The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet – Aristotle
Since the time skill-oriented education has taken center stage in Indian ‘Learner’s’ discourse, and the entrepreneurial bug has bitten the youth and the oldies alike, I have been hearing all sorts of jeering and pejorative remarks being made by people from all walks of life regarding our school education.
The latest one doing the rounds is ‘How many times have you used the formula from algebra (a+b)2 = a2+b2+2ab in your life?’ Worst is, ‘How many times have you used this formula to buy 5 kg apples!’ Are you trying to mislead the youth? Yes, I feel you are. These people are usually those who play to the clapping and whistling gallery of youth.
First thing first– If our system of education (at foundation level- schools) was that bad then how come so many professors and deans in the top US and British universities are from India? They sure did their schooling from Indian schools- so did Sunder Pichai- CEO of GOOGLE (he completed schooling in Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School in Ashok Nagar, Chennai, and completed the Class XII from Vana Vani School Madras), and Satya Nadella- Chairman and CEO, Microsoft (Satya Nadella attended the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet), or Indra Nooyi -who was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo, (Nooyi did her schooling in Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in T. Nagar). They are running big American companies.
I agree that times are changing and yes we need to upgrade our school curriculum but we cannot just trash our earlier system. We have been doing some things right as well. In fact, very right. We also cannot say that Science, Math, and literature are meaningless!
If you want to look at American schooling for any comparison or inspiration- here it is
If you look at American school education, they teach very much the same things. From kindergarten through 5th grade, roughly ages 5-10, Science, social studies, languages, the arts, and physical education are brought in at various grades and are taught with varying amounts of inputs. Tenth graders are usually taught algebra or Geometry (I am sure they teach (a+b)2 = a2+b2+2ab there too!).
Occasionally, Algebra II or higher classes are offered to students who wish to take Advanced Placement math classes in later years of high school. For literature, students have already begun to familiarize themselves with notable authors such as Shakespeare. They do study American history and the civil war. For social studies, tenth-grade students are taught recent US History from the Colonization Era and to the Early 20th Century. In some districts, Advanced Placement coursework, such as geography, European history, or World Studies is first made available to students in this grade.
So what is different?
Yes, they do have a more practical orientation and let students learn how to apply the subject matter to deliver output. Our education policy is now going to cater to it. Yet Indian students do better than white Americans in America or the entire West
Indian students who migrate from Indian schools to American schools or go for higher studies to US universities do pretty well. Indian students, who at first glance seem to be educationally disadvantaged due to weaker English skills and little knowledge of American culture, actually have an edge in education over their native peers. This apparent educational advantage of immigrants’ children has been referred to as the “immigrant paradox”.
Studies have shown that children of immigrants in the US have very positive attitudes and behaviors toward education, and put in more effort. There could be several reasons why the Attitude of American students is negative in comparison to Indian students. One reason could be that they are fighting to achieve and have that killer instinct. They value education and are not complacent. This is a very big advantage for India.
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. – Benjamin Franklin
School education lays the foundation for lifelong learning
Education has an element of human evolution- A good education not only teaches you skills but also helps you broaden your horizons, gain a better perspective, and teaches you to think for yourself. Education is not how well you can read and write but whether you can communicate with and understand the world around you. The importance of education is also reflected in areas of creativity and innovation. Education encourages thinking outside the box and experimenting with new ideas. For that fundamentals must be laid strongly and squarely in schools.
I did my schooling at an Indian school and found that my fundamentals and those of my peers in Physics, Chemistry, and Math are very sound. We are good at English (a foreign language) and Hindi too.
Google brain argument
Another weird argument given by some critics is that you can answer all questions of Amitabh Bachchan’s KBC show using Google and there is nothing tough about a quiz! So why remember things or have information in your head when it is available from hard discs from a computer? What kind of argument is this? This is a really dumb idea.
I would call Google brain ‘Khalee Bheja’. If you are a ‘padha likha’ or a literate person then you should be able to discuss things with others meaningfully and debate or argue a point intelligently- how do you do that with an empty mind or nothing in your head?
“The wisest route to a successful solution to nearly any problem begins with understanding its history.”—David McCullough
Values in place
I feel the most important content that is being missed out on in school education in India is imparting ‘Value education’. No point in having a great skilled engineer who is a social misfit, who is dishonest, and who is always criticizing everything including his own country. This should be taught right up the education pyramid- up to PG. From KG to PG in fact, if we want to build a meaningful patriotic society.
Emphasis on Skill Development
I have headed Business schools for close to two decades and realized the importance of sound school education in laying a strong foundation. Skill development is the new buzzword. Let me explain.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has given special emphasis on vocational education through integration and mainstreaming of vocational education with general education which will help students in acquiring various skills to meet the needs of the industries and to improve the quality of education.
Skill-based learning is an effective way for students to acquire knowledge and develop essential skills. It encourages students to actively engage in learning rather than memorizing information. With skill-based learning, students gain a deeper understanding of their subject matter as they practice analyzing, synthesizing, and applying information in various contexts.
The curriculum of skill development is more Industry oriented and teaches theory plus specific skills in a particular domain. They too require sound school education as a starter. As they say, ‘garbage in and garbage out’, you need to have reasonably well-informed school pass outs to get into skill development. For instance, they have a B Tech degree in cyber security which has computer science as the base. Therefore first the sound foundation of computer science is built and on top of that for each theory module, a practical orientation is provided. After that weightage is given to applying the knowledge to real-life problems. The rough and ready distribution is 30-40-30. This means 30% time for theory, 40% for related practical work, and 30% for actual hands-on learning. Here a student gets a degree but he or she is ready for Industry deployment from day one! I know some of my former students who did an MBA and are now into a ‘Risk management’ profile- whereas they had very little or almost zero exposure to this domain during their college days. They learn on the job which is a huge cost to the industry.
For all these, a sound school education with fundamentals in place is required.
Yet another example is collaborative teamwork. It could be a project-based learning approach where students work collaboratively to design and build a sustainable garden or renewable energy project, developing skills in teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity.
Changes are being incorporated into the school curriculum to dove-tail it with higher skill-based education. The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing the scheme of Vocationalisation of School Education.
It aims at integrating Vocational Education with general academic education in all Secondary/Senior Secondary schools; enhancing the employability and entrepreneurial abilities of the students, providing exposure to the work environment; and generating awareness among students about various career options so as to enable them to make a choice in accordance with their aptitude, competence, and aspirations. The scheme covers Government and Government aided schools.
“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.”—Sheryl Sandberg
