Multiplicity of various boards, at state, national and international level do not allow for standardization of course curriculum across the country. In the process, these also make it difficult to come up with a coherent National Education policy that works for whole of India. It also leads to management issues.
Learning itself is more memory and grade based rather than experience and knowledge based, which is one reason that the large number of students coming out of higher education institutes find themselves unemployable because of lack of practical knowledge. Remember, the grounding is the primary and secondary education. Children coming out of majority of schools land up in higher education institutes with limited skill sets. And what gets them there? Not knowledge, but grades!
The public versus private education divide is also a key challenge that needs to be addressed. Why is it important? It is because government schools and private schools are on the extreme ends when it comes to infrastructure, teaching competencies and right exposure for children. Unless we are able to ensure uniform, good quality education for all of India’s children, we are only giving rise to major class divides. At least till the primary segment, we need to bring a level playing education field.
To cope with all of the challenges above is tough yet if government, school managements, teachers and academicians come together, problems can be resolved and quality of education delivered can go up many notches higher.
Curriculum design in India should go beyond theoretical knowledge and must involve real life issues, strong value education and civic responsibilities. It should encourage original thinking and creativity rather than merely focusing on scoring marks and high grades. Teaching as a profession must be well paying. Only then, the well qualified and well trained teachers will be motivated enough to share their knowledge and upgrade their skills to suit the evolving education needs of the country.
ICT integration is the key to coming up with interesting, multimedia content that engages students, gives them real life learning and encourages them to explore world knowledge through internet-based technologies. Digital learning is what will pave the way to a great future. Products like Smart class started the trend of bringing technology into the classrooms and a lot of schools in India incorporated digital learning into traditional teaching methods. Engagement with digital learning now needs to deepen and extend its reach to all corners of the country – from private school setups to government schools too.
School management, teachers, parents and school children must have regular interaction to be able to acknowledge, understand and address education challenges. This will ensure that right learning atmosphere is created not just in schools but at homes too. An atmosphere where technology enhances the quality of educational delivery and deep involvement helps us bring out the best of human qualities in our children – the future of the country.
