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/
Right to education is a fundamental right. No doubt, the educational infrastructure has improved over a time and each one aspiring to get a quality education has the opportunity provided he does not have any specific leanings towards cost prohibitive elitist schools. Education is what shapes a student and not the knowledge it provides. Many an educational institution have just relegated themselves to being knowledge givers and not personality shapers. In the process the output adds to the knowledgeable portion of the population but not to the real wealth of the nation. Incidents like physical abuse, butchering of live-in partners, urinating on co-passengers, corruption, spreading hatredness, etc. by such “educated” outputs, who are nothing but pseudo-human beings, are on the rise. The McCaulay system of education that we have embraced thanks to the British legacy has only created “knowledgeable” citizens but not “awakened” citizens. The increasing crime rate has proved that the level of knowledge in a society is no indicator of the safety of that society. Education is at premium but bereft of value.
In this backdrop, it was refreshing to learn that way back in 2018 itself, the CBSE tied up with the Ramakrishna Mission to impart value-education to make students awakened citizens with values of peace, harmony, humility, and co-operation. The course was reportedly so crafted with a stress on self-dignity and not merely to offer purely academic solutions. CBSE had sent a directive to all affiliated schools advising them on the tie-up and the objective. Hopefully, it continues.
The Industry and the Society are the customers for the Universities and the B-Schools. Their output should suit the demands of the industry and offer comfort to the society. There are enough surveys and more that suggest the growing disconnect between the academics and the industry, leave alone the society. Sometime back, a leading software company, expressed a feeling that hardly 5% of the university pass outs are industry-fits. This is alarming and explains the reason behind the young pass outs failing to find a suitable employment. Time has come for the Education Sector to have an embedded product offering to regain the lost value. The new NEP seems to have been drafted with this in mind.
Much has been done but more needs to be done. Education should shape the personality of an individual, give him the confidence and courage to face the world, the ups and downs in life and not merely make him knowledgeable. Education should give back to the society responsible people with ownership and accountability and not mere graduates. The education that makes literates throw garbage on the road to be cleaned by the illiterates is no education at all. The education which does not teach the young generation that putting a price tag on their heart and soul is detrimental to the society, is no education at all. The education that does not teach tolerance, compassion, value of peace and harmony, is no education at all. The education that fails to instill a patriotic spirit in the hearts and minds is no education at all. The education that does not give the courage of standing up to the right and condemning the wrong rationally is no education at all. A society develops only when its citizens move from being “educated” to being “awakened””. It is only the “awakened” who can make a real difference. Are we more “awakened” now as a society than what we were before?
What is going on in the society holds a mirror to us. The ancient system of education through Gurukuls was creating awakened citizens whose contribution to the society was immeasurable. The present McCaulay system of education is only producing knowledgeable citizens. Result is clearly visible. Disharmony, intolerance, unemployment, the crime rate et al moving north-wards.
A mason, a house maid, an electrician, a carpenter can handle the job loss better than a pass out from a premier institution. Loss of job for these people is a key to open new doors but for the knowledgeable guy that the premier institutions produce, a job loss is the end of the road. These people have more faith in their skills and ability than a university output.
Probable Way Forward – Focussed industry-academia tie-ups, and Increased weightage in University Degrees for – internships with the industry and NGOs/Social Service Organizations, structured visits to orphanages and old age homes, understanding the people who are less privileged, igniting social responsibilities, breaking the gender shackles etc.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.