TEACHING EXCELLENCE IN INDIA

We have so many students studying in so many educational institutions but is everyone receiving a quality education? It we are striving for excellence; we must define it clearly. It means different things to different people. One can say that creating, imparting and disseminating knowledge to generations with increasing quality implies excellence. The quality of education in any school has to be useful, but India is far from that school. We always talk about private schools. There are more than 70% of students in government school s, and the need is to get trained teachers to educate them. Several students are full of passion, and they have aspirations. There are so many issues that prevail in government schools.

Underprivileged students go there, and they complain that teachers don’t come and infrastructure is miserable. The number of toilets is increasing, but the number of functional toilets is still poor. Same goes for drinkable water as well- taps are increased but not functioning correctly. These children dwell in rural areas and are not from well-to-do families. To progress in life, they somehow do self-study, manage to get a tutor who teaches for a paltry sum and somehow clears class 10. The poor’s children get enrolled late, and even after that, they do not develop an understanding of subjects. A need for bridge course is felt in all schools to see that all gaps are filled regarding subject knowledge. We must understand that even though private schools are in a better education providing position today, excellence can exist anywhere, and we hear about success stories from government ones as well.

Even the poor now want to send children to private school. They believe that if they are in a private school or can learn English then, that gets them the passport to a bright future. Our government introduced the quota system in private schools to address this issue, but it is clear that it is not a solution. Do we need to bridge the gap between private and government schools, or do we privatise education completely? A private school, if it has the significant infrastructure, must accommodate such children and be fit for them in terms of imparting education according to their level. In private schools, many emphases are given on exam result, which is essential, but they need to put equal focus on other skills too. They are looking at skill development also as conceptual education isn’t enough nowadays, but the centre must increase more. Sports, technological advancement, globalised conduct and other curricular develop a child entirely and make for a true representative of modern India.

Even for private schools, there is an issue of access to high-quality education. Only a person studying in topmost school or college will be exposed to that excellent knowledge; while students of their schools, who are not enrolled in that top place don’t have access to it. Unfortunately, our school curriculum is hopelessly outdated. Had the schools been teaching how to study through cell phones and laptops ore, the information provided by top schools would be in their hands. If a student feels like learning something today, he should have access to that particular piece of information that he seeks. Technology is that classrooms create a big difference. If excellence is available somewhere, then through technology, we must bring it to students.

Let us not forget that teachers play the most critical role in bringing excellence; in reality, not every teacher joins this profession out of love and passion; circumstances to have a force on people. Still, every teacher must stay committed to ensure excellence in their work and students. There is undoubtedly a disconnect between industry and education. No matter how conceptually strong a student is, once he goes to the industry, employers require to train him according to their needs. We need a system which prepares us for work-life as well. The education system must cater to the real-life challenges and demands of life. Only a few get into top institutions, and how can the system meet the challenge of creating a platform for more students? Investment in education is critical as we need more quality institutions to meet the demands of rising population. We need to ensure that as we grow more institutions, we also maintain high quality.

Moreover, India needs its best students to compete with the world’s best with cutting edge knowledge. We must produce role models and become magnets for outsiders. We boast of having Indians as the best minds of the world; they are heads of big companies in the world. Ironically, there is no electricity or internet in many villages. So many Indians can make India a superpower if only they would get a fundamental requirement of education and the internet will play a massive role in shaping a bright rural India. The government must ensure that these should reach the common man in all the parts of rural India. If there is a successful model available anywhere, then that has to be emulated. We must take advantage of technology as today the learning process is undergoing tremendous change. If the students have access to quality education, then the students will contribute more to society, and everyone will prosper.