A teacher stands tall amidst a bunch of hovering heads in uniform, a standardized modicum of instruction begins for about 45 minutes, there’s anticipation of the end- after all the bell would ring, and that would be the best moment of the day for the students. Observing these students at loggerheads with what the system intends to do is the epitome of what years of syllabus driven standardization has done. We have succumbed to a system that is so structured that all we do is linear-ize an otherwise exploratory paradigm of knowledge.
So, what’s ailing the education system and the policy paralysis in the system?
Recently, the National Education Policy emphasized a shift from rote learning to holistic, practical, and problem solving based education. Emphasis on soft skills, social and emotional skills, along with the critical thinking and problem solving are all parts of the new policy. With this, there’s also the added aim of strengthening teacher training, the assessment system, and thereby, increase public investment in education. The radical restructuring through the NEP is one of significance, yet leaves behind a lot of fundamental thought flows:
- If the aim is to strengthen teacher training, and disseminate a more holistic problem-solving based education, how are the teachers going to be trained? Given the fact that teachers acquire a Bachelors in Education (generally), does it equip them to imbibe the foundations of practical, problem-based education. Does a mechanical engineer who goes on to do a B.Ed become qualified enough to teach sociology by merely understanding that sociology must be taught ‘practically’? Do the definitions of a problem-solving based pedagogical paradigm encompass a comprehensive definition of a ‘teacher’. Effectively, a teacher in this sense has to be one with both the technical expertise to disseminate information practically, and the empathetic and technical qualities of a teacher. In doing this, we are seeing a renaissance of the strands of the guru-shishya parampara, where classes and information dissemination will be from expert to student, where the expert embodies holistic learning, with precise practical expertise.
- The Assessment system- The first question that springs to mind is- who assesses? The assessment system has to be formidable and unbiased, with panels of experts delivering marksheets based on objective analysis and reason. The state capacity to deliver this will have to expand multi-fold with a tech-integrated expert-based system.
- Another prominent issue is the stark urban-rural divide in access to quality education. While urban areas often boast well-funded schools with modern facilities, rural regions struggle with inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of qualified teachers. While an education policy set at the center will find easier dissemination when it comes to the urban areas, the rural areas are often laggards. The connect between the two systems and the transition into an integrated whole that protects rare innovations found in the rural areas will be a massive challenge. How the government equips the faculty of education to cater to these diversities , yet retain their indigenous strands is another area of concern.
In an increasingly polarized world, self-discovery becomes an important component of a being’s life cycle. Students should be given the necessary tools to understand the nuances of the world through a multi-polar lens, where viewpoints are aggregated and reasoning is encouraged. An engineer should essentially understand the other facets of the world, such as politics, history, sociology etc…The claim made here isn’t to breed polymaths, but to engage in a more holistic manner of understanding how different paradigms come together. By engaging students with a more comprehensive view of the world, they learn to rationalize, and understand the interconnections at a much faster pace. Distinguishing between facts and opinions is a skill that must be fostered through these policies.
Although the problems posed by a policy targeting are massive, the steps have been taken towards an endeavour. With all things policy, the summation of marginal improvements towards overall progress is what the citizens hope for.
