A serious shortcoming in our curriculum is that we mostly teach subjects, as per the historical evolution of the subjects concerned. We learn about emperors who ruled India in a vertical fashion, without knowing who ruled France or England or China at that time. Similarly, we teach the History of Physics as what Newton did or what Einstein did and so on. We do not focus due attention on the applications of Physics, which actually fulfils a greater need for a learning child. Japan, for example, has trimmed other subjects to introduce a new subject called “Contemporary Society” and Korea similarly, has introduced “National Ethics” in its school curriculum. This is worth drawing the attention of the people who structure our curriculum frameworks.
The deployment of unconventional approaches to teaching and learning, like seminars, symposia, Think-Tank-Sessions, etc., do deserve to be pressed into service, in order to, displace mere memorising that has somehow occupied centre stage today.
Amidst the aforesaid hopes and aspirations, it is also important to look at some of our other educational shortfalls that are likely to cost us dearly.
Education has somehow become marginalised and isolated, because of its own actions. |
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While developing educational plans we have, no doubt, consulted educational planners and administrators, curriculum and evaluation experts, content specialists and practising teachers, but have conveniently overlooked representation from business and industry, or science and technology in our curriculum development teams. If this has been attempted at all, then it has only been to add some cosmetic upgrades, to these important sectors. This has resulted in situations where we are bringing in 'educated unemployeds' into society, where an important contradiction exists with employable positions remaining unfilled, because of a lack of people with required competencies, while large number of people remain unemployed. For example, everybody wants to become a doctor but very few want to enter para-medical areas, which are not only highly paid, but where placement could be easy and fast too. Thus, if we do not go to the root of the problem, then we can easily say that we have only vocalised vocational education and not institutionalised it.
We have also not given adequate attention to prepare for self-employment avenues. We must also develop self-employment competencies, since we continue to think that employment means only to serve others, and not one's own self.
Let us, then, accept part of the blame for this state of the educated unemployed' and listen to those who have only acquired |
