Education is often misconceived as a course for attaining the university credentials; it is rather an exercise of acquiring knowledge to acknowledge skills. It is for one who is having the quest to discover the fragrance of education which is an incessant eternal bliss to transform generations and conquer hearts with persuasiveness in moulding once personalities into great lives. In today’s context the modern education systems possess less normative values and more numerical thirst. The voices are fairly divided in numbers contemplating their views on the subject, if it is not ambiguity than the other name can be better termed as duplicity where students are thought one thing, practice some thing and performed another thing. Our forefathers might have taught and aspired something bigger than this precedent, it is also untrue that the proper wisdom is in dearth but the lacuna is the inability to convert the wisdom from books to brains. The question is, is there a sky where students can spread their wings of delinquency? I believe we are witnessing more dark clouds to find that sky or we have lost it. Whatever it may be let us endeavor to discover it.
In my recent visit to a school interacting with class twelve students my visit gave me emotions of joy, jealousy and sadness. I was very happy to see the students who were bright like clay anxious for themselves to take beautiful shape in their lives; I was jealous because watching their zeal and opportunities available to them which was not their at my time, and what made me sad while I was interacting a group of students they were very passionate about their favorite subject ‘physics’ it was nice to see their ambition to top in physics but when I asked whether they like to go into history and take a research on ‘gravitational force’ their were bleak expression on the faces, their looks with pause was an embarrassing situation to the teacher accompanying me in the class room who suddenly interrupted requesting me for moving to another class; I was exercising to evaluate the students who are receiving their education in such a good ambience with great ambitions but they are not willing to acquire anything more than their chapters. This is an important alarming example, today most of the students’ are immensely focused in acquiescing theoretical knowledge with less practical exposure and without conceptualization of the matter. The achievement for students today is their name in the merit list, no matter how it come whether the means are good, or bad all are bygone chapters only the end should be obtaining merit.
In such circumstances the knowledge of books remains in the books and the desire to gain maximum number in the subject become priority. This makes very difficult to define education in the present scenario, which requires a paradigm shift to acquire knowledge but not numbers. In this atmosphere there are some exceptional students who suffer in their tryst with knowledge but nevertheless few succeed in crossing their academic channel. It is the need of hour that we do not need only few but we need everyone through the right channel; this could be done by upgrading the standards of education with the changing needs and also imparting implicit understanding about education from number speed to knowledge speed. The education that has under went transformation with great rapidity, it was considered once upon a time revered as a manifestation of developing the character of men now it as become a flourishing industry precisely students’ as its products. This is under constant experimentation by the government that often provides scope for building culverts between students’ and their reasoning ability and foul playing with the vibes of the present and future irrespective of the past results. The efforts should be in awakening the students to discover his personal self by bridging the gap between ignorance and knowledge. If education is under the process of experiments for the change in good faith of the rising requirements let it be so. However constant experimentation will leads towards exploitation on the successful established results, the solution for this is a broader framework with long term policy in accommodating and empowering students’ communities through a universal system of education. Where the curriculum of subjects should be framed according to the delinquency and in the interest of the students to acquire knowledge with an inclusive perspective and the examination and evaluation pattern should carry the methods and approach in mentoring students than numbering them.
The youth has a major role to play in nation building, the policy makers and co-related agencies has to categorically realized this dictum and make a way for their march independently rather imprisoning and conditioning their reasoning capability into a prisoners ideology. In the era of Liberalization, globalization and privatization There is need to cater proper guidelines in streamlining the educational environment for meaningful purpose in making education to reach to the grassroots levels to the commoners rather being constrained for the few privileged class; the other important factor is demarcating the mushroom growth and expansion of new and existing educational establishments; Their has been a steep downfall in the standards in maintaining the proper quality of the available and sufficient existing institutions and starting more universities, colleges in the entitlements for Minorities, woman’s, NRI’S, and Tribal, will create an adverse competition in the name of education where the real purpose of imparting education will remain unserved. The accrediting norms and the functioning of institution with accountability parameters for the accreditation also need proper checks at proper intervals from the present one.
The autonomy to the educational institution is often debated but this should be taken in a positive sense to increase the efficiency to the par of the public institutions of learning with private institutions, the autonomy can be granted on a time scale for the academic improvisation and better results for the only deserving institutions. The criteria should be provided to the institutions for compulsory maintaining the standards of autonomy and renewal or suspension for deferring in fulfilling the conditions. There is also need to keep vigil on the practices such as luring the panel and putting influence and other vices playing a prominent role in achieving autonomy, these factors though see their ends in failures but some times they do succeed. There is a need for transparent and multi-devised mechanism which should be free from any kind of such initiatives, this will enhance the quality spirit and balance in the demands and help the existing institutions to function proficiently to achieve proper status of autonomy.It would be incorrect to state that the Politicians should kept away from the education sphere; In a democracy, education is a department of government and the law makers plays a paramount role in enacting the welfare legislations who are in a supreme position where they provide the resources for the operation of the institutions and their support cannot be ignored, their guidance would be much of useful in growing educational establishments, the need is to restructure and make harmonious understanding between legislators and enforcement agencies in implementing the government programs appropriately.
The most important need for today is the regulatory authority for a uniform fees structure for long term period on the fees that collected for various courses from students in various states (academic institutions), some institutions expenditure for a student incurring apart from his regular fees in completing is course is exorbitant. The consensus on the uniform fees structure can be brought by constituting a regulatory authority for public private and students’ interest on the lines of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory authority of India). This will comprise of members from government, public and private institutions. This fee structure can be revised after a long interval; this step will be a very welcome step for the students’ fraternity.The financial aspect to the educational establishments through grants needs a recheck a three-tier module frame work can be work out categorizing the institution on their performance and utilization of grants; The following could a better viable module that can facilitate giving a proper account and value to the financial help given to the numerous institutions.
· In class A: The qualitative and premier institutions which are functioning on a academic level with a par excellence and autonomously contributing fair amount of revenue to the government;
· In class B: Those institution that are on an average to the above and striving for excellence with their dedicated efforts and working on the parameters to join into the Class A.
· In class C: Those institutions that under perform to fulfill the pre-requisites to be in the above two classes but are functioning hard to bring them into the mainstream, these institutions can be given a special help and support with the time frame and finance so that they can rapidly develop.The education sector will play a vital role in fulfilling the dream of Dr.Kalam to develop India by 2020; as these three classes shall be merged with only one class of excellence irrespective of any caste or linguistic distinction, it shall serve the mission statement to empower people through education and explore them to be a more responsible and resourceful citizen of India.
There is also a need for correct procedural guidelines to the institutions of learning from foreign countries which are making their way into India indirectly through memorandum of understandings with Indian universities. In the wake of economic reforms the world has shrink from global world to global village, the octopus of liberalization along with trade, culture have also grab education compelling to revolutionize according to the changing dimensions. It has resulted into a more sophisticated process than before making the onus of quality better with increase competition and renewed strategies and dilapidated concern has braced it into a commercial venture. This enterprise needs a revival for up-gradation of the Public national educational institutions of learning by filling the gaps and working more efficiently than earlier.
We cannot anticipate seeing the difference unless the people contribute in creating the difference in the institution as mentors to accept the change. A good teacher can define the destiny of his pupil if he is honest in his commitment to the cause to render responsible citizens to the society. It is true good numbers of teachers in spite of the harsh conditions are executing their job in a fine manner but the anticipation from teachers to keep education institution in total qualitative management is immensely large, hence teachers also need to refresh and updated their own self to accept and accommodate to the innovative invasions in education sphereThe situation of government institution at the bottom level is in a sorry state because it is not only the mid-day meal that is suffice but what is more needed is to meet the requirements of proper infrastructure and appointment of teachers and appropriately dividing the maximum workload on teachers, the present teachers execute apart from their educational work, extra government related work like census survey, election duties, etc. the heat of competition created by the private educational institutions is continuously making to introspect public institutions and teachers to recount and to put their work and priorities on a primary basis.
Another serious problem is the improper pay packets and remuneration to the teachers for their services contributed in architecting the humanity; it is very disrespectful for the wages that paid to a teacher for their services comparatively to the other profession of their contemporary cadre. This practice has brought the evil culture of tuitions, and other malpractices that detracts many of teachers from their morality. The Knowledge commissions constituted for the welfare of education and teachers with their reports, recommendations have been fairly debated, criticized and less implemented.The relationship between the teacher and students also needed a special mention in present context. It is only the students should to realize their role and responsibilities, the student and teachers are visualizing a yawning gap between them, this could be due to lack of empathy and high expectations more than the needed, the students these days due to huge competition are under surmount pressure to do well in their academics from teachers, parents, relatives, and friends which is making their life less meaningful. The implications of this pressure are drastic resulting into demoralizing the confidence of the student, igniting him to commit suicides and students indulging in other sorts of negative practices which is destroying their image and creating the gap. needlessly teachers regrets to speak their views about the attitude of the young generation of India today in a less positive way whereas the students express their frustration about teachers and their conventional methodology, in the modern era of media wires and gadgets where information is just a click away, the students have found for themselves a friend, philosopher, guide and a teacher in the virtual world in the face of ‘technology’. This has modernized the entire system of education and also made students’ more vulnerable from its side affects that can wither their incomprehensive personality.
The technology enrooting into education arena has brought new opportunities and challenges of its own, the distance education through Indian satellite ‘Edusat’ has been a sliver lining where it has been a blessing opportunity to the students and reaching up to semi-urban and rural areas, this has in turn posed a challenge to the teachers to develop themselves with change or drift away. The concept of distance education getting rapidly popular and bringing various disciplines into her basket with readymade study course ware and communicating media instruments (Audio tapes, CD’s & DVD’s) on the subjects with enticing students to think on their intuition and perform various practical assignments, this is bringing students and teachers on a crossway, the role of teacher in a student life in coming days particularly in his higher education going to be minimal and of little importance as the distance education system instill in students a spirit of inquest which the present teachers have failed to rekindle in them. We should be shameful of ourselves in wasting our time and energy by echoing our voices often on privatization of higher education; nevertheless these voices should make them heard not against the privatization but for the improvisation of public institutions where quality is on the preferential side than on priority. There is also a possibility in the coming future in india the foreign universities may start functioning their distance learning centers in India affiliated to premier institution such as Oxford university London, Harvard university United states of America, Sydney university Australia etc. Though it may not largely affect to the professional and vocational education but still the distance education mode of learning may diversify the whole process of existing system of education and become a new area for revenue contribution to the nation.
Conclusion
This should be the aim of the education culture whether regular or distance to impart knowledge to the students to learn the fundamentals in acquiring proficiency in a discipline by balancing their carrier ambitions with social responsibilities and to have value neutrality approach towards professional or personal life with the theoretical and practical knowledge in a holistic perspective fuelled with positivism and confidence for a inclusive participation in nation building, The government needs to have a reality check on education through regular performance audits and returning reports on financial incurs and academic achievements with a larger frame work and better reviewed policies giving more particular emphasis on curriculum and understanding the psychological delinquency of the students to empower the future through implementing the recommendations of constituted commissions and running a movement of awareness on importance of education in life and reducing the gender inequality represented in educational establishments. The thrust should be also given in creating proper avenues and delivering facilities with good infrastructure, appropriate grants and allocation of autonomy to the deserving institution without any pre-conceived notions, the need is to equally realize the solemn relationship of teacher-student and compliment them with emerging disciplines and technologies to overcome the lacunas and to have proper reality checks in education to civilized man to characterize his role in a civil society through facilitating a proper network to connect Bharat with India in the global map.
This should be the aim of the education culture whether regular or distance to impart knowledge to the students to learn the fundamentals in acquiring proficiency in a discipline by balancing their carrier ambitions with social responsibilities and to have value neutrality approach towards professional or personal life with the theoretical and practical knowledge in a holistic perspective fuelled with positivism and confidence for a inclusive participation in nation building, The government needs to have a reality check on education through regular performance audits and returning reports on financial incurs and academic achievements with a larger frame work and better reviewed policies giving more particular emphasis on curriculum and understanding the psychological delinquency of the students to empower the future through implementing the recommendations of constituted commissions and running a movement of awareness on importance of education in life and reducing the gender inequality represented in educational establishments. The thrust should be also given in creating proper avenues and delivering facilities with good infrastructure, appropriate grants and allocation of autonomy to the deserving institution without any pre-conceived notions, the need is to equally realize the solemn relationship of teacher-student and compliment them with emerging disciplines and technologies to overcome the lacunas and to have proper reality checks in education to civilized man to characterize his role in a civil society through facilitating a proper network to connect Bharat with India in the global map.
Author –Anxious
