"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education." – Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther discovered the pivotal importance of Education which is critical thinking. Education makes an individual capable of considering the matters with rational and critical approach.
A true education empowers humanity to come out from darkness and to prevent slavery in every other form. Education is not only related with literacy but with developing qualities like rationality and humanity that qualify an individual as an intellectual human.
Obsession with Education
Everyone nowadays is obsessed with receiving quality education. Parents spend extensive time doing research for their wards to receive such an education that will build them for their future. Even a person who is earning a meagre sum wants to have education in their life as well as their family.
Why has education become this generation’s obsession? Why is there a race to grab the great opportunities in the educational field? What does education bring to one’s life that it has now become indispensable? Why are the great councils in the world and every other countries’ government investing in the promulgation of education? Various needs are fulfilled by the presence of education in one's life.
From ignorance to awareness:
The primary premise of Education has a great role in interpellating an individual from an ignorant beast to rational human. Other goals are to eradicate ignorance , to gather knowledge and to conquer the race of success.
The government is investing in education promotion so as to raise a generation of competent citizens that will build a peaceful society . These citizens will collaborate with each other in several public and private sectors for the nation’s development. Education is for living a peaceful and systematic life otherwise the society will succumb to chaos. In this context , Oprah Winfrey’s words bear immense effect:
"Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom." Without order and direction provided to life by education, society will descend into a chaotic existence.An Education Minister for a day
Becoming an education minister for a day is a certain opportunity which I would like to grab without giving it a second thought. Being a student, I always wanted to bring certain changes which I could never easily bring in the shoes of a student. A student in India faces certain challenges which are overlooked by the governing authority. I want to eliminate the challenges and shortcomings that struck me the most. Before delving into the topic , I would like to give a short summary of our current education conditions.
Education system in India
In the current scenario, Education system in India has over 1.5 million schools, 1000+ universities, and 50,000+ higher education institutions. The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009ensures free and compulsory education for children aged6-14 years. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020aims to modernize education by promoting multidisciplinary learning, skill-based education, and vocational training. India has undergone an expansion of education. There has been an increase of educational institutions and higher education in the universities. Students are opting for higher education like Graduation, Postgraduate and doctoral programmes extensively. Several initiatives are taken by the Government for improvement in education.
Digital Learning Platforms
PM eVIDYA & DIKSHA are digital learning platforms to enhance online education. Mid-Day Meal Scheme provides nutrition to students, encouraging attendance and retention. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao focuses on improving education among girls. Skill India & NEP 2020 encourages skill-based educationto bridge the gap between education and employment.
What are the major problems in Indian education system?
However, the challenges are also permeating Indian education.While access to education has improved, learning outcomes remain low, especially in government schools. Many students struggle with basic literacy and numeracy skills. Many schools in rural areas lack proper classrooms, toilets, libraries, and digital resourcesshow lack of infrastructure. A significant pupil-teacher ratio imbalanceexists in many states. Additionally, teacher training and accountability remain areas of concern. The focus on marks and rote memorization hampers creativity, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
While online education has grown, many students in rural and economically weaker sections struggle due to lack of access to smartphones, the internet, and digital infrastructure. Despite progress, gender inequality, caste discrimination, and dropout rates among marginalized communities continue to be issues.
Who is an Education Minister?
One of the most significant positions in the ministry is that of an education minister. An education minister is a person who is responsible for looking into the matters of education, its operation, and execution. He or she is entrusted with an important task of looking for such an important area which requires immense patience and effort.
One of the important tasks of an education minister is to make efforts in creating accessibility to free, compulsory and quality education for all. Others include providing good infrastructure, professional teachers and eradicating gender divide. However, the tasks are not properly taken care of.
Education reforms: No. 1-High accessibility to good education
Education is a fundamental right and as a citizen of India, I would like to provide free and good education at the cheapest rate possible. The education curriculum would be the same for all the children of the nation. There would be no difference in the education received in private schools and that of government schools. "Improving government school infrastructure, ensuring accessibility, and providing educational resources would be my top priorities."
Private Schools in India
In contemporary times, education in India is approached with a sense of doing business. Capitalism sees education with hunter instincts as an apple that would multiply their wealth. Private schools and institutes perceive the field as a money making sector. They invest more in advertisement and awestruck infrastructure to make consumers.
In India, private schools are increasing at an alarming rate where even the parents with less livelihood income endeavour to send their wards to such schools. These schools are putting efforts in hiring highly educated faculty, teaching learning materials, laboratories and extracurricular activities. Nowadays, smart classes are also a feature of private institutions. But the fees of such a school is expensive curtailing the opportunities for many to avail the facilities. On the other hand, the government schools are either neglected or shut down. School education in India has now become a battle of Government schools vs private schools.
Education reforms: No.2- Balance maintenance in both Government and private Schools
The education provided to students is working on the wide gap between the wealthy versus impoverished. As an educational minister, I would like to channelize funds for improving the impoverished schools of the Government sector. We already have the infrastructure. It needs enhancement and development. The development should certainly align with the world’s growing demands in education. Airy and well maintained classrooms, highly qualified faculty along with developed TLMs are also deserved by Government schools. Cost effective improvement should be made the goal. It is quite effective to work on the existing ruins rather than carving out a new building.
However, this does not mean private schools should be shut down totally. But they should not be permitted to become parasites on parents as they are currently doing with them. Private institutions charge a humongous amount of fees that deprives the child from a weak financial background to go for it. I would like to come up with a Democratic rule that prohibits excessive fees so as to create easy accessibility. A balance between both private and public sector educational institutions will help our nation to grow intellectually.
In the educational field, there is a diverse range of matters that need proper consultation and care. One such thing that I would like to illuminate is the emphasis on bulk rather than quality. Rote learning and increase in superficial knowledge will not match the current competitive scenario.
Education reforms: No. 3-Skill-based education and Vocational training in India
The multinational corporations and government are looking for skillful individuals. But educational institutions are busy in manufacturing rote learners. Here, Rajkumar Hirani's film 3 Idiotsmust be mentioned. Rancho, the character in the film, points out that ISC, the top engineering institute, is engrossed in the production of donkeys rather than engineers. The point holds immense relevance since institutes are occupied in interpellating students into xerox machines instead of a skilful personality. I want to do away with this extensive rote learning. This thing shouldn’t exist in a student’s life as it holds no significance in real life. Real life demands quality as every other information is available on the Internet. What the today’s world wants today is the use of information to bring an impactful change. How to use the information is the skill we need to learn and not only the information. We need to qualify ourselves rather than quantify.
Vocational and practical learning would be my second focus in the plan of action. Countries especially like China and Japan have educational curriculums that are based majorly on the criteria of vocational education. The children in kindergarten are given tasks of real life like stitching, sweeping, cleaning, cooking, sewing and so on and so forth. These are the skills which a human being needs in real life. Their education is based on practically experiencing things.
If students desire to approach engineering for their career, then the students from an early age are taken to factories and industries to practice and get a grip of how to work with the machines. Education requires effort. Therefore, doing research on the educational model of other countries , I would like to embed vocational and practical education like effective communication, writing, managerial, and other useful skills in the Indian education curriculum.
Education should be entertaining and not boring. Several initiatives like interactive classrooms and learner-centric are taken into consideration. Still, if students are given more opportunities and freedom, then the learning process can be enriched through entertainment. The learning from theory to action should be encouraged for different subjects.
A man learns more by doing things. This same philosophy should be enforced in education too. For example, Literature could be learned by enacting the play or the story and Chemistry could be real fun by doing experiments in the labs rather than simply writing the formulas. However, funds are not being provided enough to bring about a total reformation even though the Government has made such rules. Corruption is a dark side of education which gets highlighted but lacks proper action of change. More infrastructure and teaching learning facilities can be provided but the funds are swallowed by the authorities before it could reach the institutions.
Educational Reform: No 4 Importance of AI in education
I would also like to integrate technological and professional education in the curriculum for maintaining the quality. AI is a lingering obsession of the world. The world is witnessing a substantial change in its working model. A person who is accustomed with working AI platforms is more in demand now. It is now calculated in the field of professionalism as Multinational corporations are interested in the individuals who have expertise in using Artificial Intelligence for quick, efficient, enhanced and accurate results. Students should be made familiar with the current trends of the technological field. Therefore, I would like to incorporate contemporary technical and professional products in their education.
Conclusion
Keeping all points in mind , skill based and enriched education is my focus so that students do not need to suffer from a lack of good quality of education.From providing access to education , fulfilling its aims and requirements so as to develop a generation that has undergone all round but qualitative development. Education should be like that which makes individuals ready for their professional lives smoothly. It is an indispensable need of every civilized society.
