Kal Aaj Aur Kal – Indian education system seeks to regain its lost glory once again

@UtkarshaMuley

Mumbai: Education system in India during the ancient period was way ahead of its time. India was known as the home of knowledge and wisdom. In spite of various hardship and hurdles students from different parts of the world flocked to Indian Universities. Famous Sufi poet and scholar Amir Khusaru once mentioned “scholars have come from different parts of the world to study in India but no Indian scholar has found it necessary to go abroad to acquire knowledge.”

The education imparted was of higher standards and unparalleled than the rest of the world and Indian scholars were in great demand abroad, books written by these scholars were translated. Scholars in all fields were produced. The extent of the advancement in fields like structural engineering, metallurgy and result of them are amazing structures produced is still a mystery to scientists today.

All this was due to the education system that was deep-rooted in ancient India. It recognised that education has always been the medium to attain supreme goal of life i.e. self-realisation. Along with this it also recognised that each individual is different, unique and will have different capabilities and interests. Every individual was taught according to his abilities, interest.

Students were taught in gurukuls i.e. residential schools and would by observing how their teacher would behave in certain situations. Teachers were completely devoted in their task of imparting knowledge and took special efforts to make personal bonds with each student to teach them according to their capabilities.

The methods used were holding seminars, debates, group discussions, students were taught to introspect, critical analysis of any subjects and were given hands-on experience of their subjects. All these methods helped in gaining wholesome knowledge of any particular subject. The approach towards learning was interdisciplinary and involved developing skills that would provide livelihood.

All this glory of Indian education system of the ancient period declined and eventually ended due to invaders and conquers like Mughals. Britishers aimed particularly at destroying the backbone of our society that being our education system. This system got replaced by another one.

Our current education system instead of taking our country ahead is bringing it back. Once considered as the homeland of knowledge and wisdom is now lagging in all spheres on international platforms.

 E.g.: Global Innovation Index (GII) is published every year by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). It ranks countries as per their success and capacity in innovation. GII 2020 ranked India 48^th. It’s the 1^st time since it started that India is in the top 50.

This has several questions like why even though a nation produces the largest number of engineers still we never reach the top in this list? The main reason behind this is our current education system.

Our current education system has become marks driven and not learning driven. Marks scored by a student and his marksheet are his family’s prestige and hence pressure is put on students. This pressure doesn’t make a suitable environment where students can develop various skills. The system of rote learning and scoring high marks with this technique has become the identity of our education system.

This leads to lack of confidence in people that skills learnt by them as students are good enough that they can withstand the competition in the market. Every student is taught the same without considering his capabilities. There is a hierarchy of subjects created with science being at top and arts somewhere at bottom.

Apart from this hierarchy of subjects’ students are always asked to score high grades in exams but are never encouraged to develop different skills, creativity, curiosity, out of box thinking. Their creativity and curiosity are brutally murdered in our current education system, this is due to the fact that they aren’t provided with a proper environment.

This failing education system is responsible for India not leading in science, innovation and other fields in the world.  It is not that all these revelations were not known to anyone, but still no big bang change in policy ever happened.

The New Education Policy (NEP) brought by the current government claims to bring such changes in our education system. It aims at providing an interdisciplinary approach towards education and implementing new age learning which includes engage, explore, experience, express and excel, along with developing mathematical thinking and scientific temperament in each student.

It also aims at developing 21^st century skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, curiosity, communication in students and eliminates current hierarchy of subjects.

All these and many more changes in the fundamental structure of the education system are promised by this new policy.

Let’s hope that it creates a path which will help us to bring ancient glory of being home of knowledge, wisdom and highest standards of education which will in turn make our country leading in science-technology and rule the digital era.-By Utkarsha Muley

Author:  Utkarsha Muley is a student and through this article has tried to give a student’s perspective on Education and New Education Policy. She can be contacted at – utkarsha.muley@gmail.com