Thank you dear subscribers, we are overwhelmed with your response.
Your Turn is a unique section from ThePrint featuring points of view from its subscribers. If you are a subscriber, have a point of view, please send it to us. If not, do subscribe here: https://theprint.in/subscribe/
A country is as developed as its Education Sector. We in India should make ‘affordable quality education’ our development mantra and this alone will help us grow as a great nation. No matter what path we take to economic development, the speedbreaker will always be the quality of education!
We have Public Schools, Independent Schools, and government-aided schools. To provide an all-around education, schools should be financially independent and beyond the pale of direct government control, free to innovate and keep education alive.
There are 36 State Education Boards and 2 National Education Boards. The CBSE is limited as it eliminates international exams as additional streams. The CISCE is more in tune with freedom for innovation and is autonomous. There is also the International Recognition: It is now feasible to consider additional streams such as The British ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB).
Boarding schools take children from the age of about eleven. Seven hundred students is a good size for a boarding school. We have Nursery Schools, Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, and Senior Secondary Schools. Most Boarding Schools take eight months of the year. Day schools tend to load students’ homework, which still needs improvement.
A good school should offer facilities for retraining teachers and good salaries at par with related spheres. A well-designed school should have modern aids and teaching devices. A school should be a centre for excellence. It should employ good teachers and pay them well. It should encourage a concern for the environment and cleanliness. Above all, it should have a dynamic Principal and competent, humane teachers.
Schools should not be commercial shops or teaching shops. Teachers should be well-read and inspire people. They should read about education, love the children they teach, and have all-around personalities. They should acquaint themselves with the Montessori methods and the philosophy of Swami Vivekanand and read John Dewey, Rabindranath Tagore, and Jean Jaques Rousseau. Quality in education leads to quality in our lives, and that is what we are all striving for.
The last three years, for me in particular, were the most significant learning, as I moved from the high-flying job of the National Director of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award to what I must say, ‘ The best job for me’, the Chairman Bhadrajun Artisans Trust. Away from the city lights and located at the foot of the Aravali range, the trust runs The Fabindia Schools with a mission to provide access to high-quality education for boys and girls at the rural level using English as the medium of instruction. The school views primary education as a stepping stone towards social mobility, equality and employment opportunities. Since its inception, the school has been committed to encouraging education for girls in a culture where most parents who can afford an English medium school would send only their sons.
My love for outward bound and experiential learning triggered high levels of adrenalin in me, and thanks to my long-standing friend William N Bissell of Fabindia, I found what I love most: being with children outdoors. Life in Bali village has indeed been slow-moving and relatively uneventful for many. For us, it has been a drive in the fast lane as we have been trying to find the true meaning of ‘quality in education’ and deliver this at an affordable price.
With a great leadership team and staff committed to making dreams come true, our school today is really a ‘piece of land brought to life’. We must share the learnings from The Fabindia School, and it is most heartening to share that we have found the road to ‘affordable quality education’. This has widened our horizons, and we believe that education for sustainable development is the crying need of the hour.
“Education for Sustainable Development allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. Education for Sustainable Development means including key sustainable development issues in teaching and learning, such as climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption. It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development. Education for Sustainable Development promotes competencies like critical thinking, imagining future scenarios, and collaboratively making decisions. Education for Sustainable Development requires far-reaching changes in how education is often practised today. ~ UNESCO (the lead agency for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development)
What is the prescription for schools to deliver affordable quality education? My experience shows that some significant steps are needed to do this. Some are listed here, and you are welcome to connect with us to help you deliver better.
- Focus on skills that build employability.
- Ensure teachers are groomed to be leaders and mentors
- The senior management must be trained to deliver better
- The parents and the community are equal stakeholders in the schools’ operations
- Need to use the latest technology and updated curriculum
- English proficiency and better communication skills
From the learnings in the education sector, some of your challenges are:
- Use the existing curriculum to deliver better
- Assist young people in identifying and planning their challenges
- Support young people in enhancing their skills
- Work within operational and administrative challenges
- Find available opportunities for youth in the community
- Build relationships at different levels
- Empower young people to find themselves
Affordable quality education must have four essential elements built into the curriculum – Service, skill, sport, and study- and this provides the roadmap for an individual’s personal and social development. The children must learn about themselves and their relationships with other children and adults within and beyond the family. Concepts of fairness and justice must be introduced, and children should be encouraged to think about and respect the feelings of others. Motivation, perseverance, self-esteem, and a cheerful disposition to learning all have a significant role to play in children’s learning and development.
I see the possibility of a nation where every school offers young people the opportunity to be rewarded for challenging themselves, engaging with adult mentors, being rewarded when finishing school and giving back to their communities. We can help connect young people with new opportunities to change their world.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint