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| Education system needs reform | | | Sunita Vakil | 7/10/2011 8:16:51 PM |
| There is a dire need to overhaul the admission process and to stop making a mockery of our education system. We in India boost of quality education and more opportunities for our youths. Infact, government expenditure on education has grown over the years from about Rs 97.375 cr in 2004-05 to Rs 1,89,325 cr in 2008-09, according to data compiled by the Center for Budget and Governance Accountability. But is the government doing enough to provide good quality education to children? Though political leaders trumpet about propelling an education revolution, the reality appears to be different. The existing education system seems ill prepared to meet the demands of the burgeoging youth population and the rising literacy rates. The impossibly soaring cut-offs for admissions to various colleges, which has not only left many admission seekers amazed and confused, but also compelled the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to come out with a statement desiring some changes in the admission process, only shows the crisis in our higher education system. These sky high cut-offs are only the syptoms of a deeper malaise that afflicts higher education in India.
In view of the growing competitiveness among students, admission seekers are facing a big challenge. Indeed, the government needs to be lauded for setting ambitious goals like the achievement of 30% gross enrollment ratio in higher education upto 2020. In the coming years the number of students passing out will increase manyfold because of the RTE. Consequently, the rush to graduate colleges is likely to increase. But are we creating enough institutes of excellence to achieve our most cherished goal? The bottom line is that we simply do not have enough capacity in terms of seats for ungraduate education of an acceptable quality. The irrationally higher cut offs are therefore a reflection of the sad plight of the institutes of higher learning in this country with limited infrastructure and faculty. A few decades ago even 70 pluses were few in number. High cut offs like 99% were unthinkable. But gone are the days when seven IITs were sufficient to cater to the needs of the whole country. With the ever increasing number of the higher education seekers, we now need an IIT, an IIM and a Central University in every state. Infact, the National Knowledge Commission holds that the higher education system needs around 1500 universities nationwide to enable India to attain a gross enrollment of atleast 15% by 2015. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal will have to do a lot more than feel sorry for the children and their parents. It would do well to initiate systematic reforms.
Besides the widening demand supply mismatch the high cut offs are an inevitable consequence of the absence of standardised institutes of education. Only a handful of colleges in Delhi occupy top notch positions as their brand names sell better in employment markets. Also, students have an irrational preferrence for these branded colleges on the basis of popular perception. Thus there is a mad race for admission into the colleges with limited seats. What aggravates the problem further is that reservations under various categories take away a large number of available seats. The minority institutions which reserve 50% of seats to their communities are also culprits for the exploding cut-offs. And Delhi University has about half a dozen minority colleges and a Minority Central University. The allocation of a large chunk of highly valued seats is thus bound to give rise to shortages and rationing. This was probably the reason that some students resorted to cheating as was revealed in the recent case of fake caste certificates in Delhi University admissions 2011. Though their actions are unjustificable, the very fact that they were tempted to take the illegal step despite being high scorers symbolises all that is wrong with our education system and its unhealthy emphasis on absolute marks and cut throat competition. Then there is the use of class XII marks as the sole criterion for admissions. It is widely known that end of the year exams do not provide a valid measure of scholastic competence. The stress of knowing that just one, three hour long examination after the end of 12 years of schooling can make or mar students future can be quite benumbing. The goal of education in this peculiar scenario turns into getting high marks by any means, often encouraging the interference of politics and money power in admissions. This makes a mockery of education system besides making children bookworms and killing creativity and innovation. What has led to the present state of affairs is the commercialisation of education. The notion that education builds character is no longer relevant. Theres a popular perception that education is essential for only getting a good job. The present education system fails to identify talent and gives emphasis on producing goal driven robots programmed to compete but lack creativity and adaptability. There is a craze among students for engineering and medicine. We have only to look at a number of schools that train students to crack competitive exams to comprehend this truth. There is also tremendous pressure on the students by the parents and schools. What our prevailing education system is producing are not skilled human beings but skilled robots. The high cut offs, which place mental stress not only on students but society as a whole, also restricts the quality, potential and growth of the education sector. Not surprisingly, the future of even the brightest student is uncertain owing to the unscientific methods of admissions in our institutions. Right from the time a child is born parents gear up to prepare him for various ventures ahead. In this scheme of things, they have only one goal and that is to secure a perfect 100% in their qualifying examinations. Having said that, it need not be emphasised that the market oriented higher education thrust is the root cause of an increasing number of suicides. In the current education scenario, marks are the magic mantras that can make anything happen at a very crucial stage of a students life. Parents need to understand that children have to be given the freedom of studying the course of their choice. Most adults fail to realise that all children are gifted with some ability. They should encourage the young to pursue a life where abilities and interests converge. As long as this thinking exists, such absurdities as the high cut offs will continue for the forseeable future. But the time has come for a drastic reform in the country's education system. An improvement in the quality of education is a must in all segments. Educational institutions should modify the existing system and give importance to attaining knowledge in the right way. We need to overhaul the admission process and evolve a more comprehensive system of admission to colleges. We can atleast make a beginning by taking such small steps. The writer is a senior Delhi based journalist and can be contacted at [email protected]
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