There is no doubt that India has a right to feel the pride about its educational system which has a legacy of a few thousands of years. The major change took place in British rule. Though it helped to educate the Indian community and includes several good things, the system was mainly designed as per the needs of British rulers and that period. In today's world the educational needs have changed. The system needs to be rich in content and also should reach to all. So definitely there is a need of radical changes to make education more life oriented. At the same time too many experiments are being conducted without any long term thoughts. Another aspect of this is, really good policies are being thought, but there is failure to implement.
To improve the quality of education in the country National Policy on Education was prepared in 1968. It was focused on providing education facilities to all the citizens of the nation. The policy has been updated from time to time. The recent changes took place in 2009-2010 along with Right to Education Bill. Though education is subject for both state and centre as per the Constitution of India, the State Governments play an important role in the development of education especially in the primary and the secondary levels.
Aim is to provide education to each child till the age of 14 years, practically it is not easy. Not each child reach in the school and the drop-out rates are also very high in some states. The measures like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and District Primary Education Programme have been successful to some extent.
To avoid the drop outs the examination till 8th Standard have been made only mock drills as the underperformers are to be promoted to the next grade and there are no failures who study in the same class once again as in older system. Though this was a good attempt to decrease the number of students leaving the school half way it has its repercussions on overall teaching system. As the student realize that exams are loosing its importance it affects the will to study and also decreases moral of the teachers over the years.
The proportion of student per teacher is also important. If it is 30 or less than 30 the impact of the teaching is better as the teacher can give individual attention to those needed as and when required. But in reality this proportion is always more and decreases the quality of the education as it increases.
The basic system of education is 10+2+3 but considering the contents of the curriculum and importance of vocational training requirements it is needed to modify further to 8+2+2+3. Those who do not wish to go to mainstream education or are interested in joining certain profession for those early choices of various subject to acquire the related skills and experience should be available at 8+.
The credit system is a relatively new concept to our educational system and can be used effectively in higher education to make it at par with international levels. Accreditation of the institutes is another related issue and needs serious involvement and initiative of the universities.
A single common entrance examination instead of multiple such exams for professional courses is welcome but at the same time as the entrance exams are gaining more attention the board exams start loosing its importance.
What should be the medium of education is another burning issue. It is true that the early education should be in mother tongue. At later stage the semi-English medium is beneficial. This will prepare the student for change in medium of instructions at higher education level and also keeps the choice open to receive the high-school education in mother tongue. It’s really astonishing that in state of Maharashtra the permission is not being given to open the new Marathi medium schools for a considerable period.
The mid-day school meal programme is another time tested success story. It not only improves the retention rate at school but also helps to improve the health of the child. However it is really a managerial challenge to implement this programme successfully. Lack of sincere implementation wipes out all the advantages of the programme.
The future of the country is in the hands of this young generation receiving education in schools today. No one needs to describe the peril if the educational policies are not well implemented.
