation of civilisation and development. We understood its power centuries back when we introduced systematic education system in form of Guru-Shishya parmapara.
Indian Vedic Education System
In Indian Vedic culture, the responsibilities to imbibe knowledge in society was bestowed upon a particular class of people known as Guru or Mentor.At that time education was a complete package of all types of learning from books to weapon, from economics to politics, from mythology to science, everything of every field was to be thought to their students in a specific manner in a particular age and preferably in the midst of nature. That was the concept of our Gurukul or Vedic Universities, where the very first-time formal education started.
We can trace the presence of these Gurukul in almost every mythological books. Moving further, ancient India was the hub of world-famous universities with remarkable management and ample sources of learning and teaching as well.
The epitome of Ancient Indian Education System
The famous Takshashila university, which is dated around the 6th century BCE, is located in today’s Pakistan in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab. It gave the world formidable scholars like Aacharya Chankaya, Masterpiece of Chanakya’s legendary work, the book named Arthshastra is still relevant and unrivalled even today. Further, the renowned Physician Charak, the ancient Grammarian Panini, who codified the rules of classical language Sanskrit and many more.Other than it we had Nalanda (Bihar), Valabhi (Gujarat), Vikramshila (Bihar), Pushpagiri (Odisha), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Sharada Peeth (Kashmir), Mithila (Bihar), Ujjaini (Madhya Pradesh) and Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) etc. These were the greatest institutions of that time and we're way ahead in imparting education than present universities. Level of discipline and relationship between disciple and mentor were impeccable.
The objective, perspective and approach for education were based on an ideology to take civilisation to its utopian level.
Practical training in the natural environment, of years, was an important component of university learning. Extensive travelling was an essential part of theoretical education in order to make students experience the hardships of life and ground realities of the world.
Although the challenges were present at that time also but were far different than those which are of the present times.
With the passing of time, we saw merciless destruction of these epitomai of knowledge. Further, we saw the rise of Mughal era followed by the British Raj, Which introduced modern education system in India.
British Raj introduced an education system with an objective to create a class of Indians who would be an Indian in colour, but English in flavour. They targeted upper and middle class only to impart education to create an interpreter for masses. And the result was ignorance and illiteracy among the major population, with which we are struggling till now.
Independent India And Education
Although we were in dire need of quality education, being a newborn & developing nation we hadn't enough resources to provide high-end quality education to the masses. Hence our governments worked in the education sector with an aim to remove illiteracy and provide basic education with minimum standards.
Quality education was a luxury for the affluent class only. With the changing perspective, people became more and more interested in providing their wards with quality education. Very soon Private institutions became the only choice for everyone, as government schools were unable to remove the tag of a substandard education providers.
Anyhow in all these things, the medium of education emerged as a big factor. With the advent of liberalisation and globalisation, knowledge of English became a key factor for a job guarantee and career enhancement. And finally, govt schools were left for only those, who were unable to afford high private school fees. However, higher education has a totally different scenario. IIMs, IITs, and Govt. Universities are still on top of the chart.
Current Education System and Its challenges
Somewhere in this whole process, we have lost our basic concept of education. We are not meant to learn to just earn. Our motherland has seen the glorious era of education. In the golden era of knowledge of this great ancient nation, history has witnessed a tradition of learning and teaching. Generally, teachers, were monks, who used to stay away from materialistic life just to maintain their focus on developing their pupils in perfect human beings equipped with the highest level of knowledge. We gave this world Guru Shishya Parampara, where the epitome of dedication and reverence was shown by people.
Have you ever thought about why we are educating our children? What is the core objective of this whole long tedious process of schooling followed by higher education? Are we creating tools for global markets?
Anyhow, we have restricted learning to earn only. And the outcome is that since Independence we even could not produce a single noble prize winner scientist in our country. Our aspirations to touch the sky and know the deep secrets of this nature has limited by the pressure of our new generation to cope up with the competitive exams for just getting jobs.
Issues have not just stopped here, lack of applied knowledge, practical education, low level of creativity, typical evaluation process based on writing answers in the exam hall. How can we judge a person‘s capacity in just two hours by writing some typical answers readily available in the book store? What about his creativity his personality his other attributes. Till employment-based exams, we just don't bother about checking a candidates personality and neither give him a chance to develop it. However, an age where a personality is developed in a student is the school years, where we never even thought about this process.
And finally every year we are producing millions of graduates who are not able to stand on their own feet through their learning in the schools and colleges. Then suddenly we expect that they start working on developing their personality for the sake of some job interview, how is it possible?
We must reanalyse our history to find out the answer. We were the leader in the education system throughout the world and our approach was based on applied education, the creativity of student, morality and religious beliefs were taught to them so that they become a mentally strong person who can cope up with all types of challenges of life.
Education must be for developing human beings to their greatest extent in all possibilities. It must be to take our civilization to a utopian stage. It must be for the welfare of humanity and mother nature as well. Education was never meant to be a business. Although the truth is that, in today's world education is a leading business sector with high-end profits. Some professions such as doctors and teachers have an inherent character of Nobleness and social cause. They are losing their basic purpose by turning it into a typical money-making business model.
Reforms in the education system are indispensable to maintain its very basic purpose and ideology
Currently, we all are very busy to meet the daily deadlines of our current so-called “fast life“. We never bother to stop & think about such questions. However, now when we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic we all have suddenly realised that our schools are mostly worried about their fees. The whole education system is behaving like some industry which is just looking at maintaining its profitability.
They are not worried about the little children’s psychological development nor about how their increased screen time at this very young age will affect their health. Anyhow they want to Impose schooling in any manner, just to keep their earnings going on.
We are finally moving toward complete online education. Although it is at present the only safe option we have for our students, it has its benefits, it is a safe and technology-friendly pattern.
However, in the current scenario, we don't have many options, we can still at least work on developing a better syllabus and approach, to boost the relevance and utility of our education system, keeping its soul alive.
One must find out ways to enlarge its scope and applications.
We also need to add creativity at every level to develop a value-based practical learning system.
Intelligence plus character that is the goal of a true education-
-Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Comments
This will give opportunity to develop skill of his interest.
congratulate Government of India for giving the country an education policy that will nurture a child’s creative and unique abilities rather than only judging them on their exam scores.