|
A CAUSE FOR CONCERN
INADEQUATE SPECIALISED EDUCATION - A CAUSE FOR UNDER DEVELOPMENT
We all strongly believe that Education is the Strongest force to bring about qualitative change in any society. Unfortunately, the economic factors severly limit the possibilities of potential students becoming great leaders and change agents of the society. Any Country can really not claim to be developing when more than 85 percent of its young students are not having any access to higher and specialised education, just because of their inability to afford it, i.e. for economic reasons and poverty.
In India, the economic, social and political factors are still wandering to provide basic education to all, and bringing out several drafts and plans, but the literacy levels increase at a very minimal rate. And then, inspite of having some basic education at the school level, many a talented and meritorious students are compelled to take up a job for their survival. The gaps between specialised higher education and affordability is steeply on rise, for decades.
The result of these, in India, we find many first class - distinction holders - diploma engineers and meritorious students, woking as a bus conductors or in some petty jobs, while the science graduates end up as tution teachers and the MBAs choose to work as sales persons or clerks in offices. This in no way is a disrespect to any profession or an attempt to match the Degrees and Professions, but a serious problem to understand that a great portential to contribute to the development of ones self, ones knowledge and ones society as a whole is often turning to be a distant dream due to the active play of economic forces of compulsion to take up something for ones livelihood remains the strongest power which determines the ends of talents and skills, in a poverty ridden nation. This is ofcourse more serious that the problems of brain drains and people leaving ones country for better prospects, for the reason that these immence reservoirs of talents are living in this very own country but the potentials are lost somewhere in the midst of poverty, economic constraints and ofcourse the social and political factors.
We all strongly agree on the count that India, has an immence potential reservoir of human competencies. The question here is, are we seriously channeling and shaping this potential through better education or we are just leaving it for the fate of the degrees to distine the future of ones progress and future of ones society?
SOME REALITIES
Accessibility to Education, in any area of specilisation is still far from the reach of the economically disadvantaged, in India.
Many students with remarkable credentials, are in professions at a very high degree of incompatibility between their talents and the oppurtunities to put them to practice.
Economic inability and compulsions for survival, limit the immence talents and potentials of thousands of bright students, and thus lead to under development, inspite of having the best talents. Many enteprenuerial minds are thus forced to forget their inner strengths and Abilities.
Government supported Institutions and Specilised Programmes are just limited to a few students.
Numerous cases of Students with gold Medals and distinctions are forced to take up jobs quite different to their talents and expertise, to support the living of their families which is taking them away of their academics and research poetentials.
Worse are the cases of girl child, that getting married becomes a compelling factor to bluntly limit their studies to a lower level, is broadly for the reasons of economic and social constraints.
A FEW GENUINE QUESTIONS THAT ARISE IN A PRUDENT MIND
- Is there any relevance between what one desires to learn and the realities in learning?
- Is A job the only productive outcome of learning activity?
- What about the social relevance to ones education?
- Can a society ever prosper if it cannot provide educational avenues to the talented and meritorious?
- Does this process of Education can ever fulfil the dream to reach its ultimate goal of establishing a knowledgeful, responsibile, harmonious and developed society?
- Can ever the tall claims of leaders and politicians be brought to reality, without a focus on specilaised higher education?
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TODAY
- Most Educational Institutitons aim to charge a fee and provide an education degree.
- Teach one or two subjects and let go of the student upon awarding a degree.
- When a fee is charged, all outcomes are measured in terms of money.
- Teachers limit their contributions of knowledge.
- Students euate fees paid with the salaries they will receive upon grduation.
- Institutions themselves look at cost/price ratios for the srvices they provide.
- Most educational institutions teach four to six hours a day and let students wander around on their own fr the remaining eighteen hours. This non-class time is a mojor factor infulencing the student.
- Most Educational Institutions teach using factory - style mass production. On huge campuses the likes of UCLA, teaching is done with television monitors and with three hundred students jammed in a room.
- today, most teachers in modern institutions are working for their livelihood and therefore they have little motivationn ot impart true knowledge and share their wisdom with students.
- Most Institutitons provide acaemic instruction but little in the wasy of practical instruction. The class room only has limited utility in the real world.
- In the rush to modernise education, we have forgotten human values.
|
