MS. Jyoti Pujara
Ph.D Scholar
Regd. No MVG 158 2 EDU/2
Department of
Education
Maharaja Vinayak
Global University, Jaipur
Supervised By
Dr. Madhu Bala
Sharma
Associate
Professor, Maharaja Global Vinayak Univerisity Jaipur
Co -Supervisor
Dr. J.P.Aggarwal
Associate Professor, LPU, Jalandhar
ABSTRACT
Importance
of the role of education in the life of human beings is well known to the
society which invented the concept of ‘Zero’? Even the colonial Rulers
established educational institutions and encouraged the establishment of
educational institutions by non-state actors by introducing a system of
supporting them by providing financial aid to some extent. The very fact that
the makers of the Constitution of India chose to refer to “aid out of State
funds” to educational institutions in Article 29(2)17 and “aid to educational
institutions in article 30 (2) 18. Project Zero’s research on “Teaching for Understanding”
helps educators to answer two essential questions: What does it mean to
understand something? And what kinds of curricula, learning experiences, and
assessment support students in developing understanding? Our very identity as to who we are
and what we think locate us in the educational process (Mohanty 1990). Such an
identity comes with a background of social, psychological, political and
cultural factors and social constructions such as race, ethnicity, culture and
gender (Ghosh 2000). Value-based education will promote equality, justice,
dignity and liberty.
Lord
Macaulay was the father of the present system of education deconstructing the
traditional educational system of India. In the words of Gandhi “the colonial
powers destroyed a beautiful tree during the colonial rule.” The first medical
college of Kerala was started at Calicut, in 1942-43, during World War II. In
1964, the Education Commission started functioning with 16 members of which 11were
Indian experts and 5 were foreign experts. The Commission also discussed with
many international agencies, experts and consultants in the educational as well
as scientific field. Later in 1976, the education became a joint responsibility
of both the state and the Centre through a constitutional amendment. UNESCO believes that education is
an essential human right and achieving this for all children is one of the
biggest moral challenges of our times. The Right to education is an integral
part of the Organization’s constitutional mandate which expresses ‘the belief
of its founders in full and equal opportunities for education for all’ and ‘to
advance the ideal of equality of educational opportunity’. In addition, the
right to education is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is unfortunate that the problems of
educational system have multiplied since independence in spite of the
tremendous growth of science and technology. This paper explores and
investigates the massive growth of the fundamental problems of education in
India
Keywords:
Colonial, Constitution, Covenant, Tremendous,
Deconstruction, Amendment , Mandate,
Educators.
India is
signatory to three key international instruments that guarantee the Right to Education
– Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (Covenant), 1966 and the (UDHR) Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989. In 2002, India joined, albeit after fifty-two
years of Independence, the host of countries that provide a constitutional
guarantee for free and compulsory education. 1 Article 21–A of the Indian
Constitution casts a duty upon the State to provide FCE to children in the age
group of six to fourteen years, ‘as the State may, by law, determine’. Historically,
there has been a demand for a law for free and compulsory education in India
and several Central-level
legislative
attempts have been taken towards this end. The last of such attempts resulted
in the Draft Right to Education Bill, 2005. One of several oppositions to this
Bill came from private unaided schools. They lobbied against a provision that
required them to make a twenty-five per cent reservation for poor children.2 No
one can deny the fact that education is vital to the human resources
development and growth of India. The
Vedas say that education leads from darkness to light and it is the backbone of
civilization. When a child is born he is an animal; parents and teachers make
him a sensible and cultured being and a valuable citizen of society. Aristotle
gave his views on Education and he believed that education
was central – the fulfilled person was an educated person. Aristotle observes
thus in Niconachean Ethics:
Anything
that we have to learn to do we learn by the actual doing of it… We become just
by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate ones, brave by doing brave
ones.’ (Aristotle, Book II 91).
In any
education system, higher education encompassing Management, Engineering,
Medicines etc., plays a major role in imparting knowledge, values, and
developing skills and, in the process, increase the growth and productivity of
the nation. It is unfortunate to note that there are numerous challenges in the
educational system in India though central and state governments have done
commendable job in raising the standard of education. The education system of
India is backward and the old and stereotyped tools are used by the educators
in schools and colleges. The schools are the backbone of educational structure
but the children are quite unwilling to enter into the schools because of
poverty, discrimination and unemployment when the community has the power of
education. This power is supposed to overthrow artificial inequalities of
blood, birth, race, colour and sex, and create a "new frontier" for
opportunity (12). Justice K. Subba Rao, the Former Chief Justice of India stated
in the Karnataka Backward Classes Commission Report (1975) that economic
backwardness is the basis of all backwardness (67). Article 46 of the
Constitution protects the weaker sections in Indian society the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes but in real life the weaker sections are not
interested to get education. The central government has launched many schemes
to promote early childhood care and education (ECCE) and the Anganwadi Centers
have done wonderful job under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
Scheme. This led to the substantial increase in the number of children
receiving pre-school education. In 2012-13 the number of children of age 3 to
5+ years increased from 16.7 million in 2001-02 to 35.3 million. But if the enrolment pattern is compared with
other developed countries the situation in India is dismal. For example,
according to a Report, GER is 23 per cent for China, 34 per cent for Brazil, 57
per cent for U.K., 77 per cent for both Australia and Russia and 83 per cent
for the U.S (Annex 1). In this context, the attempt of Government authorities
to increase the number of students by 2020 so as to reach GER of 30 per cent
becomes a big challenge. In the National Education Report the government
claimed that about 98 per cent of the
rural habitations have a primary school within a distance of 1 km. The
enrolment in primary education during the period 2000-01 to 2013-14 has
increased by 18.6 million (from 113.8 million to 132.4 million) and the
enrolment in upper primary education has increased by 23.7 million (from 42.8
million to 66.5 million).
The figures look quite amazing but
in real life the researcher has found innumerable fundamental problems in
Indian system of education.
1) GENDER INEQUALITIES
The
conspicuous problem in India is gender inequality and the fear psychosis in
parents who are reluctant to send their girls in schools situated in remote
areas. In tribal societies of Bastar and Santhal the parents are confronted
with the increasing threats to the survival, well-being and sustenance of girl
child. Increases in female foeticide, further drops in the sex ratio in the
Indian population, increased cases of violence against women and dowry deaths speak
volumes about the question facing Indian education system. Girls are governed by rigid patriarchal
structure and are bound by conventional cultural values and traditions. The patriarchal attitude demeaning the worth
of a girl child is contingent on beliefs such as those that daughters will not
provide support for their aged parents, and they are a liability because of the
dowry. Amartya Sen (2001) rightly points out that “males are quite often neglectful of the interests
of females... and make decisions inimical to those interests” (486). Within the
educational scenario, the girl children are excluded from an equal educational environment,
and their educational opportunities are oriented towards training them as cultural
stereotypes. In India girls from rural regions rarely
enter the high school owing to socio-cultural and economic biases such as
parents spending their money on their son's education, rather than their
daughter, the early maturity of girls, early marriages, mother's preference to
train the girl in the household chores (Burra 2001). Martha Nussbaum (2000)
writes that ”... there are some traditionalists, for whom any support of female
education is suspect, as
a ’Western’
idea and a challenge to long-established customs. Female education is indeed
subversive’’
(16). The great educationists and reformers have laid stress on the need for
education to raise the standards of living and to achieve women empowerment. Nussbaum
underlines this very eloquently: "Once women are empowered everywhere in
the world, nothing will be the same again; and education is a major source of
that empowerment" (17).
Expenditure on Education
The
Population of India is increasing everyday but the expenditure incurred on
education is extremely low as compared to other countries. The recent 66th round
of NSSO survey reveals
that
between 1999 and 2009, spending on education in general jumped by 378 per cent
in
rural areas
and 345 per cent in urban areas of the country. The survey further reveals that
there is
sharp increase on spending on the education of children. If we measure the
expenses on education as a percentage to GDP, India lags behind. The gap in
investments in education in India can perhaps be filled by private sector
playing a crucial role. The Government is making efforts to bring transformation
in education through PPP model and the private sector is involved for huge improve
the education system in terms of various parameters like GER, quality,
investments in education.
CHALLENGES AND FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS OF
INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
1)
Lack of
Infrastructure Facilities
Indian schools and colleges lack
infrastructure and a visit to a school is very disappointing. In both the
private and government run institutions real estate, state of the art class
rooms, library, hostels, furniture, sports facilities are non existing. In most
of the schools there are no rooms and the classes are held in open or under the
trees. There are no mats and blackboards and the students carry their own mats
to sit in the class. The clean and fresh water is not available in most of the
schools and the students bring their own water bottles. The quality education
cannot be imparted if there is lack of quality physical infrastructure
2)
Student-Teacher
Ratio
The student
teacher ratio in the school and colleges shocking In India, this ratio is very
high as compared to other countries. For example, while in developed countries
this ratio stands at 11.4, in case of India, it is as high as 22.0. This brings
the necessity to recruit quality teachers and strengthen the teachers required
to handle classes. The best solution of this problem is the practice of giving
part-time teaching assignments. It is also expected to help the students in
meeting their education expenses partially. Learned and qualified teachers
should be appointed to impart quality education to students. The management of
the private schools doesn’t appoint regular teachers and engage low quality
teachers to cut expenditure. The management saves money but ruins the career of
the students. The purpose of the pay-commission is to pay the salary of the teachers so that they may
work in dedicated manner. Education
becomes a basic tool for individuals to lead an economically productive life.
An economically productive life of the individual not only improves the quality
of life of the individual and his family but also contributes to some extent to
the benefit of the society at large. Production of goods and
services to
a large extent depend upon the availability of technically qualified human resources.
Technical education therefore has the potential to directly contribute to the economic
prosperity of a technically qualified individual as well as the society. The
Supreme Court of India held in the case of Unni Krishnan, J.P. &
Others v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Others, (1993)
that “education is the second highest sector of budgeted expenditure after the defence”
and also that it constitutes “3 per cent of the Gross National Product is spent
in education” Finally, the Supreme
Court held that “the right to education
is implicit in the right to life because of its inherent fundamental
importance” and therefore an aspect of Article 21 of the Constitution.
3)
Indian
Education Thrives on Rat Race
Indian education promotes rat race among
children in the schools and colleges. The children have to read and cram up the
content like parrots without any conceptual learning and understanding of it.
It is pity to observe that students who score 95percent marks cut a very sorry
figure when they are interviewed by a panel for the jobs. They lack originality
and innovation and thus their knowledge remains theoretical and impractical. In
real life such book worms fail in life. The western schools and colleges
promote research and originality in students but in India the main focus is on
cramming up the crude facts of the traditional subjects. The syllabus curricula
are old and obsolete and the pedagogy is conventional based on age old
traditions of teaching.
4)
Indian
Education and the Personality Development
Indian education system lays insignificant
efforts for the personality development of children. The main focus of the
teachers is not on the personality development of the children but on the
academic qualification. The teachers spend most of the teaching hours to
prepare students to do well in the traditional type examination scoring good
marks and they are least bothered about their personality development. No
wonder, the students score high percentage but when they are given a task the
students fail miserably. The main criteria in the Indian schools is the good
score card. Indian children are not exposed to outer world and thus they are
poor in mental growth and lack originality and innovation. In the modern world
the world is like a family as the forces of globalization are impacting every
individual. The open door policy has encouraged multiculturalism so personality
development is very important to be successful in the competitive society.
5) Quality of
Education
India is
becoming a super economic power in Asia and the role of modern education has
increased because of the growth of globalization. Indian education system
should adopt certain benchmarking techniques for improving instruction models
and administrative procedures in institutions. India needs a thorough study and
evaluation of models implemented elsewhere and work out strategies to adopt
such models in our system. Benchmarking would provide benefits to Indian education
system in terms of reengineering, setting right objectives, etc. India has
shown economic growth pattern, leading the world in terms of information and
technology and modernization. India needs
reform in “education system”.
6)
Growth of
Parochialism and Fundamentalism in Education
Indian schools are often called the
nurseries of fanaticism as our education promotes too much of nationalism and
jingoism. Love for a nation is good but blind love for a nation is destructive
and parochial. In Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh the
regionalism is promoted spreading hatred for the north and southern states. Indian education teaches too much of
nationalism and it could create a negative values polluting the minds of the
youth. The children are growing narrow minded and self-centered deviating from
global outlook. The need of the hour is to evolve education system promoting
cosmopolitanism and not jingoism.
7)
Recruitment
of Inefficient and Untrained Teachers
In Indian schools the untrained teachers
are recruited to save money and to compromise with the quality of education.
Trained teachers are not available in the schools; the untrained teachers are
hired on less salary and the result is the collapse of education system. A
press reporter visited a government school. He was shocked to note that 90
percent school teachers failed to answer the basic facts about life. Their
general knowledge was very poor as many of them couldn’t even tell the names of
President of India. The unskilled and untrained teachers are a liability on the
institution. A county cannot progress with untrained and inefficient teachers.
In the rural and the tribal schools the untrained teachers are employed on low
salary. In the majority of schools and colleges the management negotiates with
the teachers compelling them to accept low salary. Such untrained teachers
vitiate the environment of the temple of learning.
8)
Increasing
Drop out Ratio in Schools
The drop out ratio in the schools is increasing
every day since the environment in the schools is not congenial. The teachers
don’t take mush interest in the growth and building interest in the students.
The students have no understanding of the psychology of the children as they
act like big bosses of school administration. The children are threatened and
canning is very common. The children are admitted in the schools by compulsion
on the promise of giving free wheat and rice but in reality ill-treatment is
given to them. The mid day meal project is an utter failure as the newspapers
are loaded with news items of children falling sick every day. There is no
hygienic environment in the school premises; the kitchens are dirty and old and
stale food is distributed making children sick. They are hospitalized and very
often they discover the dead rats, lizards and even small snakes in the cooked
cereals and vegetables. The parents have lost faith in the Mid-day meal project
of the government as the cases of embezzlement of the funds by the teachers are
very common.
9)
Lack of
Creation and Innovation
Indian
education system is old and traditional and the teachers are aping the west
blindly without any direction. Children lack originality and innovation because
the sophisticated facilities are not available. There is no scope for higher
learning and research. They only get degrees and are not trained to solve the
problems of the country. The standard of education is very poor; it is pity
that a first class graduate doesn’t know how to draft a good job letter.
10) Mass Copying and Deterioration of Values
Copying in schools and colleges is a cancer
and this is very common in the entire education system. During examination the
parents pay huge amount to the body builders and “dabangs” of the city who help
the students and the incidents of mass copying is reported everyday in the
newspapers. The majority of the examination centers are notorious for copying
and the parents are happy to support the students just to grab the degrees. In
the Madhya Pradesh the scam of the fake admissions in the medical colleges
shook the country; more than hundred victim committed suicide because of the
CBI enquiry and the top political leaders are involved in the scam.In the west
such things don’t happen but in India the scams, mass copying are very common.
The education system doesn’t lay stress on the character building and no moral
education is given to the students in the schools and the colleges.
11) Mushrooms of the Private Universities and
Degradation of the Standard of Education
The central
Government passed an act in Parliament and the autonomy was given by the
University Grant Commission by Section 22 of the UGC Act. It is noted that more
than 269 Private Universities are given license by this Act. Their main motive
is to mint money and uses this autonomy to exploit the teachers. The
malpractices are multiplying everyday and the private universities are just
distributing degrees. The engineers and the professionals are entering in the
job market in millions; many of the universities have very poor infrastructure;
the libraries and the research centers are only in books and the teachers are
paid very less salary as most of them are recruited on contractual basis. The
quality of education is deteriorating and there is tough competition in the job
market. I suggest that we need a thorough study and evaluation of models
implemented elsewhere and work out strategies to adopt such models in our
system. Benchmarking in my opinion would provide benefits to our education system
in terms of reengineering, setting right objectives, etc. The country is
showing consistency in economic growth pattern, leading the world in terms of information
and technology, modernization various economic activities and pushing for higher
share of industries and services sectors of the economy but there is one area
which needs reform is “education system”.
Conclusion
To sum up,
we need to recognize that the knowledge, skills and productivity of our growing
young and
dynamic work force forms the backbone of our economy. To reap the benefits of
such a
young work force, the government must implement the reforms in the education system
to bring forth new factors of production, namely knowledge, skills and
technology. The emphasis should be on quality of education in terms of
infrastructure, teachers, accreditation, etc. and affordability of education ensuring
poor and deserving students are not denied education.
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