Sir Ken Robinson, an eminent educationist and expert on creativity once famously remarked at a TED talk show that what we need is not reform in the education system (because that would merely try to fix a fundamentally flawed system) but a total revolution. Why did that statement make the audience applaud and nod in approval? Many of us too have always felt throughout our own education both in school and college that the system is somehow not delivering the products that it should and performing far below its potential. When we look at our children going to various institutions and universities, that sinking feel is accentuated even further and we often bemoan and lament at the deteriorating “standard” of education. So given a choice to repair or replace the system, most of us would definitely go for “replace”.
FACTS, NUMBERS CRUNCHING
When we look at a problem, it is safe to first examine the quantitative data at our disposal so that we can arrive at some reasonable conclusions based on the empirical evidence. India is perhaps one of the few countries which established a sound statistical system to measure education related data (visit www.dise.in for more details). While the school enrolment rate (the ratio of children of the official primary school age who are enrolled in primary schools to the total number of the children of official primary school age) is an impressive 93%, the secondary school participation net attendance ratio drops to 59 % for boys and 49% for girls. The school completion rate is very poor at around 10%.
This means that almost 7% of our children do not start school, 40% don’t even continue till primary and almost 90% do not complete school. Even as the school data is not very heartening for us, the state of those students who could be called the elite of our education system is no better. A study reveals that campus placements in the new B-schools have gone down by 40% since 2009. Barring graduates from IIMs, the various Indian B-schools are fighting for their survival with only 10% of graduates being employable despite the robust demand for MBAs according to ASSOCHAM. As a result these institutions are not able to attract students with more than 180 B-schools already closed down in 2012 in major cities of India while another 160 are struggling for their survival.
BOTH QUALITY AND QUANTITY
The above data reveals that in education we are failing in both quality and quantity. Those who enrol cannot sustain it till its completion and those who do (except for a brilliant few) are not good enough to be hired by industry. Thus we have a huge percentage of the entire population that is totally devoid of the knowledge and skills required for the sustenance and growth of a knowledge economy and those who have access to acquire that expertise and scholarship are being wasted and their true potential depleted. Improving the numbers in terms of those completing school and college is directly related to the state of the economy, government policies, budget allocation, subsidies and participation of the private sector but the more challenging task is to improve the quality or standard of education.
NEW IDEAS ON EDUCATION
Robinson has suggested that to engage and succeed, education has to develop on three fronts. First, that it should foster diversity by offering a broad curriculum and encourage individualisation of the learning process. Secondly, it should foster curiosity through creative teaching, which depends on high quality teacher training and development. And finally, it should focus on awakening creativity through alternative teaching processes that puts less emphasis on standardised testing, thereby giving the responsibility for defining the course of education to individual schools and teachers.
He believes that much of the present education system fosters conformity, compliance, and standardisation rather than creative approaches to learning. Robinson emphasises that we can only succeed if we recognise that education is an organic system, not a mechanical one. Successful school administration is a matter of fostering a helpful climate rather than “command and control”.
WHAT ABOUT MORAL SCIENCE?
One argument that still remains beyond the purview of all this debate about excellence and revolution in the education system is the role of moral values and ethics. Undoubtedly, we require both the most intellectual and creative doctors, engineers, architects, scientists, lawyers and managers, but we also require all of them to be morally upright and uncompromising on universal values and principles of truth and justice. The most important problem we face in society and industry run by the products of our education system is not the lack of efficiency or creativity (although there is tremendous scope for further improvement), but the singular lack of ethics and morality.
A comprehensive and unbiased analysis of the situation is required to understand why the present education system is not addressing this issue of imparting morality to the younger generation. Morality is the fundamental strand of human personality without which civilization itself stands on weak foundations and destined to have a bleak future.
Or do the architects of education feel that moral science is something totally obsolete and redundant? We strongly believe that the secularisation of education has taken a heavy toll on the moral fabric of society. By detaching education from the core and sacred principles imparted by religion, educational institutions have done a positive disservice to humanity. It is late but it has been said that “it is never too late”.