Published in SME WORLD Apr 2015 Issue
What is the ultimate goal of acquiring education? To sustain
oneself and propagate. That is why in the medieval texts we have a sequence of
Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanprastha and Sanyasa. Brahmacharya ashrama is all
about acquiring skills and education followed by Grihastha when on marries and
has family. This is also the stage when one works for livelihood either for
someone else (working in a company) or for the self by creating an enterprise. The
skills that one acquires help them sustain at their workplace, helps them
support their family and helps create an enterprise.
The underlying theme is the
vibrancy, innovation, newness and depth of an education system greatly impacts
the type of business which grows and flourishes in that environment.
Why our education system needs complete overhauling?
If we observe the developed
countries; it is clear that they have progressed mainly on the strength of
their education system and teaching methodology. Elizabeth Holmes has created
Theranos – a path-breaking diagnostic solution company while dropping out of
her graduate program at Stanford. Steve Jobs is the brain behind Apple whose
products have become “must have” possessions. Google and Zuckerberg’s Facebook
do not require any introduction.
Why India has been unable to come up with any such solutions? The
American education system and process definitely plays a pivotal role in
nurturing the thought and analytical process, the confidence to take risks
among their students which has helped create such enterprises. The German
system is another case in point. How do they manage to build such fantastic
automobiles, chemical companies and green energy solutions? I am sure it is
definitely not the case of being God-gifted. Audi, BMW, Mercedes are still
strong aspiration possessions around the world. Other Europeans including the
Nordic nations are equally strong in their educational system. Finland whose
education system is much studied and often emulated is again overhauling it.
They are now going to teach skill-wise instead of subject-wise which makes more
practical sense.
It is still not too late. We need
a system where the students are not pursuing higher marks through rote learning
rather gathering skills which can help them become valuable for enterprises or
being able to create one.
What
should be changed?
We have one of the largest populations
in the world but if we compare it to per capita income or contribution to GDP,
the numbers are appalling against those countries having lesser population and
better economy. Our system of education creates lot of good coders for IT
companies but how many Indian engineers are in demand for design or original
equipment design or manufacturing firms. How many Indians lead large scale
projects in the world?
One Preet Bharara in the American
Justice System or an Indian financial brain close to Warren Buffet is not
enough. It is quite shallow as Indians go gaga whenever a person of Indian
origin achieves something on the global platform. Are they there because of
being Indian (or Indian blood from either of the parent’s side) or due to their
upbringing in an advanced education system? Why do the Chinese immigrants excel
in America? The American system amplifies their ability of doing hard work with
a process that is value driven. Dignity of labor is one of their basic tenets
of learning and the children work to earn from a young age.
Our entire curriculum should
change starting from entry level to of course higher education; the testing and
evaluation system needs to be made more scientific, a need to identify actual
learning potential and outcome and as per the the new Education Policy stress on
ethics and life skills.
Unless there is a deeper
relation, exchange of ideas and actual joint working teams from education and
industry; both will remain disjointed. Teachers play an important role in this
backdrop. We mostly see people sticking to a fixed curriculum and racing to
finish the course within a stipulated time. We need teachers who are aware of
demands of the business world and train students to not only become employable
but skillful. The entire approach should be outcome oriented rather than GPAs
and marks. Both industry personnel and teachers need deeper interaction on a
regular and coordinated basis to understand each other.
We need a 360 degree change. It
is about time we put in a serious team in place to study what is working in
other countries of the world, why and how are they implementing the system then
create an indigenous one.
Many countries have dignity of
labor as one of their basic tenets of learning and the children work to earn
from a young age. This builds their ability to analyze, decide and choose and
become independent. Vital skills for everyday life in any business, any
profile.
How educated people can help? They are the people who drive your
vehicle, read road signs, unload and load material, answer phone calls, get
orders, process them and bill, and at each moment they are making many micro
decisions which actually affect the outcome of your business. The ability to
open up to new ideas, adopt them, implement and innovate comes from education.
Is our education system helping create such individuals?
