The current education system of India is designed to promote competition instead of curiosity. Teachers and students are focused on completing their syllabus before the exams arrive. No one wants the children to learn just for the sake of learning. Clearing exams is the end goal.
Ed tech companies may be using a different medium, but the end goal is still the same. In this post, we discuss what is wrong with the Indian education system and what more can ed tech companies do to change education in a major way.
India is obsessed with competition
Indian society has evolved to believe that there are limited opportunities for them. A lot of factors like poverty and discrimination have led people to believe this. Majority of people think that they have to struggle and fight with others to achieve what they want.
So, there’s an environment of competition in this country. The feeling of competition is seen in all walks of life. The line for water tankers and the line outside government officers tells people that they are part of a race. This feeling is there in the education system as well.
A big part of our education system is exams. An exam’s original intent was to test whether a child learnt something or not. Instead of doing that, exams are used to compare one child to another. Students with good grades are rewarded. Other students are made to feel inferior about their learning skills. This alienates a large number of students and prevents them from gaining knowledge in a happy and fun way. Students end up hating this place called “school” because it makes them feel bad about themselves.
Colleges, too, end up labeling students. The entrance exams, the internal semester exams and the placement process, are all geared towards finding the “best” among the students. The colleges themselves are in some kind of imaginary race where they too have a ranking system and students are fighting to get an admission in the topmost college of the country.
So, first schools, then colleges force students to compete against each other. And these students grow up to be adults who view every aspect of their life as a race. These adults then repeat the same cycle with their children.
No one focuses on learning
Let’s move our attention to the lives of teachers for a second. Teachers start out slowly by explaining concepts one lecture at a time. Good teachers encourage debate in the classroom. Students ask questions and teachers try to answer them to the best of their abilities.
But, as time goes by, teachers realize that this isn’t going to work. The exam dates start popping up in discussions.Teachers realize that they need to increase pace in order to complete the syllabus. And that’s when things get worse. Classroom discussions are avoided. Students’ questions go unanswered. They exchange glances with each other signalling “Kuch samajh nahi aa raha”. Eventually, exam dates arrive and the teachers haphazardly declare that the syllabus is done.
Few questions that we should think about:
- Why is there a hurry to complete the syllabus? Learning isn’t supposed to be a time bound activity.
- Who is forcing teachers to meet these “syllabus deadlines”?
- Why can’t the syllabus be altered or the exams postponed?
The entire discourse around exam dates and syllabus completion takes the focus away from learning. Students see their teacher focus on exam dates and syllabus and they learn to do that as well. No one talks about whether the concept is understood or not. Everyone does the bare minimum work to complete the syllabus and be prepared for the upcoming exam.
Education is a government controlled service
We can blame our schools, coachings and teachers all we want, but, the fact is that they didn’t create this system. Education for a long time has been controlled by governments and education boards. It’s them who shape the mindset and workings of all the stakeholders(teachers, students, coachings, school admins).
The problem with a centrally controlled system is that it forgets the needs of the individual. Learning is a very personal thing. Education requires flexibility, but our education policies have created a rigid system. For example, it dictates that a 5-year old kid should know the alphabets and numbers. What if the kid has a different pace of learning. What if he/she learns these things by the age of eight. Would you call him/her a failure? Our education system definitely does. And that’s where things go wrong.
Generalization is killing people’s ability to focus on learning. A system of “attend classes, give exams and move on to the next level” that applies to everyone is killing curiosity. It’s a system where the inmates are expected to follow orders and meet deadlines. Those who follow the rules are rewarded. Those who don’t fit in the system are labeled as a nuisance.
What more can Ed tech companies do?
Ed tech companies have been able to introduce technology in learning. They have introduced video lectures which are accessible via apps. Their teachers use digital and smart boards that allow them to use visual aids like videos and images while teaching. Students with the means to use technology have definitely benefited from these companies.
But, no one talks about learning and knowledge. The focus is still on covering syllabus and clearing exams. They too are using rankers in their marketing. The root of the problem is still unchanged. Here are some additional things that these companies need to do:
1. Grow political capital to influence education policies
A lot of corporations hire lobbyists who have access to government officials. The job of these lobbyists is to influence policies in favour of their clients. The goal is always to increase profits.
What if ed tech companies did the same? But this time, they would influence policies in favour of students and teachers. They would influence policies in a way that puts less emphasis on exams and competition and brings learning to the forefront. A company that can do that has definitely the right to claim they have “revolutionzed” education.
2. Personalize education
The current schooling system makes students sit in a room in large numbers. It expects that whatever is being taught in the class will be grasped in the same way by every student. To go a step further, it assumes that all the students of the same age group want to learn the same subjects.
Students are not given a choice about what they want to learn. Year after year, students move from one class to another. The same Science, Maths and language is taught year after year. What if the student wants to make a career in dance? Nope! Can’t do that. What if the student loves computers and wants to make apps? Nope! Wait till you are in college.
Personalized education in India is a very difficult problem to solve given the population and diversity. But, if an ed tech company can crack this and design a system where a student’s interests are taken into consideration, they can impact students in a way we have never imagined before. This, in combination with the first point of influencing policies, can change the face of Indian education completely.
Guru Near Me
While the Indian education sector is changing, lots of teachers are taking matters into their own hands. They are starting coachings and tuitions on their own. This gives them control over how they educate students without the red tape of schools and boards. Guru near me is on a mission to connect students with the best teachers in any field. Visit our website, search for a field of your interest and find the best teacher near you.
The views shared by the author are personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the company.
