What is the use of the current educational system in India?
I'm not the right person to ask this Question! But...
Why are we not getting creative, instead getting our brains to work for someone else?
In a country like India, where the education system is faulty and students with degrees in the US are earning millions of rupees there.
 |
| Schooling |
It becomes tricky to question what’s happening and how.
With this in mind, this article is an attempt to explore "What India’s education system has done for its people creatively and who is benefiting from it".
Many things are happening around India (even the Globe) that have been created because of one thing: Education.
From software engineers graduating from various universities around the world returning home to take up skilled jobs or founding their businesses here, all those who have received quality education need not worry about finding a job.
The educated people can provide jobs for others. This is how ‘brain drain’ takes place.
A good example is that of the software engineers returning to India from the US.
Indians who return from abroad have not only set up successful companies but have also given back through various social initiatives in their own country.
The education received by them from foreign countries has somewhat enabled them to adapt to various situations and circumstances and made them realize the importance of giving back to their own country to make it strong.
Decrease in Initiatives and Creativity of Indian Students:
Voice of Youth Advocacy, World Vision India, Young Lives Research:
‘Unforgiving environment’ blamed for 40% drop in new entrepreneurial ideas among young urban Indians survey.
The Indian education system has been criticized for its focus on rote learning, exams via education boards, and emphasis on preparation as opposed to exploration.
Which is now being seen as some reasons behind a decrease in the innovative abilities of students.
An analysis by Voice of Youth Advocacy (VOYA), found that 40% fewer people had come up with new business ideas or products since 2012.
The study covered more than 4,000 young people between 18 and 35 years.
An analysis of 4,090 young Indians aged 18-35 years found that:
69% thought that the Indian education system is focused on job preparation as opposed to innovation and creativity.
 |
| Creativity & Innovation |
While 47% thought it was focused on earning money from students rather than on preparing them for their personal lives and careers.
About 22% admitted having come under stress from study pressures.
The phenomenon is happening at the cost of the employability of students and developing a whole generation that returns unemployable.
The Indian education system is one of the most expensive in the world, but it hardly prepares students for better jobs or more creative lives.
The survey reported that 40% had studied for more than 6 years before being employed.
While only 4% said they had studied for less than 2 years.
The new report offers perspectives on what India’s future workforce thinks of the Indian education system, why it is destroying their creativity? and what they think can be done to change it.
Researchers from the World Bank, The Brookings Institution, and Harvard University, have said that “the Indian education system is a world of its own” because it has its standards and measurements.
World Vision India’s recent report, “The Economy of Happiness: Towards an agenda for sustainable development goals that work for India” has indicated that the quality of a country’s education system is one of the most important pillars of sustainable development.
It is crucial to put in place a system that will,
Allow students to have access to quality education with cost-effective facilities.
With the present economic scenario, we should be able to provide quality education at least at the primary school level.
Literacy rates at various levels of education have been rising in India but many jobs are still not addressed for literate people.
“We need more people who do well at school; it is very important,” said ASR Bharadwaj, a teacher and VOYA’s national coordinator.
It is pertinent to mention here that there are more than 500+ universities and 40,000+ colleges in India.
The private institutions are mushrooming which is certainly a welcome sign but there is no way these institutions can cater to the increasing demand and need for education.
 |
| Literacy |
This on its own tells us that it is time we went back to basics and started thinking about quality before quantity.
We believe that no matter what best practices evolve from the school level onwards, students will not be able to explore their idea potential if they have no access to affordable facilities like libraries, computer labs, the internet, etc.
A Local Problem
A research study conducted by an Indian magazine for the past 40 years has revealed that the overall quality of work by Indian youths is constantly decreasing.
Why Indian youths are not producing creative work? and what can be done to reverse this trend?
The study has found out that the main reason:
Why Indian youths are not producing creative work is the lack of motivation.
Indian youths who have left their country and lived abroad do not have any intentions to return to India.
However, when they do not want to come back to India, it means that they have already started losing interest in their land of birth.
 |
| Lack of Motivation |
The main problem which has come to light, however, is that only those Indian youths who were born overseas and have become pretty much westernized can produce creative work.
Since Indian youths are becoming more and more westernized and thus have started losing interest in their own culture.
This happens because of how much they have been influenced by the western world.
The study has made a very good point about the youth of a country when it is compared with the standards set by other countries or cultures.
To show this point, it decides to mention how countries such as Japan and China are capable of producing quality works, even when there is a lack of motivation among its youth.
This has happened because the older generations have created a very good standard of work for their younger generations to live up to.
Indian youths want to become creative,
Then they should be motivated by something other than money or social pressure.
Global Problem
The "brain drain" is a global problem that is faced by many developing countries.
India is not alone in this dilemma; countries such as China, Japan, and even the US are facing the same problem while trying to cope up with a talent-starved workforce created due to its faulty education system.
Comparative Study of Creative Mindset and Education System of India:
Do you ever wonder why the creative side of our society is not flourishing in India?
We are slowly turning into a nation without any innovation, without any individuality.
The educational system we follow does not focus on creativity and innovation which is vital for the development of an individual, an organization, or a country.
5 Reasons Why Creativity of youths is dying:
1. In India, the most important thing to do is to work for someone else mindset.
2. We are forced to follow a particular education system that does not provide equal space to everyone.
This system is made up of rigid and biased rules based on class and wealth which further causes an imbalance in our society.
3. Most of the time, we end up questioning ourselves about our abilities instead of dedicating time to learning or exploring new concepts and exploring their relevance in our life.
4. We lack the mindset that there are no limitations for what we can achieve if we work hard and learn as much as possible, instead of believing that poverty or failure is because "God gave me this position".
5. We are not able to reach our true potential because we are judging our abilities instead of exploring them and trying new things.
This COMPARATIVE STUDY shows the need for change in India's education system, especially in the following three aspects: (i) lack of creativity, (ii) rigid rules, and (iii) an imbalanced system.
• Lack of Creativity: The education system that is followed by most of us is very mechanical.
Students just memorize information for exams and then forget that information after exams which does not help them in real-life applications.
There is no freedom for students to explore new ideas and concepts, they are more focused on scoring as high as possible in exams.
 |
| Boosting Creativity |
The need for change in the education system: India needs to pay attention to research-based education and testing the knowledge of students throughout their academic career and not basing it only on years spent in college.
The focus should be on individual student progress instead of glorifying institutions after comparing statistics of different colleges.
• Rigid Rules: The rigid rules in education systems make it difficult for students to even take a step out of their comfort zone.
These rigid rules may seem logical, but we need to analyze them and find out if they are helpful in the progress of an individual or not.
The need for change in the education system: Schools should be more nurturing than strict and should encourage the student to learn from their mistakes instead of punishing them.
Schools should be more flexible and encourage teachers to adapt themselves to the needs of their students.
The need for change in education: Schools should focus on nurturing students rather than exposing them to extreme discipline and being strict about it.
Schools should be more flexible and encourage teachers to adapt themselves to the needs of their students.
• An Imbalanced System: When we compare the education systems of various countries, we see that some countries are very rigid while others are very loose and progressive.
Some systems motivate everyone to learn and develop their skills while others motivate only a few.
The need for change in the education system: India needs to move towards a way that is balanced because of the number of people we have and the quality we want.
We should be more flexible in our education system and provide equal opportunities to everyone to learn instead of spending their lives studying.
In this way, we can balance our society by providing equal opportunities to all people irrespective of gender, caste, class, and wealth.
How to Boost Creativity of Youths in India during their School Life:
Innovation in India is notorious for its lack.
But what if we could cultivate the innovation and creativity of students in the school itself?
 |
| Connecting Dots |
Steps by Authorities, Parents/Teachers, etc., to make kids more innovative:
- Encourage questioning: Don't discourage kids from asking questions or making mistakes.
Instead, make sure there are many opportunities for them to do so without fear of embarrassment.
Asking questions and seeking answers is a wonderful way to stimulate thinking and creativity. - Encourage kids to try their hands at different hobbies: The more things a child is exposed to, the fresher his/her perspective will be.
Encourage your child not only to have one hobby but several so that they can learn skills in various areas and gain experience in diverse areas that will help them gain a perspective of the world as a whole. - Create opportunities for your kids to explore beyond the classroom: Often, we are so absorbed in the day-to-day functioning of our home or office that we miss out on opportunities to expand our horizons.
Encourage your kids to explore beyond the classroom.
Maybe it's a trip to another state to see a historical place, or taking up new hobbies at home which could include learning a new skill like drawing, photography, playing guitar, etc. - Develop communication skills of students early: The ability to convey one's thoughts and views effectively is imperative for any human being.
Encourage your child not only to speak but also to listen attentively and communicate effectively with others.
A child's attention span is usually short, but his/her curiosity is ever-lasting! - Help children dream while still young: This is very important – help them dream while they are young.
Children can't imagine themselves doing something they are not yet able to do, so encourage them to dream about the future. - Expose children to different cultures in a balanced manner: A certain degree of exposure to different cultures is necessary for the further process of development and growth in a child.
Naive thoughts and ideals can be quickly shaped by exposure to experiences that clash with one's own beliefs or culture. - Give your kids some time away from you on occasions: Your kids must get some time away from you on occasion.
They need their own space and room to play, imagine and dream. Let them make up stories, think out loud, draw pictures, etc...
Solutions & Conclusion:
VOYA has tried to suggest some solutions in its report titled “Centre of Excellence”; where it has been suggested that we should move towards decentralization of educational institutions.
To do so, we need to have local people on our board who also possess the passion and enthusiasm for making their school the best.
It is not easy as our present education system is heavily controlled by bureaucracy but VOYA believes that if there is a will, there is a way.
The government can start with an experiment at one or two centers and see if these changes can significantly transform the quality of education in India.
It will not only help students who are currently going through the system but also help those who follow them.
The country has to reconsider how it promotes education. The educational system is designed to put student's knowledge to the test at every level.
1 Comments
One of the best!!!
ReplyDeleteHey! Your Valuable Comments & Suggestions are Welcome :)