Vimarsh :: View topic

Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:21 pm

vimarsh wrote:

Shouldn't there be then some Indian Institutes of Education, IIE, to nurture and culture good teachers, whether for schools, colleges or universities if India is to aspire for a breakthrough change in its education system Question

Two Indian Institutes of Education already exist, one at Pune and other in Shimla Very Happy

It's another matter that neither of them are as reputed as IIT's and IIM's.

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:32 pm

It is not clear that either IIE Pune or either IIE Shimla are the kind of institution being talked about. IIE Shimla is just the Education department of HP University, offering the B.Ed. degree. Many other places do the same, . It is true that there are many 'fly-by-night' B.Ed. colleges, as mentioned in the quoted article. But there are also Education Departments of reputed Universities, including our own Central Institute of Education. Smile

These are the places where change could begin.

IIE Pune is an NGO and does not offer any degrees. Sad

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:06 pm

Well i did know that neither of them is a national institute like IITs and IIMs are, in fact it is apparent that the promoters of these institutes wanted to cash on the brand name -Indian Institute. The reason the five IITs gained prominence was that they were established with support from some foreign countries like USA, UK Germany etc. All of them are residential and have lavish infrastructure on a rather large acreage of land, these are things that CIE DU does not enjoy. Thus what makes an institution prime is the land and infrastructure, the quality of faculty is often secondary. This is so because somewhere down the time-line we have forgotten to value education. Today the Indian society values political clout and wealth much more than educated minds. Maybe because we are much more exposed in the media to celebrities who are both rich and often have ample political clout.

So, even if some real IIE's were to be established today, they are unlikely to be as successful as the old set of IITs and IIMs, simply because it is much more difficult to collect good teachers in a select set of institutes today, because they are a rarity as a result of policies of yesteryears. But, there can be some hope if these institutes are established with similar grants as was done for IITs and IIMs, that is, they are totally residential, CIE is not, in which students are free to explore libraries/Internet and interact with teachers without having to commute long distances everyday.

But still i have a lingering doubt, why would anybody be attracted to these institute? To become good teachers? Why? The indian society today really does not value a truly educated mind Smile

Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 12:55 pm

Why should a common Indian want to become a teacher?

Most often one chooses the teaching profession as one sees few alternatives. But most aspiring ambitious young wo/man do not have teaching as the first choice, Why?

The reason is not very far to be discovered. There are few future career advancements in this profession, if one can call it a career Smile

At the maximum an average teacher can either aspire to become a principal of a school or else open a tutorial classes business at home.

Look at the other professions, students who join an engineering course in an IIT, seldom want to become engineers. They aspire for an MBA degree afterwards and hence a cushy job in a multinational company as an executive. A medical student aspires to open a private hospital/clinic so that one can earn a lot from private consultations, even if a teacher in a medical college.

To attract students to the teaching profession, the government needs to dangle more carrots; may be in the form of posts of a national teacher and international teachers. Afterall there is an acute shortage of quality teachers worldwide.

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:45 pm

rmh wrote:

Why should a common Indian want to become a teacher?

Most often one chooses the teaching profession as one sees few alternatives. But most aspiring ambitious young wo/man do not have teaching as the first choice, Why?

Well, a teaching profession is not really for an "aspiring young person" It is only for socially motivated person who feels settled in life and does not seek riches.

The problem indeed arises when these ambitious people become teachers more by force of circumstances rather then by choice. They then devote most of their time in earning fast bucks by alternative means or become politicians.

The teaching profession is increasing becoming popular among women, because as per the grapewine, it helps them to maintain family, enjoy the social status because of the profession of their husbands, and also make frequent forien jaunts Smile

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:00 am

Of late i am busy compiling documents about the state of education in developing countries, like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Vietnam and some African countries too.

One may access these documents on scribd through the following link http://www.scribd.com/group/74055-education-in-the-third-world

I hope some of the visitors to this thread would find some documents there useful Smile

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:36 am

Curriculum as per the following definition,

Quote:

The process and substance of an educational program, comprising the purpose, design, conduct and evaluation of educational experiences. It gives shape to an institution's particular intellectual beliefs and aspirations, negotiated by faculty in light of their specialized knowledge and in the context of social expectation and students' needs, and manifested in a body of courses that present the knowledge, principals, values, and skills intended as consequences of an undergraduate education.
source

is no doubt a very vital component of any education system. Where does this aspect stand in context of the Indian Education System? Today the opinion of Professor Krishna Kumar, Director NCERT and also a member of faculty of CIE DU appeared in TOI. It would be indeed worthwhile to include them in this thread:

KRISHNA KUMAR DIRECTOR, NCERT wrote:

As a term, curriculum’ carries a remarkably unclear meaning in our country. It is commonly applied as a substitute for syllabus and the textbook. It is also popularly construed in the narrow sense of covering merely the names of subjects taught at any stage, rather than what is taught under these subjects and how it is assessed. As a concept, curriculum’ remains one of the most vaguely understood elements of the educational process. This vagueness undoubtedly makes a major contribution to the inertia and resistance to reforms we see in our schools, including the ones reputed to be the best.
Reforms initiated under the National Curriculum Framework (NCF-2005) pose three key challenges: linking the child’s life at home with learning at school, discouraging rote-learning and moving beyond the textbook. These were among the five basic principles of the NCF, the other two being a change in our evaluation system and the importance of nurturing a democratic identity. The new syllabi and textbooks brought out by NCERT use these principles and make a radical departure from the traditional concept of a textbook.
Significant efforts are required for change in the entrenched attitudes of parents and teachers towards the practice of measuring the child’s progress in terms of examination scores alone. NCF’s thrust on flexibility has barely begun to be appreciated and requires a great deal of advocacy especially in the context of children with special needs.

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:04 am

I know Vijay Kumar for several years. He was instrumental in launching the School libraries development group (SLDG)] in association with CSEC many years ago, He is employed in a school as a librarian. Today, i have received an email sent from him which tells a story about the state of affairs in many Government schools!

Vijay Kumar wrote:

Sordid Saga of School Affairs: A Helpless Spectator

My school is located in a resettlement colony of India’s capital city, Delhi. It was morning assembly going on. Small girls of elementary section were on the stage singing National Anthem and Morning Prayer and giving lead. Suddenly one of them fell down and few moments later we heard her scream. The girl was carried to sports room by the teachers. I think it was her first incident and she was under shock.. Only one thing we can hear ..mummy… mummy. Few teachers were helping her to gather courage and return to normal but it was of no help. Principal was busy inspecting the central sewer of the ground, so that rain water does not get blocked – just to escape the wrath of higher authorities. I think he also heard the wail but his priority was something else. Teachers cannot escort the child to her home. They would not be allowed to do that, courtesy policing of education and taming teachers. In fact once child enters school she is virtually imprisoned. Bahar Kuch ho gaya to ..Bacchi Ghar Nahi Phuchi to hamare nukri par aafat aa jayegi. No phone no contact as she is from poor background – parent can’t afford phone. Then I heard rote sermon from the stage ‘Khana kha kar aao….khali pet nahi aao..’ ..’Dicipline me raho… koi bhi adhikari aa sakta hai’ …’Phahle , Chouthe, Panchmi aur Aathmi period mei koi pani peene nahi jayega’..’Bina paas ke koi ground mei najar nahi aaye’ etc. Assembly was over and children were being drummed to their dingy small rooms jam-packed in more than 100 numbers -sort of concentration cells. Their day long ordeal starts with two teachers deputed in each period to guard them so they don’t sneak out.

I have written this to share my feeling and experience with you. It is said that the second home of a child is her school. We talk lot on education but in reality the overall scenario is gleam. When Gandhi’s Talisman of Poorest of Poor will come true?

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:44 am

Today morning i strayed into the latest issue of the journal Current Science published by IISc and i was not disappointed while I read the following Editorial by P. Balram the Director of IISc Smile

particulary after i larned that DU honoured some of its college teachers a few days ago, in a function presided by our former President Abdul Kalam

Professor P. Balrm wrote:

Teachers and Teaching

Teachers and mentors are remembered fondly on ‘Teachers Day’, which is observed on 5 September. Everybody remembers a favourite or influential teacher, especially as they grow older. Teachers are a diverse community. While primary and secondary school teachers deal with children in their formative years, high school teacherswrestle with the problems of groups of adolescents, in the difficult years when childhood recedes and adulthbeckons. The early undergraduate classes are almost an extension of high school; although college brings with it a sudden loosening of the constraints that sometimes seem so restrictive for teenagers on the verge of a transition. Teachers are to be found all the way up to the level of research degrees. Ph D’s are earned under ‘guides’ and‘supervisors’, who must really act as mentors and teachers. By this stage the relationships are more nearly equal,with experienced students transforming into valuable colleagues in research for their supervisors. Teaching is traditionally a term reserved for those who lecture, explain and inform in the confines of a classroom. For teachers,the blackboard and chalk were their traditional instruments; their only other requirement was a sheaf of well-thumbed notes or a prodigious memory, from which facts could be recalled at will. Times have changed in institutions of higher education, where visual aids and computers have invaded classrooms. ‘Powerpoint’ allows instructors to project in rapid fashion reams of information, while the internet provides an inexhaustible and valuable resource,after class, if used wisely. In the electronic age even teachers may need to change, as they move into a position where they must guide students to learn. In schools little has changed and hundreds of thousands of classrooms across India might well be described in Goldsmith’s vivid verse, penned in the 18th century.............
.................................
Teaching has never been a financially rewarding profession. In a highly globalized and commercialized world, teaching careers are unattractive and few young and bright college graduates will opt to become teachers. At all levels, from school to the university, there is a growing shortage of trained, committed and enthusiastic teachers. The dramatic expansion of the higher education system, especially in the areas of science and engineering, has suddenly highlighted the great demand for faculty. It has been easy to create IISERs and IITs by decree; it appears harder to recruit faculty who will be both researchers and teachers.
read the full editorial....

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:25 am

Here's a revealing news report that appeared in TOI today:

Seethalakshmi S | TNN wrote:

SKEWED RATIO
Over 71% schools have less than 3 teachers
Bangalore: Even as Right to Education Bill holds out the promise of education for all children, theres a huge stumbling block. Altogether 4.17 lakh primary schools in India have one or at best two teachers. And thats 54% of all primary schools in the country.
Worse, the number of primary schools with three or less number of teachers is as high as 5.49 lakh thats a staggering 71.5%. The report of the working group on elementary education and literacy for the 11th Five-Year Plan submitted to HRD ministry has said that schools across the country are woefully short of teachers.
Though there has been an impressive increase in the number of primary and upper primary school teachers in India in the past two decades, the imbalance in teacher allocation between states, districts and within districts, between rural and urban areas continues to be a major concern, sources said.
The increase in upper primary teachers is relatively higher in rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In most states, the percentage increase in upper primary teachers is more than that of primary teachers . Also, irrational allocation of primary teachers among schools and between rural and urban areas is a major issue in many states. Yet another major issue is small schools with very few teachers. The working group has also pointed out that teacher training programmes have continued to be oriented towards mono-grade teaching situations.
Teaching-learning materials used in these small schools are also not geared to teaching in multi-age and multi-grade settings . The need of the hour is to examine and ensure that teachers working in these schools receive proper orientation on teaching in such contexts and conditions. There is a need to take a fresh hard look at our training programme, including content , duration, method and frequency too.

Primary teachers are at the bottom of the education system in India, and they are seldom valued in the society, so it is not really surprising that their number is so low Sad

Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:52 am

Today morning a read a rather interesting article about Higher Education in India. It is authored by Devesh Kapur, who is director, Centre for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, US. Here is what he has written:

Devesh Kapur wrote:

Few issues are likely to have as crucial an impact on Indias future as its ability to rapidly and significantly improve its human capital. Even though higher education is critical to this goal, few policy areas have been as politicised or poorly executed . I begin by addressing the lack of clarity in thinking about the fundamental underlying question : What are the goals of Indian higher education Appropriateness of public policy, after all, depends on the aims being pursued.
All societies wrestle with the proper role of higher education. Is the intention to train people to enter the labour force, or to prepare them to be easily trainable by their employers If the former, then one might emphasise professional education; if the latter, then an education that develops analytical and critical thinking skills would be more desirable. Should the emphasis be primarily on developing skills, disseminating knowledge or creating new knowledge Is an important goal the creation of a middle class, or a society with greater social mobility Is it to mould the minds of young people If so, to what end Do we seek to create better citizens or promote a stronger sense of nationhood
The most discernible instrumental outcome of higher education is its links with and impact on labour markets. Let us say one of its key goals is to provide skills to a very large number of new entrants to the labour force. But then, should one invest in IITs or ITIs Suppose we want to leverage the human capital resulting from investments in higher education to improve Indian health care. A supply chain of health care would require doctors, nurses and paramedics , pharmacists and lab technicians , hospital administrators and even accountants. If the goal then is better societal health outcomes , where should resources be directed In India, investment in the human capital of nurses and paramedics might matter much more than specialist physicians, and in civil and environmental engineers who can ensure clean water and sanitation much more than the high-tech engineering behind MRIs. But what do we do When we think of skills we are obsessed with IITs; when we think of health care we can scarcely think beyond doctors.
But suppose the priority were different: designing higher education to promote greater socioeconomic mobility. Many underlying handicaps faced by students from lower socio-economic groups appear to occur much earlier in life. Indeed, they begin at the prenatal stage and are subsequently amplified by poor health care in early childhood followed by poor education at the primary and secondary school level. Policies seeking to rectify these handicaps through affirmative action in higher education admissions, together with financial transfers in the form of scholarships, are undoubtedly important, but they are far too late and benefit only a privileged few. This is not a reason to discontinue these policies, but we must apply much greater energy and investment in earlier stages of individuals lives for this goal to be achieved in any significant way.
What if the goal of higher education focused less on narrow instrumental benefits and instead on something fundamentally deeper but less discernible: shaping the sensibilities and values of citizens Should policies have national integration as a goal, transforming universities into sites for creating a more cosmopolitan Indian identity out of multiple parochial identities across the country That too might require a form of affirmative action but with a difference. Fifty years ago, even regional Indian universities had faculty from all over India. By contrast, faculty at most state universities today are locally recruited (often products of that university itself), and there is a virtual absence of mobility in faculty labour markets in the country. Apart from the nepotism and mediocrity that result from such in-breeding , state universities have failed to light the spark of a more cosmopolitan Indian sensibility and instead become petri dishes of parochialism. Should there be reservation policies to ensure greater representation of out-of-state faculty and students What if India could conceive of higher education in a more strategic sense, as an instrument of Indian foreign policy and soft power A country with renowned universities is able not only to retain its own best and brightest, but also to attract talent from around the world, generating knowledge, wealth and influence. Would India then create tiny islands of excellence , while allowing its broad-based universities to go to seed Would it create universities catering to a narrow clientele, such as NRIs or the SAARC community , or broad-based institutions of learning open to all Would it rather push its talented students to do their research in the best foreign universities, or instead invite these universities to flourish in India.

These broad aims are not mutually exclusive indeed there will always be multiple goals underlying higher education. But clarifying these goals and placing them within an overall vision of Indias future that helps prioritise tradeoffs is an essential first step if the country is to take advantage of its most important and expanding resource: its people.

Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:42 am

The efficacy of the Indian education system is also equally affected by the attitudes of the students, which in turn are determined by the education of their parents and the socio-economic scenario prevalent in India today, as is evodent from an article posted in Times of India, Delhi. Education Times supplement:

NIPA VAIDYA wrote:

BLINDED BY THE BLING

STUDENTS AND PARENTS OFTEN GET CARRIED AWAY BY THE TALL CLAIMS MADE BY SEVERAL EDUCATION INSTITUTES.

Much before education became the commodity it is today, it was worshipped by the classes and masses in our country. People were willing to invest any amount of time and money to bag their desired degree. However, over the years and with commercialisation of education, priorities have changed. Though the sentiment to spend on education remains the same, the reasons to bag the degree are certainly different . There was a time when higher education was about acquiring knowledge and earning a distinguished degree with excellent academic records. However, today perceptions have changed and education is only a means to secure a well-paid job. Most students are more interested in knowing the number and profiles of companies visiting the institution than the quality of education imparted , reveals Mannar Jawahar, vice-chancellor of Anna University.

REAL REASONS

Experts believe that many students look at education as a means to an end and the quest to learn has long been lost. Thus, it comes as no surprise that new, improved courses from hitherto unknown universities (that many a times do not have the requisite certifications) are slowly but steadily gaining in popularity. True, and in this pursuit of a different degree that would give them an edge over competition , students often overlook the fact that if the institute offering the fancy specialisation is not an established one, they are not likely to attract attention in the job market, career counsellor Jayanti Ghose analyses.
..........
Of course, this is not the only reason why students enroll for colleges/universities whose only claim to fame is their presence in the media, thanks to commercial announcements . Sometimes, students are unaware of the implications of enrolling for such courses . At others, they feel recognition is not as important as getting a job and if a course promises students a job, they opt for it, ..........

............. one of the biggest factors that influence students decision to enroll for such colleges/universities is their performance in either their exams or the entrance exams that determine their chances of getting admission in reputed, recognised colleges . Admits Jitesh, a final year engineering student in a private college in Delhi, My grades in my boards were not sufficient to get admission in any of the engineering colleges of my choice. I enrolled for this college since I was assured that the college was good. However, none of the claims were met. His college conducts only theory classes. There are no practical classes. Jiteshs isn't the only case in point. There are several others. What appears to be a wise decision during desperate times often ends up as a waste of time, money and no career path to tread on.
...... a larger number of students and parents get carried away by sops that these institutes offer. However, they do not read the fine print in the process. For instance, not many are aware of the fact that private institutes cannot award degrees on their accord, be it a BBA or an MBA. In quite a few cases, private institutes can only offer autonomous certificate programmes or diplomas which might have a high local recognition but are rarely accepted by international employers or institutes of higher education.

FOREIGN FUNDAS

The foreign factor is yet another crowd puller. Take the case of Ajay, a student of an unrecognised college that eventually downed its shutters. Ajay says, The college was offering much more that the regular education and course practicals. Facilities like a trip to an international university and the opportunity to present our research in a foreign country sounded lucrative.
Precisely the reason why Rashmi enrolled with another private university. The programme description included faculty from NASA and DRDO. All went well till one day we received a notice saying that the lease of our college premises had expired and thus we had to vacate the property and our dreams, she rues.
For Swapnil, student of a leading college (unrecognised, mind you) that offered a diploma in fashion in affiliation with a leading foreign fashion institute, it was once again the lure of foreign shores that made him sign up for that course. Apart from the affiliation, they promised a runway programme designed to showcase our products in front of international designers. Little did I know that the affiliation was allegedly a spelling mistake presented in their course prospectus!
Irrespective of our preference for foreign education and degrees, fact remains that the world over people regard Indian education in high esteem and look at educated Indians as competition. Even US President Barack Obama, while announcing the American Graduation Initiative in Warren Michigan, said that he was laying the foundation of an education system which would help America compete with China and India in the 21st Century. Yet, we continue to nurse dreams of graduating from a foreign university.
Testimony of this fact is the number of students who queue up for admissions to courses that are affiliated to a foreign college. Whilst doing so, they do not check the ranking of the particular affiliated foreign university globally . Since rankings matter when it comes to international acceptance, it surely should be verified before enrolling. Foreign accreditations , which are globally accepted are a measure of the credibility of an institution/programme , but if it does not have acceptance or recognition by the formal educational authorities in the country, students may not be universally accepted in the job market or considered for admission to further studies in India and abroad. Some students who have opted for a foreign accredited or collaborative programme on account of its innovative curriculum , and method of instruction, have found themselves disappointed by the fact that the programme/ institution did not attract the brightest minds, and the teachers/faculty have also fallen short of expectation, Ghose explains...........

PLACEMENT PROMISES

With assured placements being the order of the day, students prefer enrolling for diplomas , certificates or MBA programmes so as to bag the first job that is offered on campus. What they do not realise is that on many occasions these claims made in brochures are nothing but just claims. If these prospective students meet with alumni/students studying in the college, faculty and industry where the alumni are supposed to be working, this claim can be easily verified. ...
Claims that international universities make too need to be verified, especially since students assume they would ..... This is again a myth as all countries have strict work permit rules for people looking for employment in their country. What the student does not read in the fine print is that he has to first find the job himself in order to apply for the work permit which is not automatically an extension of the student visa. A low-tier MBA programme or a certificate programme does not fetch him a well paying white collar job in that country so that in effect the work permit sop is useless, and he has to come back to India where his salary package is the same as a graduate from an equivalent Indian institute.

CREDIBILITY CHECK

While there are enough and more cases of students being duped by Indian colleges and those have affiliations with foreign colleges, one must mention here that not all private institutes, colleges or universities are bogus. What students and parents need to do is make a well informed and researched choice. Any university should be recognised by the University Grants Commission (www.ugc.ac.in) and this is usually mentioned on the website and in the prospectus, quoting the date, and other details like when the university was established. The university should be a member of the Association of Indian Universities (www.aiuweb.org). A college should be affiliated to a recognised university , and if autonomous, should be accredited or recognised/approved by the regulatory authority for the professional programme it offers. The regulatory authorities are mentioned on the website of UGC under Higher Education. Examples are Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Indian Nursing Council, AICTE (for engineering, MBA, hotel management, MCA, etc), National Council for Teacher Education, and so on. The above factors usually ensure that there is adequate infrastructure, faculty and provision to handle the number of students and programmes the institution offers, Ghose advises.
Yet another way of checking the college/universitys claim is by meeting with students of that college.
Whenever students approach us looking for information on our college, we tell them the truth, Jitesh confesses. Students must get in touch with alumni of their potential institutes, people living in that country and even recruitment agencies before they confirm their enrollment to get a more realistic idea of the post-education opportunities, Jain suggests.
Presenting the other side of the coin, a counselor says on condition of anonymity, Sometimes you cant blame universities for doing what they do it is a business after all and there are so many people who are looking for better options, especially when it comes to finding a way out of this country and settling abroad. They are so blinded with this idea that it doesnt matter if its a dodgy institution or not they will mortgage their house and take loans to make these dreams come true.
These dreams are often not realized since students end up with degrees that are either not good enough to get them a job or they end up wasting precious academic years only to return to a basic run of the mill course.

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:51 am

While the quoted article refers to only tertiary education, it equally holds good for primary and secondary education in India. Parents belonging to a certain social class have stared recognizing the worth of 'good' education and are ready to invest their hard earned cash for getting it for their wards.

As for the unscrupulous business people who have started exploiting this need of people, one can only say they serve to educate these ignorant but aspiring parents. The next generation of parents, who would have suffered at the hands of these business people, would know better whom to trust and the precautions required, because they would have paid for the ignorance and greed of their parents or parents of their peers Smile

Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 10:16 am

One malaise that is most prevalent in the Indian education system, is the fear of innovation. For example, science education in the country still has the curriculum it has inherited from the Britishers or adapted from Americans.It abounds in concepts like those of atomic/molecular orbitals, which most teachers/students understand little and hence keep on struggling with them. But, most science teachers would not dare to touch the curriculum to reduce the preponderance of such concepts, because they are scared as if without them the science education would not be complete!

For a discussion about the state of science education in this regard, click on the link below:

http://csecduac.in/viewtopic.php?t=1504

However, this is not the case with primary education; many innovations have been implemented in the NCERT mathematic books, like Math Magic

Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:35 am

Today there was an article authored by central MHRD minister Kapil Sibal about the future of education in India:

Kapil Sibal wrote:

.................India’s gross enrollment ratio (GER) is a meager 12.4%. This means that for every 100 children who pass class 12, only 12.4% obtain a university education. Any developed economy has a GER above 40%, and in the most developed economies, this is above 60%. Economic growth, therefore, is directly related to the percentage of children moving from secondary to higher education. This is because universities and institutions of higher learning and excellence are centres of creation of knowledge which translates into wealth, the indices of which are reflected in the economy.
We therefore, need to ensure that the Right to Education Act, 2009, is implemented in right earnest through collaborative efforts of the Central and State Governments along with the necessary stakeholders in civil society. Our aim is to increase our GER from 12.4% at present to 30% by 2020. If we achieve this, then, of the 220 million children going to school, about 70 million children will be eligible to move on for higher education. The present figure is about 26 million. In other words, by 2020, we should and must incrementally build enough capacity in the higher education sector to be able to cater to the needs of over 40 million extra children..
We need to have an education system which encourages creativity and tests the raw intelligence of the child. We need to move away from the rote system of learning to methodologies which expand the child’s horizon of knowledge and encourage the child to be creative and innovative in the context of the challenges that confront contemporary society. In the learning experience of a child, there must not be a disconnect between learning and solving problems. We need an education system that allows a child to evolve into a responsible, sensitive and tolerant citizen, proud of his or her roots, yet willing to embrace and meet the challenges of tomorrow. Therefore, the content of education must be transformed.
Not everyone after higher secondary is likely to seek a college degree, and the over 140 million young students who do not pass Class XII would need to be imparted skills of a level and quality that too must be matched with the growing and diverse needs of the economy. Community colleges, ITIs, polytechnics and other institutional frameworks must expand exponentially.
All this will require massive investments in the education sector. It will not be possible for the state alone to provide for this. We, therefore, need to use innovative means through public-private partnerships. We will also need to make technology play a significant role in this enterprise. And this should be in ways beyond broadband, Internet and distance education.
We need massive investments in higher learning as well. With the transformation of our curricula and methodologies, we need to make the university system more independent and accountable. Universities should have the freedom to reach out to key stakeholders for resources and talent and allow a system of recruitment, which will help meet the challenges. Our universities must become centres of knowledge emphasizing the significance of research, a sine qua non for knowledge creation.
................

Any comments?

Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 9:20 am

A view that the Indian education system suffers from a fear for innovation and change, as i have myself said in my earlier post has been put forward by Chetan Bhagat in an article published in TOI on its editorial page. If you do not subscribe to TOI, you may like to read the following quote from the article:

Chetan Bhagat wrote:

I avoid writing columns on the Indian education system as it is not good for my health. For days, my blood continues to boil, i have insomnia and i feel like hurting someone real bad. The Indian education system is a problem that can be fixed. It affects the countrys future, impacts almost every family, everyone knows about it and it is commercially viable to fix it. Still, nothing happens because of our great Indian culture of avoiding change at all costs. And because change means sticking out your neck and that, ironically, is something we are not taught to do.
Still, with a movie coming on the education system, which came about because of a book i wrote nearly six years ago, it is important to revisit the issues. Soon, all the media will talk about is the anatomy, diet and romantic chemistry of the main actors. While that makes insightful breakfast reading, it is also important to understand the main problems with our education system that need to be fixed or, rather, should have been fixed 10 years ago.
There are two main problems: one, the supply of good college seats and, two, the actual course content and intent behind education.
The first issue is about the supply of A-grade institutions vs the number of A-grade potential students.................
................................What do we teach in school and college And how much do you use it in daily life later Ask yourself, has the world changed in the last 20 years If yes, has our course content changed at the same pace Has it even changed at all Who are the people changing our course materials Do they have real life corporate exposure
I am not saying we study only to get a job (though many, many Indians actually do it with that main intention). However, even in the quest for knowledge goal of education, our course materials fall short. We emphasise sticking to the course, testing endlessly how well the student has revised his lessons. We treat lessons as rules to be adhered to, and the better you conform, the more likely you are to score. I hated it personally, and i am sure millions do too but they have no choice. Innovation, imagination and creativity crucial for the country as well as more likely to bring the best out of any student have no place in our education system. In fact, we actually ensure we kill this spirit in the child as fast as possible. Because innovation by definition means challenging the existing way, and that is just not something good Indian kids who respect elders do.
The cycle perpetuates itself, and we continue to create a secondrate society of followers rather than change-embracing leaders. I have hope that the current generation will break this norm and start questioning the great Indian way. I have hope that the current HRD minister will acknowledge this problem and do something.

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:26 am

A small article in the Education Times supplement of TOI highlighted a very candid shortcoming of the undergraduate education in the Indian Education System. The lacuna lies in the lack of vocational training in most University based undergraduate courses. Let me quote apart of it:

Sakshi Khattar/TNN wrote:

Every year, the country churns out millions of graduates who do not have the specific skill-sets required by the industry. One of the weaknesses of the Indian education system is, perhaps, that it does not give due importance to vocational education leading to a mismatch between demand and supply of skilled professionals.
In fact, students are obsessed with a Bachelor’s degree and tend to look down upon vocational education. This has resulted in a situation where on the one hand there are scores of unemployed graduates and on the other hand there is a shortage of skilled workers such as computer operators, plumbers, technicians etc. Besides, the Indian mindset is such that they believe that only those who are weak in studies or those who have dropped out of the formal education system opt for vocational education.
Whereas, in Switzerland, the education system is such that vocational education is integrated into the formal system of education, more popularly known as ‘Swiss Dual Education System.’ Explaining more about the system, Rudolf Strahm, a strong advocate of vocational education and training, says: “Adequate time is given to practical training in a company and the focus is not just on developing theoretical skills. Out of five working days, three to three-and-a-half days are devoted to industry work.” Strahm was actively involved in the muchneeded Vocational Educational Reform and the ultimate Vocational Training Act. .............

Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:06 am

A few days back, I received the following email message:

Vijay Kumar wrote:

Right to Education Act to be implemented from April 1, 2010. Hope this don't turn out to be BIG APRIL FOOL in practicle sense. Wise men says this is the first act in the history of education in India.
Earlier there was no 'siksha kanoon' so we were not able to achieve the constitutional obligation of universal education in the 10 year time span and put government on dias. Many schemes like DPEP, Operation Black Board, Lok Jumbish, Literacy Mission, Education for All, UEE didn't worked in the absence of 'kanoon'. Three policies of education and knowledge commission turned out to be a futile exercise. Half of the 'janta' of this country is still deprived of basic right -that is to be educated. Government always weeped and gave lack of fund as excuse.
For the last five years the humble taxpayers of this country is giving education cess without knowing how and where this money is being utilised. Even the delay in implementing this impoverish act was weeped out by Sibbal and his ilk, and lack of fund was their excuse.

It seems that India is a stage and actors are perfoming and janta janardhan are made to dance according to their tune. We have three sets of actors (1) Pro Act (2) Against Act and (3) The Government. The Against Act group is asking heaven and engaged in finding gaps in the act and building a pressure group. Pro Act is trying to put on practical face and says lets take what ever govt. is giving..we will fight for other things (children under six, differently abled group etc) later on..let the act get implemented. The third one -the government- is playing monkey (monkey role in cats fight)....She says ur wish is granted ....here is Rs.1.71 lakh crore for RTE as projected amount for next five years. This small amount is to educate 19 crore children (6 to 14 age group) for next five years. Simple mathematical calculation makes it to Rs1800 (approx) per child per year...pls check
it. We find lots of drama aur roti sekna in the name children education. Rs1800 mei kya kya doge aur kaisi siksha doge. kaisa hoga infrasturctre, kaise honge sikshak, kaise tum common school ki baat
karte.ho...kyun natak karte ho....

Kya hamere desh ke garib bacche ko wahin ka wahin rakhne ki sazish mei log lage rahenge.

Vijay is an old acquaintance! He is an educational activist of sorts, I know him since CSEC launched School library Development Group a number of years ago!! But being a critical thinker myself, i find several lacunae in his above arguments. For one, improvement is not solely acheivable with more funds. Even if, ten times the funds the government proposes for implementing this act, were granted, would it be feasible. For example, where are the number of teachers required? Can teacher be bought from the market orc imported like comodities like sugar or food grains? Because teachers for such a noble cause need not be just trained teachers but motivated teachers. The trained teachers churned out of the current teacher training institutions, can at best be effective for making new students literate, that is, capable of reading and writing. But, is that what we dream of when we talk of an educated population.

Is education equivalent to literacy? Can a child become educated even outside a conventional school???

Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:48 pm

hallenrm wrote:

..............teachers for such a noble cause need not be just trained teachers but motivated teachers. The trained teachers churned out of the current teacher training institutions, can at best be effective for making new students literate, that is, capable of reading and writing. But, is that what we dream of when we talk of an educated population.

That's indeed the mute point! I was reading a book entitled: Developing teachers- The Challenges............ available online. I found the following part of the book very relevant indeed

I hope some teacher educators in India would read it!!!

Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 9:56 am

There is a glaring social reality which we, the members of a University community, often miss. I came to think about it after i read the following report in TOI today,

TIMES INSIGHT GROUP wrote:

Will RTE address rising dropout rate?
Reality Check: Over 50% Of Children Who Enrol In Class I Leave School By Class VIII

Amid all the celebrations over the Right to Education (RTE) coming into effect from April 1, there is an elephant in the room that nobody is talking about. It’s called dropout rate.
The spotlight till now has been on expanding the infrastructure, appointing teachers, ensuring that schools are at walkable distances, and so on.
All this is undoubtedly needed. But the biggest problem facing the schooling system is that over 50% of children who join up in Class I drop out by Class VIII. It is not about children who never attended school — those are a separate and fast diminishing category.
Total enrolment in primary classes (Class I to V) was 134.4 million in 2008-09, the latest year for which complete data is made available in the District Information System for Education (DISE) flash statistics, collected by the National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA). In Classes VI to VIII, the total enrolment had dramatically dropped to 53.4 million.
In fact, earlier data from 2006-07 containing class-wise enrolment shows that with each successive class, students quit in large numbers. By Class V, every third kid has dropped out and by Class VIII every second student is no longer attending school.
The Right to Education Act covers children in the 6 to 14 years age group — precisely for these classes in school. So, the dropouts need to be the biggest focus of the implementation mechanism being set up.
There is no definitive number of dropouts in the government records. Last year, the joint review mission (JRM) of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the government’s flagship programme for universalization of elementary education, questioned the veracity of the government’s estimate of 2.8 million out-of-school children in its report. It revealed that small independent studies in Orissa and Varanasi had shown that actual number of out-of-school children were six to eight times the government’s estimates from the same households.
Out-of-school children include both, those who drop out and those who never attended. According to the JRM report, nearly 2.7 million children drop out of school every year.
Thus, the number of outof-school children, in violation of the law for compulsory education, would be many times this number.
Calculation based on net
enrolment ratios reported by JRM reveals a much more dire picture. The net enrolment ratio for Classes VI to VIII was reported by the JRM as 54%, that is, just 54% of all children in the age group 11-14 years were actually enrolled.
This means that approximately 44 million children in this age group do not go to school. For Classes I to V, net enrolment ratio of 97% was reported, leaving out nearly 4 million children. To address the huge problem of dropouts, policy makers need to look at the factors that lead children to leave school at various stages. Surveys by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), which asked boys and girls why they dropped out from school, got some jaw-dropping answers.
About 42% of girls said that they were told by their parents to look after the housework and 14% said that their elders thought that more education was unnecessary for them. In the case of boys, these two reasons were minor, given by only 11% of them. Their main reason for dropping out, given by 68%, was to supplement the family income.
Clearly, if the Right to Education is not to remain merely a paper exercise, policy makers need to delve deep into the broader social and political architecture of our society at the grassroots.

Now a few words about the social reality!

1. A couple of years ago, i engaged in a conversation with the daughter of our maid servant. When i asked her about the teachers in her school, i was told that the teacher in fact seldom teaches. They depute the task to slightly older students of the class, while they happily engage themselves with knitting. The fact is that it is rare that someone takes it as a duty to educate, the teachers job is by and large a license to regular salary by guaranteed the the state!!

2. I often engage in a conversation with the rickshaw puller almost every other evening. ( i take a rickshaw for my trip back from my evening walk in the University lawns, about a km away from my home). I ask them about their home and their children. Its indeed amazing that most of the rickshaw pullers i meet are educated at least to class 9, they had to quit education after the demise of their father to look after the family he left. Almost all of them send their children to a school, often engage a tutor too to teach English. These are the people who have no social security, they live hundred of miles away from their village? Why? Because the present government policies are tuned to pamper, people like myself, at the cost of millions living in remote villages; most often deprived of basic facilities for life!!!!

In such a situation, i cannot really imagine a significant fraction of children inhabitating these regions of India to be enamoured to attend school, which most often teach what is irrelevant for their future life!!![/img]

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:10 pm

Of late, i am engaging my mind to do some critical thinking about the very hot topic, the Right to Education Bill Smile

I am doing this critical thinking with all the inputs i can gather Smile

For example, i am carefully following the discussions on the TV including those in which the Hon'ble HRD Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal is participating, besides various written articles i can lay my hands on. But, I am not single mindedly concentrating on the issue of education alone' i am also side by side mulling about the Food security Bill and the moves of the government for tackling Naxalism!!

Let me first of all tell you my conclusions in brief. My conclusion is that while the UPA is playing good politics to stay in power, it is not exhibiting exemplary Governance!!

How did i reach these conclusions?

I remember Kapil Sibals words in an interview with Barkha Dutt. He repeatedly said that after the RTE bill anyone can approach the courts if he feels that justice is not being done (even though the efficiency of the Indian Judicial System is no secret!). He said that he is well aware that the Indian Education System would fall short of about 5 lakh teachers, but he thinks that he can fill that hole in a couple of years by deploying graduates, who would be trained at the mass scale in the various teacher training institutions in the country.

I really wonder what would be the result. Look at the way the government is handling the Naxalism problem. Only yesterday some 75 odd CRPF jawans wetr killed by the Naxalites in Dantewada district. How, because the jawans government is deploying are ill trained for doing their job effectively. While the naxalites are a motivated force that is not the case with the armed contabulary the government is hoping to tackle Naxalism with! Wont the moves of the government to educate masses, meet the same fate, just as the Food security Bill will because of the vested interest mafia that controls the PDS system?

Let's not forget, that in India there are many vested interests that do not want that its labour force should have any access to education, where will they gat cheap child labour from, if the RTE is implemented in right earnest?
Just as the PDS system feeds the greed of the traders, who are close to the ruling politicians; the Police force feeds the greed of the powerful politicians, so will the RTE bill will feed the greed and hence rampant corruption instead of removing the dark clouds of ignorance Sad

Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 7:42 am

So far, in this thread I have compiled the opinions of many well known persons on the subject, but very recently a student from Hans Raj College, University of Delhi, pasted her opinion about the subject, in response to an assignment in the Science Communication course. Let me quote her opinion first and then post my reactions:

Richa_hrc wrote:

Marks?? 94.8%, sorry rejected
One of my friend scored 93% in XII boards, but that was just not enough for him to be happy. He was the school topper, 8th in whole city, still he wasn’t happy. Thoughts about his future were snatching away smile from his face. He could not clear cut off for “A” grade colleges of DU, and had no other option left but to get in some second rung one.
This is just one instance. Every year more than 1 crore students pass XII, holding their marksheets in hand, waiting for some good college to take them in. But the problem is where are good colleges? Students are increasing every day, their performance is improving even faster, but are colleges increasing in that ratio? Going by figure, there are some 254 universities and some 13000 colleges which can accommodate up to 2 million students. My question is what about the other 8 million and even out of that 2 million, some 1 lakh make it to elite colleges. How can we boast of a good education system and a bright future when just 1 % of total students get into elite colleges? Why not every engineering college can maintain standard like IITs, every medical college like AIIMS? Why is government not serious enough for opening new universities, new colleges? Will only providing primary education will help the cause?
Government scraps boards exams and introduce grading system, just to release extra pressure from students. Oh really, But do they understand that pressure is not actually of marks, but life after it. If students are ensured of good studies , even if they don’t get good marks( plz read > 95%), will there be any pressure . Well, I think they do, but are not ready to accept it as it is much easier to issue a notice changing exam pattern rather than taking some concrete steps to upgrade existing colleges and open new ones.
The main problem is that we the “common people” can actually do nothing rather than looking upon government, but government is busy thinking of juicing out money from everything, be it be education sector, medicine, infrastructure and anything you can think which is important for any nation building. Engineering colleges have grown up like mushrooms during rains but what is the use, these mushrooms are all hollow . Motive is not to increase level of education but to increase number of college. This private engineering college only extract money. There is actually no concrete future of these students they only get a fake ER. in front of their name
, and our representatives boast about it. Maybe not for students but for politicians such institutions are much more important than the good, strict on entrance colleges. It’s so ironical that they fight for reservations on the basis of caste but actually have no time to think for 90% students who get into the second grade of college, as they have no other option.
Most of the best brains of this country go abroad for further studies, what else they can do, as in India 95% marks are good enough for an elite college, but alas, 94.9% is not!
I feel need of the hour is to forget about making money of education. New colleges should be opened with good standards, good teachers, good infrastructure and above all non-biased selection of students based on their merit neither on the basis of their ancestors profession nor on their parents capacity to garner out hard cash. Our future generation is raised in even more competitive atmosphere, and good higher education is their right more than anything else. It’s high time that authorities get serious about this issue, or we will surely lose the talent of young generation

The problem is in fact global, after most countries submited to globalising their economy under pressure from developed economies. Today, a student is most often engaged in a struggle for survival(?) in this scenario. Almost all students are engaged in a "rat race", education has thus become a competition, like a race in a wide based competition, if one misses to win even by a fraction of 'second' one dubs her/himself as a failure Sad

Education has therefore emerged as a fierce competition instead a leisurely stroll in the Garden of Knowledge, which should be the idealistic goal for true education!

In fact a student today can be likened to retail stock market participant. S/he has limited resources to deploy, which includes information about companies whose stocks one can deploy cash. In case of education the place of educational institutions (whether Public or Private) is almost same as that of PSU's or Privately owned. One gets the information about educational institutions (and they courses they offer) from educational advisors or from friends and peers. This information is very often not reliable in long term, and education is an investment for long term; except in case of some time tested courses offered by reputed institutions! So, it is invariably risky to go by the commonly held perception, but then every body is after quick returns in short term! So, who can one blame Question

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:17 am

Here's yet another interesting article on the topic:

Quote:

What ails higher education in India?

India's education sector is the world's third largest in terms of students, next to China and the United States. Unlike China, however, India has the advantage of English being the primary language of higher education and research. Yet this decisive edge also has its shortcomings. In the 2009 Times Higher Education-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University rankings, no Indian university features among the first 100. But universities in East Asia have been included in the first hundred. Hong Kong has three, ranked at 24, 35 and 46; Singapore two ranked at 30 and 73; South Korea two ranked at 47 and 69 and Taiwan one in the 95th position. Notably, China's Tsinghua University and Peking University are ranked at 49 and 52 respectively. There is no Indian university in the rankings from 100 to 200. It is only when one moves on to the next 100 that we find the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur at 237; IIT Madras at 284 and the University of Delhi at 291.

Gross enrolment ratio

What ails higher education in India? The country lacks the critical mass in higher education. Its gross enrolment ratio (GER) is a mere 11 per cent compared to China's 20 per cent, the USA's 83 per cent and South Korea's 91 per cent. This means that in comparison to India, China has double the number of students pursuing higher education.

Second, a recent study by NASSCOM-McKinsey has pointed out that only one out of ten Indian students with degrees in humanities and one out of four engineering graduates are employable despite the boast that India has one of the largest technical and scientific human resources in the world.

Third, a study by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council reveals that 90 per cent of the colleges and 70 per cent of the universities graded by the council are or "middling or poor quality". It is not mandatory for educational institutions to seek accreditation, and that explains why there is no ranking. Despite such entities as the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, the National Board of Accreditation and the Accreditation Body, only 30 per cent of the universities, 16 per cent of the colleges and 10 per cent of the management institutes are accredited. Too many students run after a handful of institutions. This has also led to the emergence of sub-standard institutions. An overwhelming majority of them have to make do with mediocre faculty and poor infrastructure, such as laboratories or libraries.

Fourth, in most of the institutions, including the IITs, there is a 15-25 per cent shortfall in faculty strength. The freeze on new full-time appointments in many institutions and the increase in the number of part-time teachers has demoralised the academic circuit. The system lacks incentives to perform; there is no reward for the meritorious and no way to ease out the non-performers. The quality of teaching and research cannot be evaluated because there is no accountability. To that is added agitations both by the teachers and the taught.

Fifth, on an average, most Indian universities revise their curricula only once in five to ten years. Then they get diluted over time. Besides outdated syllabi, the students do not have the flexibility of carrying their credits and move between institutions with ease as is done in the US, Europe and now even in China.

Sixth, the excessive regulation by the government and multiple agencies leads to stagnation and corruption, which tends to get institutionalised. Seventh, the quality of school education has not improved. There is little or no teaching in fifty per cent of the primary schools in the rural areas of northern India.

Finally, it is an alarming trend that Indian students spend about $7 billion to go abroad and study in foreign universities because of the poor quality of education at home. As high as 86 per cent of students in science and technology, who obtain degrees in the US, don't return. About 30 per cent shift from science and technology to earn an MBA degree in India because salaries are higher. Because of the dearth of proper incentives the very best do not opt for pure sciences, the foundation of a sound higher educational edifice.

Another related issue is that despite the increasing rhetoric on free market operations in education, state intervention is pronounced in institutions of higher learning throughout the world. The state intervenes by regulating fees, recruitment of teachers, and fixing the salaries and service conditions. It ensures that disciplines such as Philosophy, that are not linked directly to the market, remain in the curricula. There is no balance between state intervention and market pressures. For instance, there are more than 40 management institutes in Delhi. If the British standardisation mechanism of QAA is applied, none of them would qualify. There is an overriding anxiety to regulate and control public expenditure. It is a paradoxical situation; on the one hand there is a demand for laissez-faire monetarist reduction in the powers of the State. On the other, the education segment is marked by an intrusive expansion of State power.

Human development

International agencies such as the UNDP stress such factors as pluralism and the human development indices. On the basis of these criteria, one finds that Sri Lanka and China perform better than India. They spend less than this country in regard to the percentage of GDP in implementing the parameters of meritocracy, reward, and accountability. An estimated Rs 7000 crore, one-third of the national budget on education, are spent on private tuitions and tutorial colleges. This generates black money without any improvement in the quality of education. There has been a mushroom growth of private institutions. These are essentially money-spinning enterprises, thriving on corruption. This isn't the case in the privately-sponsored universities abroad.

The bane of the system is job security without accountability, less than 100 days of teaching in most of the universities including the Central ones, pay parity irrespective of individual achievement, ................
..more

The writer is retired Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi -The Island/ANN

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:49 am

Here's a shocking and revealing news story about the present state of primary education in India:

Pankaj Sharma / DNA wrote:

A study conducted by the Programme Evaluation Organisation (PEO) of the Planning Commission has revealed that 94 per cent of the students in primary schools across the country cannot recognise the English alphabets. This reality check is major setback for prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s UPA government that has embarked on a major initiative to universalise primary education, and grant the right to education.

The ‘Programme Evaluation Organization’ (PEO) headed by deputychairman Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia has come out with this data through an evaluation study of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in order to assess its impact.

As a part of the study a reading test was conducted by the PEO in primary schools spread over eleven states and it emerged that only 6% of primary students can identify English alphabets. But hardly any student of Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam could pass this test. This inability is restricted not just to English, but to regional languages as well. Only 42% of the children were able to read the local language alphabets correctly and 80% could identify numbers.

According to the report, because of the poor quality of teaching, the failure rate of students in Class I and II is high in states like Madhya Pradesh and Assam — 17.21% and 13.46% respectively. However, almost 21% students in Haryana and 16 per cent in Rajasthan don’t appear for examinations,the report said.

There are some reasons behind this grim picture. The SSA norms of stipulate that there should be at least two teachers per school, but 7.2 % of the schools have just one teacher school and nearly 30% of the schools do not have more than two teachers.

It was also observed that in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, more than 90% of the teachers were involved in non teaching activities.

Source: http://timesofindia.hotklix.com/Hotklix/link/News/India/Students-can-opt-subjects-from-Science-Commerce-and-Arts-together"