The future of being a different brick in the wall?
The Indian Education Policy 2020, The future of Education and what that could mean?
The state of the Indian Education system seems to be the undefeated champion in the list of Everything-that-is wrong-with-the-Indian-society. It’s just not the access to getting an education that is the problem, but the quality of it. For the longest time, the Indian education system ran on a default programme of teaching by rote-memorisation, and coded success and status in terms of the profession you sought. What’s worse is that for the longest time, the kids churned out of this system didn’t even realize it. It takes a little soul-searching to realize what the Indian Education actually does.
The pursuit of exploration in the field of history or understanding the physics of music was lost in shoving kids into formal and rigid paths that are defined by “status and success”. In other words, it’s the engineers and the doctors that mattered and not the historians, artists and the musicians. In a country whose diversity is projected as a strength —we sure are doing a shoddy job in protecting it, let alone understanding it.
But amidst the Coronavirus, the state of the economy and the threat to our territorial sovereignty—the Indian Government has chosen to restructure the current Education system from a rigid, straight-jacket scheme to a more accommodative, flexible and inclusive scheme; this took 3 decades to implement. To what extent is it accommodative and flexible? Is the new education policy the gateway to India rising to the ranks of a powerful nation or does it hint at a disaster in the making? This is exactly what I aim to write about in this post.
Is the system that bad?
The fact that the Indian education system marketed itself on the idea of marks, universities, jobs and money should be indicative of the kind of system it hosts. The average Indian student in a government school was (not anymore) expected to study in school till the age of 18 under the categorization of classes from 1-12 and then expected to go to university and partake as an employee in a huge company. In the process, the choice of choosing a subject of interest was limited, and for the most part, you were forced to confront certain subjects whether you like it or not. In that sense, we didn’t really break away from colonialism, did we?
It is important to note that this is just a generalization and does not strictly apply in every case. Sure, some of us had the access to an education system that was flexible, but then again, it isn’t really representative of the system most of us studied in.
What does the policy change?
The Academic Structure: Previously, the system was two-tiered. In the sense, school education was classified under secondary i.e. till class 10, and senior secondary i.e. till class 12. Now, the system is structured in a four-fold manner i.e. foundational school, preparatory school, middle school and secondary school. The reasons for this change is briefly summarised as follows:
It covers the education for kids between ages 3-6;
To curtail the dropout rates by ensuring flexibility of continuing education after a certain stage;
To tune the curriculum.
The future of pedagogy: By the standards of the previous system, choice was of subject was a luxury, if not a rarity. The policy aims to provide a more flexible atmosphere to study. By trusting students to choose the course of their choice, and offering a variety of courses—they seek to make the whole journey of receiving an education, a thrilling and engaging one. In a surprising move, the medium of instruction is encouraged to be bilingual, with emphasis on the regional language. This means that science, history, maths etc are now going to taught in the regional language. In addition, students are expected to learn at least three languages during the course of their education. In an attempt to reclaiming our culture, the policy emphasis on the importance of teaching and learning in a more localised manner.
The new rules of Assessment: The policy states that assessments will aim to be regular and formative in the sense that it is not summative and relies on rote memorization. The structure of the infamous class 10th and 12th board exams will be revised.(not sure how exactly) Although, if you were to apply to university, irrespective of the branch—it will be centralised and monitored by The National Testing Agency.
The Universities: Indian Universities are structurally very rigid in terms of the duration of the course. But this policy provides multiple exit options within the period of the course. In the sense, if the course of for 4 years, then with every year, you’ll be given a certification. Meaning, a certificate after 1 year of college, a diploma after 2 years, a bachelors after 3 years and a multidisciplinary bachelors after 4 years. The system of assessment is going to be credit based as opposed to the current marks based system. Through this, they seek to encourage kids to indulge in research programmes as well. Further, the policy aims to give Universities more autonomy in creating their own course material.
Other notable features: The policy takes notice of the unprecedented rise in coaching institutes and expensive private schools. The dichotomy between a private education and public education is reflective of a severe economic disparity. In a country where poverty is pervasive, the policy seeks to bring in a regulatory mechanism on the fees charged by schools. Also, the policy lays emphasis on using technology to further the cause of accessible education. The policy promises that government schools will have access to funds in order to upgrade their existing infrastructure to support a more expansive form of learning i.e. through the digital medium.
Yay! Or Nay?
Well, this is the first time in about 34 years the education policy has been given a serious thought. An ambitious effort, no doubt about it—but it will be interesting to see the transition from the current system to the envisaged one. Personally, I am glad at the attempt to revamp the education system, as a product of the former system—this one seems more promising. However, how are we going to encourage our brightest and best to teach? With all due respect to the current teachers in the system, we need young blood to keep the old ones relevant to the times.
Plus, what I find as a potential source for concern is the degree of emphasis on learning languages. By this, I mean to agree on importance of picking up a language to a certain extent, but given a country that speaks over 20 languages—things can be lost over translation, and effectively could adopt a different meaning very easily. Again, don’t get me wrong, the idea of owning our history involves the process f paying our dues to understanding our language—but, it shouldn’t be the focal point that gives way to a more localized and isolated method of communicating. In effect, adding fuel to destroy our national identity, which is popularly linked to our idea of strength and unity due to our diversity.
India is a land of complex regulation, which, more often than not, is beyond comprehension of its authors and interpreters. Now, the nature and culture of each state, in essence, is capable of being defined as a country in it's own right. In terms of business and commerce, navigating through rules and regulations, which are articulated in a language known to few, and is designed so that it's difficult to understand —is a nightmaire in the making.
Unless, and until you have access to people who can translate what the law means to you in a language that you understand, your little business expansion can bid goodbye. Oh Wait! perhaps, by forcing you to engage with the locals, it's a win-win for everybody? You get your business and the local guy gets his cut?
Final verdict: Confused but slightly in favour of the new system. I mean as a kid from the old system, this is more than an improvement. So in that sense, Yay! But, knowing our methods of execution, which, usually is half-baked (demonetization, the 4hr notice given to shut down the largest democracy in the world!)—I am a little skeptical. I hope that this helps chart out a path to establishing the world’s best universities. I mean you gotta acknowledge our slavish ways of working hard. I hope this helps change the system. I hope everybody isn’t forced to be another brick in the wall, and instead gets to be a different brick in the wall.
Real test is if the next generation turn out to be smarter than us ...then we can blame the nep for the same :p
How is college going? You seem to be having a lot of free time to write so much 😅