Syllabus
GS Paper II – Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Context
From a young age, children in India are funneled into a standardized system that prioritizes conformity over creativity, uniformity over uniqueness.
Fixing the Education system
Introduction
The current emphasis on marks and ranks compels children to follow rigid, predetermined paths dictated by societal expectations and institutional pressures. This often leads to a loss of their innate love for learning and stifles their imagination, as they are forced to memorize and regurgitate information. Consequently, many students find themselves merely going through the motions set by the system, unable to explore their unique abilities and talents. The relentless pursuit of high grades and admission to prestigious colleges overshadows their individual potential and creativity.
Education System in India
- Ancient times: The ‘Gurukul’ was a traditional education system in ancient India where shishya (students) lived with the guru in the same household.
- Nalanda University: Nalanda boasts the oldest university system of education in the world, attracting students from across the globe to Indian knowledge systems.
- British Reforms in Education: The British Government introduced various reforms in the education system through the Macaulay Committee recommendations, Woods’ Despatch, Hunter Commission Report, and the University Education Act, 2004, which had a profound impact on society.
Different Legal and Constitutional Provisions
Legal Provisions
- Primary Education: The government has implemented the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) as part of the Right to Education (RTE) Act for children aged 6-14 years.
- Secondary Education: For the 14-18 age group, the government has extended the SSA to secondary education through the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.
- Higher Education: Higher education, including undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), and MPhil/PhD levels, is addressed by the government through the Rashtriya Uchhattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) to meet the requirements of higher education.
- Unified Scheme: All these schemes have been subsumed under the umbrella scheme of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
Constitutional Provisions
- Article 45 – Initial Directive: Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) initially stipulated that the government should ensure free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 within 10 years of the Constitution’s commencement.
- Article 45 – Amendment: Additionally, Article 45 was amended to extend its scope to encompass early childhood care and education for children below six years of age.
- Article 21A – Fundamental Right: Since this objective wasn’t realized, the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 introduced Article 21A, transforming elementary education into a fundamental right instead of a directive principle.
Issues with the Current Education System
- Overemphasis on Memorisation: The current system heavily emphasizes rote memorisation and reproducing information verbatim, stifling critical thinking and creativity.
- Standardized Testing: High stakes standardized tests are the primary measure of student ability, creating immense pressure and narrowing the curriculum to test preparation.
- Lack of Practical Skills: The curriculum often lacks a focus on practical skills and real-world applications, leaving students struggling with problem-solving and critical thinking in everyday life.
- Inequitable Access: There is a significant disparity in the quality of education between urban and rural areas, and between private and public schools, particularly affecting marginalized communities.
- Teacher Training and Resources: Many teachers are not adequately trained to foster critical thinking and creativity, and schools often lack the necessary resources and infrastructure.
- Parental and Societal Pressure: Intense pressure from parents and society for academic excellence often comes at the expense of students’ mental health and overall well-being.
- Outdated Curriculum: The curriculum is often outdated and does not reflect the current demands of the global job market, necessitating regular updates to include contemporary topics and skills.
- Preference for Tuition Centers: Parents increasingly prefer tuition centres to regular schools, leading to stress-induced suicides and mental health problems among students, and widening the divide between well-educated and less-educated students.
- Quality Variance in Schools: India’s public and private schools vary in quality, with poorly trained and paid teachers contributing to the rise of tuition centers, while the government’s focus on running its own schools neglects monitoring and quality improvement.
- Widening Educational Divide: The educational divide between the rich and poor is widening, with students from marginalized backgrounds struggling within a failed system, and the government’s approach to teaching materials lacking innovation.
- Lack of Societal Involvement: Education should be a societal concern rather than solely a government responsibility, which is often missing in the Indian context. Solutions include widening social participation, engaging civil society, encouraging volunteerism, and making teachers accountable for results.
- High Dropout Rate: The dropout rate is very high at primary and secondary levels, with many students in the 6-14 age group leaving school before completing their education. This leads to a waste of financial and human resources. According to the National Family Health Survey-5, 21.4% of girls and 35.7% of boys aged 6 to 17 years cited lack of interest in studies as the reason for dropping out before the 2019-20 school year.
Government initiatives related to educational reforms
- National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL): This initiative aims to provide quality education through online courses and video lectures, primarily in engineering and science. It has created a vast repository of educational resources, making higher education more accessible to students across India.
- Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan: This comprehensive program integrates various schemes to improve school education from pre-primary to higher secondary levels. It has enhanced the quality of education, infrastructure, and inclusivity in schools, benefiting millions of students.
- PRAGYATA: This set of guidelines focuses on digital education, promoting the use of online and digital tools for teaching and learning. It has supported the continuity of education during the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating online learning.
- Mid Day Meal Scheme: This program provides free lunches to school children to improve nutritional levels and encourage school attendance. It has significantly reduced malnutrition and increased school enrollment and attendance rates.
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: This campaign aims to address gender discrimination and promote the education and empowerment of girls. It has raised awareness and improved the enrollment and retention of girls in schools.
- PM SHRI Schools: This initiative focuses on developing model schools with state-of-the-art infrastructure and innovative teaching methods. It aims to set benchmarks for quality education and serve as examples for other schools to follow.
External Influences and Challenges
- Election-Driven Focus: During elections, the focus shifts to immediate needs like freebies and guarantees, with skepticism about the government’s commitment to education, health, and living conditions.
- Education Sector Crisis: The education sector faces a crisis due to commercialization and politicisation, lacking a step-by-step strategy and national consensus, and relying on technology as a substitute for quality education investments.
- Limits of Edutech: The book “The Learning Trap” highlights the limitations of technology in fixing the education system, emphasizing the need for good teachers over technological solutions.
- Impact of Tuition Industry: The rapidly expanding tuition industry, valued at over Rs 58 billion, is driven by government policies devaluing high school exams and focusing on national exams as gateways to professional careers.
- Insufficient Education Spending: India’s education spending is insufficient, stagnating at 2.61% of GDP, far below the recommended 6% by the Education 2030 Framework for Action. Adequate attention and increased budget allocation are necessary for real growth and development.
- Political Leadership and Fiscal Imagination: Real growth and development depend on political leadership commitment and fiscal imagination. With India’s spending on education remaining low, a fundamental shift is needed to meet challenges and achieve global leadership in education.
- Inadequate Infrastructure in Schools: According to the UDISE for 2019-20, only 12% of schools have internet facilities and 30% have computers. Additionally, 42% of schools lack furniture, 23% lack electricity, 22% lack ramps for the physically disabled, and 15% lack WASH facilities (drinking water, toilets, and hand wash basins).
Solutions and way forward
- Towards Experiential Learning Approach
- Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Integrate subjects that focus on problem-solving and decision-making into the curriculum to provide hands-on learning experiences, preparing students for real-world challenges.
- Active Participation and Emotional Intelligence: Experiential learning encourages active participation from every student, enhancing their emotional intelligence and promoting self-learning.
- Artificial Intelligence in Education: Incorporate AI into the educational sector to further facilitate experiential learning.
- Implementation of National Education Policy (NEP): Transition from the 10+2 system to a 5+3+3+4 system to formally include pre-school education, ensuring uniform implementation across all states.
- Education-Employment Corridor
- Vocational Learning Integration: Enhance the educational setup by integrating vocational training with mainstream education and providing proper mentorship, especially in government schools, to guide students towards career opportunities.
- Rural Mentorship: Provide mentorship to students in rural areas to unlock their potential and reduce the gender gap in education by also educating their parents.
- Multilingual Resources: While maintaining English for international understanding, give equal importance to other Indian languages. Establish special agencies to translate educational resources, ensuring equal opportunities for all students regardless of linguistic background.
- Holistic Development: Learn from the ‘Gurukul’ system of ancient India, which focused on holistic development beyond academics, emphasizing values like self-reliance, empathy, creativity, and integrity.
- Practical Skills Assessment: Adopt assessment methods that evaluate students on practical skills and their ability to apply knowledge to real-life situations, similar to ancient Indian education practices.
- Individual Strengths and Learning Styles: Embrace personalized education that recognizes and nurtures individual strengths and learning styles through project-based learning and experiential activities.
- Critical Thinking and Creativity: Shift the focus from rote memorization to developing critical thinking and creativity. Encourage problem-solving, innovation, and intellectual curiosity through diverse teaching methods and a flexible curriculum.
- Holistic Assessment: Move away from standardized tests as the sole measure of success. Implement a holistic approach to assessment that considers a child’s overall development, including social, emotional, and practical skills.
- Comprehensive Training Programs: Invest in comprehensive teacher training programs that equip educators with the skills to identify and nurture individual talents. Encourage teachers to create inclusive and stimulating learning environments.
- Accessibility for All: Ensure that education is inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic background, gender, or disabilities.
- Parental Involvement: Foster greater collaboration between schools and parents to support students’ education and well-being.
Related PYQ
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 remains inadequate in promoting incentive-based system for children’s education without generating awareness about the importance of schooling. Analyse. [UPSC CSE – 2022 Mains]
Practice Question
How can the Indian education system promote creativity and critical thinking among students while recognizing and nurturing their individual uniqueness? [250 words]