Education is a grass-root aspect of an individual’s progress and quality. Education facilities are a nation’s fundamental requirement. Education refers to the ability to face life’s situations and it is something that provides the mental strength required to combat the struggles of life with dignity. This is a radical concern which should not be side-lined.
However, when a nation’s pre-requisite of quality educational institutions is not fulfilled, the nation’s populace does not develop at a pace that global standards demand. This is the case with India. Quality educational institutions are scare and opportunities are vast. The syllabus prescribed to these institutions by government bodies is outdated and needs upgradation, something that is seldom done. Students of Political Science study the constitution and the political structure of the Soviet Union, which disintegrated nearly a decade ago. Students of Biology or Zoology observe the inclusion of fungi into the kingdom of invertebrates whereas they have learnt in their 12th standard portion, that fungi have been allocated a separate kingdom for themselves.
Government universities and colleges have often been observed to have ill-equipped laboratories and libraries. Technical institutions seldom reply on computers to explain the concepts being taught. It is atrocious to note that professors rather than making fresh notes each year, keep on teaching using notes made nearly three decades ago. Many students opt for scientific lines after their 10th standard while only a few opt for the Arts line or go for Commerce. It is admitted that our nation requires scientists, engineers and technicians for it progress in the industrial aspect but we also need good teachers, service-men, and others qualified individuals if we are to develop our human resource capabilities. Per chance only 75% of the students appearing for science examinations pass, the remaining 25% candidates end up being frustrated and becoming clerks. Have we set up institutes like IIT, the NIIT, the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research and the Tata Memorial Research Centre to foster clerks?
Our nation must change its outlook, and propagate better scientists and engineers on one hand, but continue to encourage the development of teaching techniques and leadership skills in individuals for them to develop in every aspect. The populace must change its viewpoint that focuses in the money-governing aspect of education to further the realization of a developed India, in a holistic manner.
The writer is a correspondent of Youth Ki Awaaz