7th Anniversary Essay V

Reassessing schools and schoolingIndia is still struggling to solve problems of yesterday, such as basic literacy, while simultaneously facing new challenges of tomorrow. And as new challenges emerge, there is no choice but to reform and invent new structures and content to solve problems of the past while also meeting challenges of the future.Inertia is not limited to inanimate inorganic matter but is also a characteristic of human society until large numbers of people not only desire change, but also figure out a way to realise it. Education reform has been extensively debated for over half a century in post-independence India. But the system has resisted radical reform, especially the mass education system. On the one hand we have experts who seem to know exactly what education is all about and they write policies and syllabuses which sound really good. Yet, there has been very little, if any, change in India‚s classrooms. In fact, as mass education expands, we seem to be creating more problems. So, what‚s gone wrong? The idea of compulsory education and the model of the school as we know it, came into existence two centuries ago in the West when demand was low and policy-makers saw a need to restructure society and its workforce through benevolent compulsion. Today, the demand for education is overtaking the need for compulsion but systems of mass education can provide neither what is demanded nor what is needed. India‚s 1,133,000 schools and 17,700 colleges play the role of rather bad babysitters at a time when parents, both rich and poor, have less time for children for good reasons and bad.In short, although the world has changed radically, the basic school model has resisted change. Against this background, do we need a new social mechanism other than the ‚Ëœschool‚ for transfer of knowledge in a fast changing world? In the emerging new world, children need to develop communication skills. Language does play a role, but communication is much more than that. They need to develop skills of measurement, computation, and analysis with mathematics as a base. They need to learn how to preserve their environment and to use machines and gadgets rather than learn ‚Ëœscience‚ from textbooks. Stretching ahead of them are longer life spans in a more complex society with high medical expenses, risks and tensions. They need to learn to cope, and maintain physical and mental fitness beyond what is delivered in ‚Ëœphysical training‚ classes. In a world of increasing mobility they will need to learn to understand, adjust, and respect others, while maintaining their identities and dignity. Unfortunately this is not what we teach in our history or civics texts. Schools emphasise regimented discipline even as the important skills of negotiation and socialisation are learnt while trading goodies, in fist fights and arguments after school. Twenty-first century children will have higher disposable incomes and more time to relax when they grow up. They should know how to use time and money for rest and recreation. But the great majority…