When it comes to social problems in India, fault in Education system ranks first. Problem lies specifically in school education where the foundation of every human being’s knowledge is laid. If you meet the youth studied from government schools, who are not necessarily from lower or middle class, you’ll realize how disoriented they’re. Many government school students are not aware of any social, political, economic scenario around them. Their English is so weak that forget about understanding a newspaper, they can’t even read their textbooks properly. They don’t know about basic terminologies like ‘afraid’ and ‘stand’. It’s a state of pity since they get psychological issue like depression and low confidence because of that. They are scared of dealing with outer world, and most of all they lose interest in studies as well as in healthy competition.
According to a study, it’s said that 30 % of the total education fund goes to higher education. Here lies the irony because the real change is required at grassroots level. Despite the fact that Right to Education became a fundamental right six years back, Indian education system has to fill in a huge gap. India cannot reach its full potential until it involves those millions of students who are left behind as a result of no quality education. There are still many villages and towns where children have to walk around 3-5 kilometers to reach their school. Situation becomes even more difficult for girls who are not allowed to go this far after a certain age.
We have got the largest youth population in India with 356 million people between the ages of 10-24 years. Can you imagine how much potential India has at this point of time? We have got the biggest resource: Manpower. If we educate and train our youth in the right direction then no hindrance would ever come in our way. It would be miserable if we don’t utilize our resource in unexampled method.
I tried to evaluate the problem in various segments, so that we can find a workable solution. To my horror, I realized that it is so much rooted that it cannot be separated easily. The very first problem which makes basic education poor is children’s syllabus. Books have language which is totally Greek and Latin for their understanding. Except that, their topics are quite often found irrelevant to these children. Another problem lies in the aptitude and teaching techniques of teachers. They treat all children alike, which shouldn’t be the case when it comes to their learning potential. Children have different caliber and they should be groomed accordingly. Along with that teacher-student ration should also be considered. At this vulnerable stage students need maximum attention. The smaller the group is the better.
Education does not only include bookish knowledge, it’s about the understanding of world around you. It’s necessary to have a personalized teaching system in which a student should be given chance to learn things s/he loves. It makes them happy, confident and willing for new challenges. Additionally it’s mandatory to have a close appraisal of students’ growth to make sure they are learning and not just spending eight hours a day in boundaries. It will also give teachers a chance to understand where the real lapse is lying in one’s development.
Schooling is the foundation for rest of our life. We learn moral values, understand relations and acquire knowledge of worldly studies. If school education is given properly then I’m sure statistics of school drop outs will decrease and students will come out of their shells to explore a world they had imagined.
