Tuesday, June 16, 2009

India - Need for Uniform School Education

I am not an educationist. However, I write this piece as this is an issue which has bothered me a lot for a long time. The Indian education system is hailed as a strong system which has enabled the country to create a large pool of educated class. It also provides a good opportunity to students in all parts of the country, be it in a small village or in a metro access to education. The networks of government schools all over the country also provide access to relatively low cost or free education.

However, what strikes me is the complete lack of uniformity in education. We have state boards, the central boards and now also the International Baccalaureate. We have the state government run schools, the schools by the central government, the private schools and also schools run by religious institutions. We have various mediums of educations, English, Hindi and all the state languages.

The plethora of mediums as also the types of education creates a strong divide amongst students. We have the English speaking elites and the low profile vernacular types. We also have the private school “haves” and the government school “have nots”. There is also a differentiation of class between the elite private schools and the other private schools.

This differentiation also carries to the next level of education at the undergraduate levels with its undesirable consequences. I have seen there is always polarization of students in the campuses coming from these various types of schools. While the centers of higher education should be melting pots, they still tend to continue as islands of isolation of these different groups. This is further accentuated by strong alumni network of the exclusive schools create a further divide between the elite schools and the ordinary schools. The strong networks of these elite institutions also create a further social divide.

So in effect you find a situation wherein the schooling creates deep divide amongst students. It creates the differentiation in the new society. So when we look at the entry to schools, the elite schools are available only for the children of the rich and famous. It is also the prerogative of the kids of the metros and large towns. In effect we are denying the kids in the small towns and the kids from lower and middle class families.

If we are to provide an equal opportunity to the whole country, we should strive towards creating a uniform educational system somewhat on the lines of the US, wherein you have the right to get the admission in the neighborhood school. Only the very rich should be in a position to send their children to the exclusive private schools. This will provide access to every one to the same quality education. This will necessitate that the state and the central government work together to standardize the educational curriculum including moving the medium of education to English. It will require strong political will and substantial investment to bring in the state government and central schools at par with the with the top end private schools. However, it will provide the immense benefit of building a strong educational infrastructure with the flexibility of changing the curriculum with changing times. Once we have a common educational platform, we can put better systems to identify talents. It will provide an opportunity to small town/village students to compete more effectively without being burdened with the disadvantages of curriculum and modes of education as it is at present. It will also provide an added advantage for better mobility of people across the country.

No comments:

Post a Comment