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The current education system of India

The current education system in India is fairly a strong one. We have inherited our education system from Britishers and have made significant changes in it in the past 60 years. India is emerging as a global power now though there are deficiencies in the system that needs to be worked on. But, we have made substantial impact at the global level. Yet, the education system of India is also cited as one of the most ancient approaches to enlightenment. Not only in terms of the enormous content of knowledge provided to the students but also in terms of technology. In India, theoretical knowledge is given pre-eminence as opposed to practical knowledge. This is an issue entering the limelight in the recent times.

It is known and accepted worldwide that practical knowledge alongside the hint of its theoretical approach is the cue to survive in this ever-so-fast moving world. Yet, statistics show that Indian students have much greater theoretical knowledge as compared to the foreign students yet meagre knowledge in practical areas. There is a dire need for revolutionary changes in the India’s education system. Not just the syllabus and pedagogy, but also the attitude change towards the marks system need to be changed. With the effective learning system, India can successfully utilize its vast human resources.

Undoubtedly, because of the glorious Indian cultural ethics and beliefs, most Indian students yield to the norms of the system. Being clouded under the stereotypical idea of the superiority of certain subject combinations and inferiority of certain others, students often disembark the path to their dreams. Because of this, and also the uncontrollable population of the country, stressful competition is seen in certain sectors like engineering and medical careers. Statistics show that the students competing to fit into these careers have tremendously high stress and anxiety levels amongst them. So much that certain educational boards have made it mandatory to appoint psychologists in their schools and regular sessions from them as an essential part of their curriculum! Yet, in certain other sectors like veterinary study the amount manual help required is terrifyingly larger than the current scenario.

This isn’t the only drawback of our system. One of the major drawbacks is also the prevailing illiteracy which needs to be eradicated from the root. Yet, due to parameters like family, socio-cultural backgrounds and again, the ever-increasing population of India, some sections of the society remain devoid of basic education.

The current system of education requires a transformation if the youth of our country need to stay ahead in the years to come. This is especially important for children with limited access to education, both in rural and urban India. They have all the rights to access the best quality education, the best insurance a child can have against poverty and lack of upward movement.

On the brighter side, the quality of education provided has certainly contributed to the reputation of high intellectual level of Indians in the world. If one is able to mould into the system without complaints, then it bodes well for them as well as their career which takes a discernible upsurge. In more recent times, the number of students following the international board has increased. This system provides liberty to pursue any subject combination of preference and focuses on value education as well as extra-curricular growth.

Education is one of the major sectors contributing to the Indian economy and its growth is the direct growth of our economy, of our country. It has been aptly said by Nelson Mandela that, “education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”.

Indian education system(primary/elementary): still some distance to cover

Every year during the annual educational report period in the country we come across various new policy promises being made for further development but what about the country’s education system as a whole on the ground level, let’s have a look at it.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme for universalisation of education , along with the no detention policy(elementary classes), has resulted in a significant enhancement both in the gross enrolment ratio and the enrolment of girls. But large numbers of children continue to leave school before completing elementary education. In 2015-16, the retention rate at the primary level was 85.8 per cent and it was as low as 68.3 per cent at the elementary level.

All the surveys indicate that, quantitatively, India is inching closer to the constitutional and RTE guarantee of universal access and participation in elementary education. Encouraging reports show that at the all India level the percentage of older girls (11-14 years) not enrolled in school has dropped from 10 per cent in 2006 to close to 3.2 per cent in 2016. Except Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh , the figure has dropped significantly for most states, with Bihar showing the steepest decline.

However the quality of education in terms of learning outcomes is undeniably poor, particularly in the government school system. This is a matter of concern because 80 per cent of all the recognised school at the elementary stage are government run or supported. Reading is a foundational skill; without being able to read well , a chid cannot progress in the education system. However, reading outcomes are unacceptably poor, particularly in government and rural schools.

Early childhood years are critically important, when a child’s mental and physical development are at their highest, and when many lifelong characteristics are developed; this is when basic skills are acquired for subsequent development. Without a strong foundation in the early years, the child’s future progress, is highly circumscribed. The criticality of addressing the child’s mental and physical growth in the early years has not been adequately addressed . Available data indicate that in 2016 nearly 17 per cent of children of class 2 did not recognise numbers from 1 to 9 and nearly 35 per cent of children in class 3 were unable to recognise numbers till 100. Even more disturbing is the fact that these proportions have gone up since 2010.

The fact on ground is that even minimum infrastructure standards are not observed in most schools, particularly in the hinterland- basic amenities are indeed not available in most locations. Moreover, social and income disparities continue to be reflected in gaps in learning levels , which remain large and seem to be growing . Children from historically disadvantaged and economically weaker sections of society and first-generation learners exhibit significantly lower learning outcomes and are more likely to fall behind and drop out of school.

In conclusion, the most noteworthy point emerges is that while issues of accessibility and enrolment have dramatically improved in the past decades and progress has been made in equity of opportunities. Necessarily, issues of quality need to be addressed immediately.

Can education be considered as an instrument of social change?

The role of education as an agent or instrument of social change and social development is widely recognized today. Social change may take place – when humans need change, when the existing social system or network of social institutions fails to meet the existing human needs and when new materials suggest better ways of meeting human needs.

According to Maclver, social change takes place as a response to many types of changes that take place in the social and nonsocial environment. Education can initiate social changes by bringing about a change in outlook and attitude of man. It can bring about a change in the pattern of social relationships and thereby it may cause social changes.

Earlier educational institutions and teachers used to show a specific way of life to the students and education was more a means of social control than an instrument of social change. Modern educational institutions do not place much emphasis upon transmitting a way of life to the students. The traditional education was meant for an unchanging static society not marked by any change. But today education aims at imparting knowledge. Education was associated with religion.

It has become secular today. It is an independent institution now. Education has been chiefly instrumental in preparing the way for the development of science and technology. Education has brought about phenomenal changes in every aspect of men’s life. Francis J.Brown remarks that education is a process which brings about changes in the behavior of society. It is a process which enables every individual to effectively participate in the activities of society and to make positive contribution to the progress of society.

Education has become one of the influential instruments of social change in India. It has led to the mobilization of people’s aspirations for development and change. Thus in modern complex national societies, education can neither be regarded as a controlling neither force conserving cultural heritage, nor could it be viewed as an agent of social change. It can only be regarded as a cooperative force in bringing about social changes decided by the forces possessing more pervasive power in society.

Education has been accepted as one major agency of socialization, and teachers and educational institutions as socializing agents. In describing education as an instrument of social change, three things are important: the agents of change, the content of change, and the social background of those who are sought to be changed, i.e. students. Educational institutions under the control of different cultural groups reflect the values of those groups which support and control education. In this situation, teachers Impart specific values, aspirations and to the children. Social reformers, who were educated emphasized values like removal of caste restrictions, equality of women, doing away with social evil social customs and practices, voice in the governance of the country, establishing democratic institutions and so on. They, thus, wanted to teach liberal philosophy through education for changing society. In other words they regarded education as a flame or light of knowledge which dispelled the darkness of ignorance.

The use of education for spreading the values of modernization came to be emphasized from the 1960s and 1970s onwards. Highly productive economies, distributive justice, people‟s participation in decision-making bodies, adoption of scientific technology in industry, agriculture and other occupations and professions were accepted as goals for modernizing the Indian society. And these goals were to be achieved through liberal education. Thus, modernization was not accepted as a philosophy or a movement based on rational values system but as a process that was to be confined only to economic field but was to be achieved in social, political, cultural and religious fields too. Education was sought to be utilized as channel for the spread of modernity.

According to the sociological perspective, education does not arise in response of the individual needs of the individual, but it arises out of the needs of the society of which the individual is a member. The educational system of any society is related to its total social system. It is a sub system performing certain functions for the on-going social system. The goals and needs of the total social system get reflected in the functions it lays down for educational system and the form in which it structures it to fulfill those functions.

In a static society, the main function of the educational system is to transmit the cultural heritage to the new generations. But in a changing society, these keep on changing from generation to generation and the educational system in such a society must not only transmit the cultural heritage, but also aid in preparing the young for adjustment to any changes in them that may have occurred or are likely to occur in future. In contemporary societies, “The proportion of change that is either planned or issues from the secondary consequences of deliberate innovations is much higher than in former times.” This is more so in societies that has newly become independent and are in a developing stage. Consequently, in such modern complex societies, education is called upon to perform an additional function of becoming

Thus, the relationship between educational system and society is mutual; sometimes the society influences changes in educational system and at other times the educational system influences changes in the society.

Real life Iron Man - Elon Musk

Elon Reeve Musk

It is not just a name, he is a phenomenon... A child prodigy, who decided to change certain things... He is working smoothly towards making Earth more liveable... ALmost all of us may have some knowledge about Elon Musk, let me consolidate all the trusted sources into a single post for you all.

Childhood And Education:

Born on 28th of June 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa is the eldest child of Maye and Errol Musk. Had private education for most years, was severely bullied in childhood. After high school, he moved to Canada and did his undergraduate from Queen's University, Ontario and the University of Pennsylvania, Did Bachelor's in Physics from College of Arts and Science. After moving to California he applied for PhD in physics and Material Sciences at Stanford University.

Entrepreneur:

During his early schooling, he gained interest in physics and materials, in university days developed an interest in Computer Sciences and Renewable Energies. Now, he is in every possible thing one can imagine...

Zip2: He and his brother started a web software company in 1995, which was later bought by Compaq.
X.com: In 1999 co-founded an online finance service and e-mail payment company.
Paypal: In 2001 renamed the X.com and its acquirer to Paypal and a year later sold it to eBay,
SpaceX: A multi aim space project aimed to colonize Mars founded in 2002
Tesla: CEO of a round funded company aimed to make vehicles eco-friendly by the use of electricity.
SolarCity: In 2012 Musk announced SolarCity and Tesla colaboration to become the No.1 manufacturer of Solar power.
Hyperloop: A high-speed transport project to transport people in pods in tubes at low pressure. Announced in August 2013
OpenAI: In December 2015, a non-profit company aimed to develop AI in a safer and beneficial way for humans was announced.
Neuralink: A neurotechnological startup to integrate human brain with AI was founded in 2016.
The Boring Company: A company set up in December 2016 to dig tunnels for Hyperloop testing.