At the time of Independence, India had three major issues to deal with – education, economy and social harmony. The situation hasn’t changed much if we compare it with present India, which is still whirling around the issues mentioned above.
Out of these three issues, economy and social harmony are two issues that the country constantly debates on. Be it news channels, newspapers, or the common man conversations near tea stalls, people often talk about issues that are somewhere related to either economy or social harmony. However, when it comes to education then, the approach is somewhere aloof. Practically, education can be an effective solution to eradicate issues related to social harmony and economy. But unfortunately, it is the least talked about topic.
On a simple Google search about the facts associated with the condition of education in India, we can find many facts that point out that majority of the children in the country don’t receive quality primary education. Not just primary education, but even the condition of higher education is very pathetic. There are several reports about constant delays in exams or declaration of results. There are no proper classes and facilities in popular universities of the country.
The University of Delhi, which is the first choice for many who aspire to go for higher studies, has been unable to declare the results of the odd semester examination even after two months. After reading various media reports, the reason behind this delay is the ongoing DUTA strike. It is indeed frustrating for students like me, but it is even more frustrating to see the University paying no attention to declare the results on time, nor are they releasing any message to the students regarding it.
It also puts a question mark on the working conditions of the government and media. Why is the HRD Ministry not trying to resolve the problem? Why is the HRD Minister not assuring the students regarding the result? If a University isn’t willing to resolve a problem affecting its teachers, how can the students expect that questions related to their dilemma will be answered?
Media has also played a disappointing role in the whole scenario. They would cover even a small act of violence in the University, but they won’t show the frustration of students who are demanding their results on time. I was astonished when I found that many credible websites have claimed that the results of DU have been announced, but did not care to mention that not even 50% results had been announced till 24th February. This shows the seriousness of the two important sections of the country towards a sensitive issue like education.
The University is not only facing issues related to exams and results, but also lags behind when it comes to infrastructure. A huge disparity arises between the infrastructure of North Campus colleges and that of other colleges. Some of the colleges are even unable to provide a well-maintained sports ground to their students. Such huge disparity is the most tragic part of the University. As a University that was established in 1922, we can surely expect more equality in terms of facilities.
There are some major ludicrous decisions undertaken by the University. Ram Lal Anand College (Evening) was turned into Aryabhatta College in 2014, due to which both the colleges share a common playground. The size of the playground isn’t big enough for both the colleges and sports students have to suffer. Even without completing the construction work, the University separated both the colleges. Why did they not think about the playground and the problems associated with it? The answer is very simple: the University management is ignorant and the institutions that can pressurise them don’t want to pay any attention to it.
Thus, it is very important for a country like India to pay attention to educational institutions that are one of the best in the world. We need to ask the authority to show a road map or plan of developing the University in the next five or ten years. Common people need to ask questions about the condition of education in order to repair the deterioration. If the situation continues like this, the nation is soon going to entangle itself into a very serious state from where it would be very difficult to repair.