Is Indian Education System really 'doomed'?

“Indian education is so limited! The educational institutions are backward and resilient to change. Why don't you go abroad for your studies? You will be exposed to much better resources….” I bet all of us have come across similar sentences at least once in our life. My case was no different until I began questioning the public narrative which has been accepted for years as the truth- “Indian education system is doomed.”

For starters, no education system in the world is perfect. No single element of the world can reach a saturation point. Change is constant and change is necessary.

The Indian education system has been portrayed in a negative light not only within the country but all over the world. Apparently, it is believed that the education does not focus on imparting creative and logical skills in students and makes them rote learners with no particular sense of the real world. However, if we go back to history, we can see that India followed the ancient gurukul system for imparting knowledge. Any good website on the internet will highlight the fact that gurukuls focused on imparting not only subject knowledge but also taught yoga, exercises, critical thinking, religious scriptures, etc. It was due to the advent of westernization that this changed into the system which is being followed today. One would argue that the past is bygone and it is the present situation we should talk about. Well, the Indian education system is definitely not exactly like the systems followed in other countries but if we try a little and go into the depth of Indian principles we will see that India has not done a bad job with raising her students after losing so much of wealth and resources in the post Independence period.

The government is constantly trying to spread awareness about education in the sections of the society where education has not penetrated yet. Various schemes are being introduced under heads like free primary education for children, education for women etc. One can argue that India is moving towards promotion of literacy and giving up on rigid notions.

Secondly, it is believed that the syllabus followed in Indian schools is tedious and superfluous. However, if we compare the present syllabus with that of the syllabus which was prevalent ten years ago, it is clearly visible that flexibility has been introduced in terms of subject selection. Students are now given more choices and the length of topics has been reduced to cover the important ones rather than dumping everything in the textbooks. Moreover, students are also pushed to think beyond the textbooks through various teaching pedagogy like LEAD, case-methodology, etc. A change is being witnessed in the curriculum. I would also like to state that the idea of keeping certain subjects mandatory for students up to a certain stage in schools is not the worst thing due to two reasons as it develops the basic fundamentals of a child which can help him/her in future studies. Providing options from an initial stage can lead to annulment of some disciplines which are necessary for primary development of a student. It helps in developing a very important quality- endurance. With no other alternative available, a child focuses on the compulsory subjects and tries to excel in those. Life often puts forth challenges which are not optional for us and demand to be solved irrespective of our choice. Endurance is a quality which helps us succeed in such situations. The Indian education system rightly teaches us the same.

Many argue that the system is less focused on creativity. I believe that creativity is something which requires a student to approach it willingly. It can only be brought to one’s attention that being creative is essential but it cannot be taught religiously that such are the steps to be followed in order to be creative! After all, the entire development process of a child is incomplete without the child’s willingness to learn and inculcate various skills. Before blaming the teachers and the education system it is always imperative to know where you stand and whether you are making the best out of whatever education you are receiving because as I mentioned earlier, no education system is perfect.

In conclusion, I would like to state that I do not firmly hold the opinion that there are no loopholes present in the Indian education system. There are definitely certain things which need to be improvised such as ground level implementation of government schemes, aiming at optimizing perspectives about education amongst teachers and students etc. But I do believe that bringing about these changes is possible if we, as Indians, begin perceiving our country with a sense of responsibility instead of claiming that nothing can be done about it. Indian education is good enough to teach us how to identify the loopholes and bring an optimal solution for the same. So now whenever someone asks you to give up on Indian education, maybe you might want to question that.