EDUCATION IN INDIA
“Education is the most
powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
― Nelson Mandela
Education ….
When we talk about education there are
several questions come in our mind… some of them are:
·
Firstly,
what education means?
·
Secondly,
why is it important for us?
·
Thirdly,
the development of the education system?
- ·
What
should be the policy for that in modern India and what steps are taken by our
government or state to promote it?
What education means?
A society cannot flourish or grow without
education because it does not have the intelligence to build and maintain
society. Paulo Freire famously called schooling and college as banking- making
deposits of knowledge. Such schooling too easily descends into treating
learners like objects, things to be acted upon rather than people to be related
to. Education, as we understand it here, is a process of inviting truth and
possibility, of encouraging and giving time to discovery. It is, as John Dewey
put it, a social process- ‘a process of living and not a preparation for future
living’. In this view educators look to act with people rather on them, their
task is to educe, to bring out, or develop potential.
At the earlier time, the government has total control of all information
distribution to society, resulting in an absence of knowledge and common sense
in citizens. The society does not have the basic skills to problem solve or
decipher situations, so people cannot comprehend the inherently wrong
operations of the government. Society must understand how easily the government
can take advantage of the people, and if there is no foundation of education,
their society cannot flourish and grow.
Why is education important for us?
Education is very necessary for each and everyone
to improve knowledge, way of living as well as social and economic status
throughout life. It helps a person to get knowledge and improve confidence
level all through life. It plays a great role in our career growth as well as
in personal growth.
And it also works as the backbone of society as
education is the social institution through which society provides its members
with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms
values.
Education is an integral part of human
society. It’s important in life and can't be ignored as a lack of education
gives birth to numerous social problems like poor health, integral conflict,
poor living standards, and many more. It helps people to find a better solution
to their problems. Education lets people realize the true value of contribution
and help become the backbone of society. And there are many more benefits to
education. It makes this world a better place to live in as, without educated
people, this world can't become a better place. That is why proper education is
needed to turn this world into a better place. Hence, we can conclude that fo
the evolution of a country, there is a need for education. So, in many ways,
education plays an important role for a single person and also our society as a
whole.
Development of education system in India
In India education, in ancient days, has
always been believed to be much disciplined and well- organized, dating back to
sometime during the 3rd century B.C. when traditional and religious
knowledge used to be the main subject of learning. Palm leaves and tree barks
were the writing pads and most of the teaching was oral by sages and scholars.
Education in India became more relevant to the Gurukul System of learning that
required students and teachers boarding together, passing astrology was the
main subjects of teaching. Another unique aspect of this education was it's free
availability for all but was allowed a voluntary contribution called “Guru
Dakshina" which could mostly be afforded by few wells to do families at
the end of the courses.
Then at the beginning of the first millennium
and some years preceding saw the starting of universities like The TAKSHASHILA
University, Nalanda University, Vikramshila University, and Ujjain. Concrete
subjects of the study came into being like Astronomy, Grammar, Logic,
Philosophy, Literature, Law, Medicine, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Arthashastra
(Politics and Economics), Mathematics and Logic. Each of the university
specialized in a subject, with Takshashila focusing on medicine, the university
in Ujjain on astronomy, whereas, Nalanda dealt with almost all the villages in
India, during the 18th century. Medieval times also saw the
establishment of Madrasas and the setting up of libraries and literary
societies.
And in modern India started with the British
era and thus, came the study of the English language which was given more
emphasis than other language learning. The recent form of education in India
was an idea proposed by Lord Macaulay in the 20th century who
believed that Indians should attain modern education to come out of their
traditional thoughts, interests, intelligence, and morals. The western
education in India witnessed the setting up of several missionary colleges in
various parts of the country. Post-independence, the education sector was
largely controlled by the central government but slowly became a joint effort
by the central and the state governments through a constitutional amendment in 1976.
By the start of the 21st century, came education policies and
planning like free and compulsory education for children till 14 years of age
policy and the plan to spend 6% of GDP in education, focusing primarily more.
What should be the policy for that in Modern INDIA and what steps are
taken by our government or state to promote it?
The government has taken no steps to promote
education in India. But the most recent step and can say very nice step taken
by the government of India is THE NEW EDUCATION POLICY 2020 which is appearing
as a new dawn. As a national education policy or NEP is a comprehensive
framework to guide the development of education in the country. A new policy
usually comes along every few decades. The latest policy is India’s third. It
replaces the 1986 NEP, which was in place for 34 years.
The need for a policy was first felt in 1964
when congress MP Siddheshwar Prasad criticized the then government for lacking
a vision and philosophy for education. The same year, a 17 member Education
Commission, headed by then UGC Chairperson DS Kothari, was constituted to draft
a national and coordinated policy on education. Based on the suggestion of this
Commission, Parliament passed the first education policy in 1968.
A new NEP usually comes along every few
decades. India has had three to date. The first came in 1968 and the second in
1986, under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively; the NEP
of 1986 was revised in 1992 when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. The
third is the NEP released Wednesday under the Prime Ministership of Narendra
Modi.
The vision of India’s new education system
has accordingly been crafted to ensure that it touches the life of each and
every citizen, consistent with their ability to contribute to this country on
the one hand, and towards creating a just and equitable society on the other.
Addresses challenges of education:
1.
Access
2.
Equity
3.
Quality
4.
Affordability
5.
Accountability
The NEP proposes
sweeping changes including opening up of Indian higher education to foreign
universities, dismantling of the UGC, and the All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE), the introduction of a four-year multidisciplinary
undergraduate programme with multiple exit options, and discontinuation of the
M Phil programme.
In school
education, the policy focuses on overhauling the curriculum, “easier” Board
exams, a reduction in the syllabus to retain “core essentials” and thrust on
“experiential learning and critical thinking”.
In a significant
shift from the 1986 policy, which pushed for a 10+2 structure of school
education, the new NEP pitches for a “5+3+3+4” design corresponding to the age
groups 3-8 years (foundational stage), 8-11 (preparatory), 11-14 (middle), and
14-18 (secondary). This brings early childhood education (also known as
pre-school education for children of ages 3 to 5) under the ambit of formal
schooling. The mid-day meal programme will be extended to pre-school children.
The NEP says students until Class 5 should be taught in their mother tongue or
regional language.
The policy also
proposes phasing out of all institutions offering single streams and that all
universities and colleges must aim to become multidisciplinary by 2040.
The
government plans to set up subject-wise committees with members from relevant
ministries at both the central and state levels to develop implementation plans
for each aspect of the NEP. The plans will list out actions to be taken by
multiple bodies, including the HRD Ministry, state Education Departments,
school Boards, NCERT, Central Advisory Board of Education, and National Testing
Agency, among others. Planning will be followed by a yearly joint review of
progress against targets set.
EMPHASIS
ON MOTHER TONGUE OR REGIONAL LANGUAGE: Most
government schools in the country are doing this already. As for private
schools, it’s unlikely that they will be asked to change their medium of
instruction. A senior ministry official clarified to The
Indian Express that the provision on mother tongue as
a medium of instruction was not compulsory for states. "Education is a
concurrent subject. Which is why the policy clearly states that kids will be
taught in their mother tongue or regional language 'wherever possible',"
the officer said.
The major recommendations of the NEP in
higher education is:
Ø Replacing the UGC and the AICTE with the
Higher Education Commission of India.
Ø Opening up Indian higher education to foreign
players.
Ø Reintroduction of the four years multi-disciplinary
Bachelor’s programme, with exit options.
Ø Flexibility to institutions to offer
different designs for Master’s programmes.
Ø Discontinuation of the M.Phil programme.
Ø Setting up of a National Research Foundation.
The first objective of the NEP is to device and implement robust
solutions to its problems that are in harmony with different programs and
initiatives of the Government of India – make in India, skill India, start-up
India and the latest being Atma-nirbhar India.
