Editor’s note – This beautifully written article is a must read for every critic of the education system. With his wit and charm the author elaborates his analysis of what is wrong with the IES and what should be done by the critics.
Author’s note –While there are many critics about the Indian Education System, hardly a surprise considering its flaws, it is important to be objective with criticism, and use it to effect change rather than simply lash out against perceived injustice.
“An education is what remains after you forget what you have learnt in school.” –Albert Einstein
What differentiates a critic from a mindless rant is the ability to accept his own fallibility. You see, for criticism, when applied correctly, applies to itself also. The worst sort of critic is one who generally accepts, and then presents his solution, rather contumaciously as not only the best, but also the only solution. That, is not criticism, that is dogma, and autocratic as it may seem, is the main pitfall for most critics of the Indian Education system.
Let’s face it, most people who criticize the Indian Education System (IES), have in some way, been frustrated by it. There’s no point in shouting the choicest gaaliyan against the IES if you are in a brilliant branch, in a brilliant college, pursuing a brilliant degree course with assured employment and other benefits. In general, most critics of the IES have been let down by it in some way or the other. And criticism ends up as carping or morosely brooding about what the IES could have been.
Yes, the Indian Education System is flawed and the millions of people criticizing it daily is proof enough. However, criticism can merely bring problems to light and not solve it for us. What is needed right now is constructive criticism. And I, for one, have had enough of all the whining and worrying about the consequences of a flawed education and what not. It is extremely expedient for us to criticize anything as long as we go against the grain, as long as we seem to be affecting change. This is not exigent, it is merely convenient for us to lash out against a system we believe has wronged us, and therefore seek retribution.
So, to cut a long story short, practice what you preach, action rather than criticism is the sort of paregoric that the IES needs these days. But, this, as it sounds, is a rather makeshift medicine. For those who criticize, rarely have power to act, if they did, there would no longer be any need for criticism. And in the worst sort of Catch 22 there is, those who do have the power to act, must not accept their own shortcomings, for that would result in public humiliation. This is why Jairam Ramesh’s argument, that the IITs and IIMs do not produce enough quality research is eyewash. If he had been the education minister rather than the minister for national greenwashing, he would not have felt that way.
You see, the IITs produce quality research, with very limited resources, with an ever parsimonious government snapping at their heels. The average IIT gets around 50 million dollars in funding, Yale has an endowment of 17 billion dollars, invested wisely enough, it earns over 2 billion dollars a year, tax free. And it isn’t even the biggest university resources wise in the USA, which makes it very scary that our entire education budget is merely a fraction of the endowment of one single American University and that too not a very large fraction either. What we do not have is the funding, what we do have is the brains. Our parents lay special emphasis on education, parents in the US are apathetic at best. We might not have any genetic predisposition towards math or science, but we do manage to make up for it through dint of sheer hard work. In this way, the Education System in our country is not flawed at all. It encourages tremendous amounts of sheer mental labour. What it kills, rather effectively, is creativity and humour. Indian scientists, researchers, professors, students don’t find joy in their work. They do not have a sense of humour associated with their profession. The only reason they are able to withstand the rigours of their dull and dreary profession is because, they themselves are dull and dreary. And this is because they are a product of our education system, which teaches us the theory of physics, chemistry, math and biology rather comprehensively.
What it fails to do is to teach us the theory of life. No one knows what to do with their life; no one knows what kind of person to be. The Education System, in its sycophancy has also come up with a term for this; it calls it “soft skills”, and as such these soft skills fall outside the purview of the IES. However, there are unofficial finishing schools that teach us the necessary soft skills, which are not official educational institutes.
An education is meant to equip you with the tools you need for your life, not merely for your employment. The problem is part of the solution too, only if it is analyzed objectively, free from remorse or hatred. Identifying the problem is half the problem solved, but the other half needs to be solved too. This is why it is important to be part of the solution also, rather than just be a part of identifying the problem.
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