A new academic year brings with it a new batch of anxious faces, eagerly looking at the DU cut-offs, hoping they get in. Lakhs of students apply to the University of Delhi annually while only a few make it through. This year too over 4 lakh applications were recorded, the highest being from Delhi, followed by Uttar Pradesh. The lowest number of applications were received from West Bengal. All these candidates are vying for a mere 70,000 seats.
Owing to the deadly second wave of the coronavirus, the exams pan India were cancelled. The different education boards came up with fair scoring criteria for their students. Everyone witnessed remarkable inflation in their marks after the results were declared, with more than 70,000 CBSE students scoring above 95%.
This posed a massive dilemma for the college principals, some of them even suggesting a centralised entrance exam for the batch of 2021. But due to time and procedural constraints, the same wasn’t feasible to conduct. Finally, the University decided to follow the merit basis for admission to the undergraduate programs.
Speculations were rife about the cut-offs being astronomically high for this academic year which, unfortunately, turned out to be true.
After a long and tiring wait, the first cut off list was released yesterday.
In an unprecedented development, at least 6 colleges have released 100% cut-offs in 10 courses which have left the students all over India in shock.
Ramjas college and Hindu college demanded a whopping 100% for Political Science Hons. and Computer Science Hons. The other north campus colleges have followed the same trend. SRCC set the bar at 100% too for B.Com Hons. 13 out of 20 courses in Hansraj college are only available to students who have scored above 99%. The score required for English Hons. has increased by a percent to settle at 99% in most colleges. At Vivekananda College, History Hons requires 97%, a sharp jump from the previous year’s 85%.
Experts are now questioning the evaluation of the board results. A teacher at SRCC clarified that the 100% cut off was based on the applicant data provided to them which had almost 450 students who scored a perfect 100 in the best of four aggregate. It is indeed quite baffling how so many students managed to procure such excessive marks. Fingers would be pointed at various school managements who might have graciously rewarded marks to their pupils.
The number of 100 scorers at DU has increased to almost 10,000 from 5,500 last year. Understandably, the cut-off can’t be kept low.
The cut off list has left many students distraught, a number of them are looking at their DU dreams shattering. Aspirants who are just at the 90% margin are worried about their college prospects now, with many of them looking to seek admission in other universities. The ones who scored below 90% have very bleak chances of getting in, seeing the current trend. This is a leading cause of stress as well as anxiety for both parents and students as their future is now enveloped in a shadow of uncertainty.
The education system has been heavily criticised as there is only space for exceptional scorers in universities now. The entire focus has now shifted to performance in exams instead of the holistic development of children. The sky is the only limit now when it comes to college cut-offs.
Is CBSE better than SSC? A conflict going on for years now. Even while talking to a friend who’s studying from a different educational board we end up comparing and at times arguing over which teaching and learning technique is superior. Over the past years we have come across many such instances where a formal education is compared or considered necessary for a for a ‘successful career’. Many of us must have also heard statements like’ You need to have a formal learning to achieve your desired or well settled career’. But can any one exactly define what a formal education or formal learning is?
If we put it in simple words formal education is generally a structural well organized system of training wherein we have to follow a given fixed way of learning which was followed previous learners. So such type of learning focuses more on theoretical learning and minimal practical learning. Now a query may arise that there has to be a structure, a pattern for a disciplined and proper learning experience. In a formal learning the subjects and curriculum is fixed, whatever we learn is pre-decided and repeated monotonously. Those subjects might be of liking to one student but not the other, some may excel in one subject and have hard time coping with other subject. But in the end the overall performance is noted and not individual. This results in students not being able to understand what they are good at.
Each one of us has a certain field of liking, some talents and also a few pros and cons. We on our own are very much aware of our strengths and weaknesses. All we have to do is to know what our strengths are, improve them, nurture them and whatever our weaknesses are we need to learn how to tackle them. So when it comes to formal education exploring a specific field of interest is difficult as we are obliged to keep up with all the other subjects too. This may not be the case for everyone some may even find there scope through this type of learning, but the important thing is only some may not everyone.
Now, let’s come to the the point of a ‘successful career’. I am sure every one out there has own perspective towards what exactly a successful career is. Our expectations from our ownself as well as our will and capacity to achieve them collectively would give us a successful career. For me it would me something I would achieve in coming years and would enjoy, learn and grow during the process. It goes like the famous saying ‘Success is about the journey and not the destination’.
But now if we compare A formal education with a successful career what similarities can you guess? Is it really necessary that a strict patterned learning guarantees us a career? A formal education is needed but it shouldn’t be considered as the only criteria to define our success or if we could achieve our goals. Ultimately success depends on individual’s capacity to use their talents and creativity in the most effective manner. May be now we could modify a very familiar proverb ‘Education is a key to success, but not the only key to success.’
With the world getting a virtual transformation during the ongoing pandemic, the open digital education has become the need of the hour to assist the students with bridging the gap between time and knowledge. As Covid-19 gripped the world with its microscopic spikes and brought the entire world to the standstill, several sectors of the economy and market took a hit and had to be shut till they could be operated without risking the lives of their foot soldiers on duty.
Lockdowns were imposed all over the world and with that came the need to keep the world running and the virtual world came to the rescue. In India, lockdown started from 21st March 2020 and is expected to last till 14th April 7, 2020, however, given the rapid spread of coronavirus in the community, the decision of uplifting the lockdown remains much anticipated.
One of the major schedule and lifestyle change occurred in the life of students all across the country as the schools and colleges were shut down immediately under the protocol of lockdown to safeguard the future generations. Nevertheless, with the termination of the lockdown still being the topic of debate it is not known for sure when the classes could be resumed and hence many universities have now opted for the digital education as a step forward to help the students stay focused on education.
What is Digital Education?
The term digital education refers to the innovative use of digital tools to deliver learning through teaching using effective modern day technological tools. Learning services could be in the form of face to face, blended or fully online courses. This provided the benefit of accessing the content at a convenient time and location to the learner thus resulting in a more personalized learning experience.
Besides that, this new tool is known to improve the interaction between the educator and learner, and the ability to provide the teachers with better feedback which further helps to enhance the quality of teaching.
A lawyer can provide advice and assistance as needed throughout the individualized education program (IEP) process while you do most of the work, or a lawyer can be directly involved as your formal representative. You can find special education Lawyer near me.
Digital initiatives in Higher Education by Indian Government
To ensure the smooth learning process during the lockdown and for students to avail the full benefit of e-learning, Indian HRD ministry has launched various digital initiatives which will allow them to participate in online classes as they would do it physically in colleges, and also utilize the study material to its full potential.
We provide you below with the list of digital platforms curated by various branches of HRD ministry.
Audio-video e-content
This initiative by the human resource department ministry provides the e-Learning platform for all the courses from class 9 to post graduation. Courses are hosted in four quadrants:
Video learning
Reading serial material
Self assessment test
Online discussion portal
The learning is provided free of cost but to avail the certification an amount has to be made to the department.
SWAYAMPRABHA
As described by the ministry, The SWAYAMPRABHA is a group OF 32DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high quality education programmed on 24*7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. Every day, there will be new content for atleast (4) hours which would be repeated 5more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience. The channels are uplinked from BISAG, Gandhinagar.”
The content includes
Curriculum based course content for University students
Curriculum based course content for students from class 9 to 12
Curriculum based courses that can meet the need of life for Indian citizens
Competitive exams preparation sets
Access Journals and E-books
National Digital Library
This initiative has led to the excess of free educational material to all, ranging from primary to post graduate level. It is believed to be extremely beneficial to all kinds of learners, students, teachers, lecturers, professors, research scholars etc. The material is available in more than 70 languages and extremely free of cost.
e-PG Pathshala
This is the platform providing e-Learning facilities to the postgraduate courses and it works through the following three verticals
1. e-Adhyayan
This platform provides video content and 700 + eBooks for various post graduate level courses
2. UGC MOOCS
UGC is one of the national level coordinator of SWAYAM and works on producing Postgraduate e-learning courses on SWAYAM.
3. e-Pathya
This is the vertical particularly created for the offline access of the e-learning material for the postgraduate students.
SHODHGANGA
Shodhganga is the platform that allows the Ph.D. scholars in all the streams deposit and publish their theses for access to the upcoming professional in their respective fields. Till now 250000 theses have been published on the esteemed site.
E – SHODHSINDHU
As stated on their respective website, e- Shodhsindhu aims to provide access to more than 15000 journals and a number of bibliographic and factual databases in a wide range of disciplines at a lower cost to educational institutions.
Accelerated hands on learning
1. e-Yantra
e- yantra is the platform founded by the IIT Bombay to train the engineers to solve the practical problems with practical solutions utilizing their engineering skillset.
It has divided its aim by inculcating various branches to look after the respective issues. Some of the initiatives are
e- yantra robotics competition
e- yantra ideas competition
e- yantra lab setup initiative
e-yantra symposium
e-yantra resource development canter
FOSSEE (Free and Open Source Software for Education)
This platform promotes the use of FLOSS(FireEye Labs Obfuscated String Solver)tools in academia and research.
Spoken tutorial
The aim of spoken tutorial is to popularize software learning. It provides wide range of subject learning for the utilization by school level to the university students especially addressing the Math and Science as areas of interest. The contents are available in multiple languages thus making it further accessible to our multilingual population.
Track your progress
VIDWAN
VIDWAN consists of database of profiles of research scholars, scientists and faculty members of leading academic institutions. It provides important information about their background, contact details, skills, accomplishments etc. This information is maintained by information and library network center and is very essential for the selection of various task force meant for different evaluation purposes in the country.
Shodh Shuddhi
Under this scheme, plagiarism detecting software, URKUND a Web Based Plagiarism Detection Software system, is provided to the thousand plus registered institutions across the country.
Sex education is the instruction of issues related to human sexuality and to help young people gain information about sexual activity including emotional relations, consent and awareness about sexual abuse.
It is often believed that these educative values would necessarily lead to identity formation and affect the behavioral patterns of the children. It has been observed that excessive ‘openness’ towards simply knowing about same gender relationships, especially when these relationships are presented in a positive way, can make child more likely to become ‘homosexual’. School is not considered to be the ideal place where much concern should be provided to the idea of homosexuality.
In India, topics such as menstruation and homosexuality are avoided and much more emphasis is given on HIV/AIDS infection. Regardless of the growing child abuse and rape cases, there is no heed paid to explaining these kind of issues to teenagers, let even differentiating between non-sexual and sexual touch. A study conducted by The Ministry of Women’s and Children Development revealed that 53% of children between 5 to 12 years have been sexually abused which was mostly the parents doing, legal guardians or a close member of the family. Many programs were initiated by the government to educate children about Sexual Education, body image, violence and abuse, especially drugs and other toxic attitudes like Adolescent Education Program, The Adolescence Reproductive and Sexual Health Education etc. were banned by most of the states because the programs content were considered ‘inappropriate’. There has been this constant claim that sexual education will spread risky behavior among teens and adolescents.
The sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents in India are overlooked or are simply not understood by the healthcare system. Due to the cultural and traditional “norms” of the society and their homophobic behaviour, topics like these are prevented from being publicly expressed.
In 2014, India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan expressed his thoughts about Sex Ed, further leading to ban it and said instead of that yoga should be made compulsory in schools. According to him it was against the Indian values. His comments about these raised an uproar among opposers. Around the same time as Vardhan’s comments, the right wing group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti led an attack against teachers and schools that included threats of physical violence against teachers and schools that dared to carry out the 2007 health education program.
And after years of Sex Education being banned in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced an sexual education program in 2018. In this program students will be taught about sexual violence and health among other topics.
We need to make sure that parents and legal guardians are able to improve interpersonal interactions with adolescents and can help in creating spaces for dialogues that are free of stigma and bias. This might be the most sustainable way to improve outcomes in adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
The biggest barrier towards sexual education in India will probably be cultural norms against talking about sex. These norms are heavily ingrained in Indian society. However, India is making small but important steps to provide more comprehensive sex education.
Education is the act of discovering things around us. And so the prominence of the education in a person life. To discover the real meaning of life. We need to educate not ourselves but our environment also. Education helps us to easily recognize and deal with any difficulty and makes balance throughout the whole life in every aspect. Education is the first and foremost right of every human being. And therefore we have the right to education in our constitution. Without education we are incomplete and our lives are useless. Education helps us to set a goal and go ahead by working on that throughout life. It improves our knowledge, skill, confidence level, and personality. It empowers us intellectually to interact with others in our life. Education brings maturity and teaches us to live in a society with changing environment. For adaptability, education is a must. It is the way to social development, economic growth, and technological development. For being a proper social person we need to educate ourselves.
Education plays a great role in everyone’s life by building personality, improving knowledge and skill, and providing a feeling of well-being for a person. Education has been divided into three categories in our country as Primary education, Secondary education, and Higher Secondary education. It develops our analytical skills, character, and overall personality. Education plays a pivotal role in nourishing his present and future by ensuring aim of the life.
Every child must to go school at his/her appropriate age as everyone has equal rights to education from birth. The growth and development of any country depend on the quality of the education system set for young ones in schools and colleges. However, the education system in every area of the country is not the same so the proper growth and development of the people and society vary according to the weak and strong education system of the particular region. The future of our country is the youth and the more our youth will learn more advanced our nation will become.
Some of the major changes introduced in the New Education Policy are as follows:
By 2030, one large multidisciplinary college in every district– By 2030, all higher education institutions will become multidisciplinary institutions, and each of them will at least have an enrollment of 3,00 students. By 2030, be at least one large multidisciplinary HEI in or near every district. The aim is to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education, including vocational education, from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.
Music, arts and literature to be taught in all colleges: Departments in Languages, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Indology, Art, Dance, Theatre, Education, Mathematics, Statistics, Pure and Applied Sciences, Sociology, Economics, Sports, Translation, and Interpretation, etc. will be introduced in all higher education institutions.
M.Phil to be discontinued: According to the NEP 2020, M.Phil will be discontinued. The details regarding the same will be released soon.
Sanksrit will be mainstreamed- It is time that Sanskrit will be mainstreamed with a strong offering in schools, and three language formula will be adopted in higher education.
Vocational Skills to be Taught: Every student will be taught a vocational skill of his/ her choice by the time they complete their schooling. Students will also be taught coding from Class VI.
No Rigid Separation Between Arts and Science Curriculum: There will not be a huge difference between the curriculum of these two streams, and all subjects like Music will be taught.
Internships Will be Included from Class VI: From 6th grade, candidates will have to do internships of 10 days with local trades or crafts.
IITs to follow Holistic approach: IITs will have to follow a more holistic approach and multidisciplinary education with more arts and humanities as per the New Education Policy
Academic Bank of Credit to be established: An Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) will be set up to digitally store the academic credits earned. The 4-year course may also lead to a degree ‘with Research’ if the student completes a rigorous research project within the respective time frame.about:blankImageUpload an image file, pick one from your media library, or add one with a URL.UploadSelect ImageInsert from URL
Importance to Practical Assignments, Skill Development: The New Education Policy emphasizes practical knowledge and skill development which will begin from class 6th.
Single Common Entrance Exam for all Colleges: According to the NEP 2020, there will be a single common entrance exam for admission to all higher education institutes, which NTA will hold. The entrance exam will be optional and not mandatory.
New System of Education: The 10+2 system will be divided into 5+3+3+4 format. The New Education Policy has changed the school education system to 5+3+3+4 format. This means the first five years of the school will comprise the foundation stage, including three years of pre-primary school and classes one and class 2. The next three years will be divided into a preparatory stage (classes 3 to 5), three years of middle stage (classes 6 to 8), and four years of secondary stage (classes 9 to 12). Schools will not have any rigid formation of arts, commerce, or science; students can take up whichever courses they want.
Ramp Up Digital Learning: To ramp up Digital Learning, a National Education Technology Forum NETF will be created, and e-courses in 8 regional languages will be uploaded.
Multiple Entry and Exit System: With the help of the academic bank of credits, multiple entries and exit system will be introduced in the higher education sector. This will allow students to take a sabbatical and then join back their studies after some time without losing any credits. Students will also be free to choose major and minor subjects for their degree.
India to be Promoted as Foreign Study Destination: Every institution will have an International Students Office to host foreign students. Colleges will be promoted to provide premium education at affordable costs.
Foreign Colleges Can Set Up Colleges in India: Top 100 Foreign Colleges will set up their campuses in India as per NEP. They will be given special dispensation and regulations to set up the campuses.
Expenditure on Education: The expenditure on education will be changed to 6 percent of the total GDP, as opposed to earlier, which was 4 percent of the GDP. Both State, as well as Central Government, will be working together on the expenditure.
Benefits of New Education Policy 2020
Some of the essential benefits of the New Education Policy 2020 are as follows:
The New Education Policy will give students practical knowledge instead of just pushing them towards rote learning.
It will help students to develop scientific temper from a young age.
The NEP aims to make it easier to set up new quality of higher educational institutes which will be at par with the global standards.
Since NEP will make it easier for foreign colleges to set up their campuses here, many students who cannot go abroad due to multiple reasons will experience it and get global exposure.
Youth is the future of the country. if this statement is true. Then why our country is not able to eradicate the sin of child labor? we encounter the term child labor every time. and take it very casually. That’s the reason it still prevails within our society. we can find children doing work in
Every city, lane, and corner of society. We have been taught since our childhood that child labor is wrong. the future is in the hand of the young fellow who is making their livelihoods in factories, big industries, and local vendors and shops working endlessly.
Why this young fellow has to deprived of their education? why their childhood is stolen from them? why do they bear to do the work from such a young age? While other children are enjoying their childhood.Why some unprivileged kids have to work with heavy machinery and weapons under a huge risk to their health, just to earn a two-figure income to afford a single meal. children have to resort to working and earning, instead of learning. who is responsible for their worst situation? The ones who should be earning are the young and unemployed youth, who are sitting at home without any scope for jobs. who will take responsibility for them? The need of the hour is to provide these children education They are the future of India, and they deserve an education.
Child labor means exploitation of children through any work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially, or morally harmful. The practice of child labor is a crime ad people employing it people are the biggest criminals of Indian society. Another reason why child labor is wrong is that by making a child work, we are decreasing the quality of our education system and spoiling the innocent life of that child.
These children are suffering in the dark world of mental and physical pressure. by allowing these children to work in our houses and societies, as by employing them we are spoiling their future and career.
child labor is the evil part of society and needs to be eliminated.
By taking the labor of children we are spoiling the life of an innocent child for their cheap labor and our selfish motives. If we want to maintain the quality of the education system, we have to educate children, especially those from rural areas who are deprived of education, basic amenities, and other advancement opportunities.
For the progress of society and our economy, this evil practice needs to be removed. so that our economy will be balanced so flawlessly that there will be no cases of poverty and child labor in the upcoming years. We should not forget that child labor arises from poverty, so we need to eradicate their poverty level through the power of education leading them towards their career goals.
The lack of knowledge and skill leads to child labor. Therefore the need for time is to increase the accessibility of education to everyone. we need to start moe initiatives like mid-day meal. to increase the reach of students to education.
Covid19 expanded the digital divide. And shows the disparities within the society between the rural and urban, rich and poor. Lockdown compelled the shift to the virtual model. some of the students managed to receive an education without any obstacles. but many unprivileged students have been deprived of it. resulted in drop out of college and institutes due to the financial crisis of lockdown. Before the pandemic differences prevail in access to education but corona widened the gap. Rural areas have severe internet connectivity problems but Half of India’s population is living in rural parts of the country.
India is the second-largest populated country in the world. But it is a developing country. to maintain education for all during the lockdown when the schools are shut is quite challenging. the digital divide between the government and private institutes can be witnessed. Virtual learning wasn’t much challenging for private school students. Unlike the students of the government schools, who didn’t have access to the digital equipment. the Unprivileged children can’t afford access to quality internet and gadgets. Thus being deprived of education. The right to education is meaningless in the covid scenario. The government needs to bridge the digital divide to ensure students’ education. Some students are ahead of others. As many students drop out of school due to financial problems.
Access to the internet on their mobile phones is a matter of concern as well. The need of the time is to provide digital infrastructure and tools access to unprivileged ones to access online classes. The digital divide has led to incidences of student suicides. many students committed suicide after drop out. Even in urban areas, disparities prevail. those living in slumps and downtrodden areas can’t afford education.
The government needs to focus on technology and extending the vision of digital India.
Those who have access to education face many hurdles such as in assembling notes, in paying attention due to bad network coverage. Getting time to do self-study is also difficult. preparation of online tests is another problem. seeking notes from some of the online sources is also difficult because some websites charge for the subscription which is not possible for everyone. students have to sit in front of the computer screen for many hours and Practical knowledge is not possible during the pandemic because it is hard for the students to perform practical virtually. even for teachers, it is difficult to prepare presentations for the students.
pandemic hit increases our dependence on technology. The focus had always been on practical knowledge and skills. we are being actively tested for our knowledge without any proper structure of assessment. Most importantly, not all teachers are not good at technical stuff to manage classes or material distribution.
. COVID-19 also raised prominent questions about the need, significance, and value of virtual learning platforms. The majority of the students have been affected negatively and therefore the government should come up with such education policies that would benefit all the students. Common people also need to volunteer to lead a hand to needy people.
“Now what?”This question every student encounter in life after completing school. A career plan is the most significant and difficult question of life. Our whole life depends on this small question. Sometimes we choose our path and sometimes our society decides for us.
The question “What do I want to do in life?” is hard to answer.
It is tough for a school student to find their path at such a young age, because of the complicated model of ‘streams’. Studying science means you are limited to the medical and the engineering line. Studying commerce means being captured in chartered accountancy, banking, and finance and learning humanities imply that I must choose to become a lawyer or journalist.
The problem is the high competition within society The tragic fact is that we can never come back from this model of education, studies, and streams. we don’t have the right to choose subjects that are a combination of different streams. The reason streams are a challenge for us is that they directly affect our careers. Choosing a career is choosing life. As a career is related to financial independence. The question became more significant. every parent expects from there child to pursue a career that has the reputation, high earning prospect, and quite popular in society. Boys, in particular, are supposed to choose a career that can support their families financially one day. Today passion and happiness don’t matter when it comes to a career. The thing that matters for society is the reputation of the career. For society, boys should not go for teaching jobs, fashion designing and cooking are something that society doesn’t consider ideal jobs. some jobs are called ‘feminine jobs’ not meant for boys. Like cooking is related to females. Some jobs get undermined like fashion designing is compared to tailoring.
Students’ choices are also impacted badly by the stereotypes and repercussions. and they have to choose paths unwillingly as per society’s concern. Even though we are heading towards an impartial society, such differences prevail in our society. The ‘pay scale’ affects the choice of career. Women are still paid less and the gender pay gap continues to widen.
Lack of awareness of new opportunities is a major challenge that school students face. We are not aware of the options beyond the ‘visible careers’. Visible careers are those careers that we see in everyday life, such as doctors, teachers, engineers, journalists, politicians, and businessmen. We lack knowledge about other options we have. There is a world beyond these visible careers: such as being a therapist, an urban planner, a singer, a beautician, a blogger.
so many jobs are available now because of the internet. such jobs can provide a great opportunity to the newcomer. Like social media marketing, a YouTuber, a blogger, a digital marketer. But the problem is students don’t have access to and knowledge of this career.
Your career should be based on your strengths. The best choice of career comes from one’s passions and hobbies. Your career should inspire you and be the reason for your existence. It is you who can decide your career, not others. and being yourself and the following passion makes you happier.
Covid Pandemic left many Indians unemployed. While unemployment has always been a cause of attention for India. But mandatory experience and training made it more worse and challenging. the lack of practical skills holds us back. The recent unemployment numbers among educated youth show the drawback of India’s faulty education system and the lack of the right learning opportunities for young professionals.
The government of India wanted to create a workforce of skilled professionals but the coronavirus pandemic made the situation drastic and critical. There was a time when a degree could help a person getting a desired job. But with more competition., a degree is not sufficient itself. The biggest issue is practical knowledge with theoretical knowledge. Classroom learning is more focused on theory. When students step into the professional world, they find themselves not capable enough to handle the work because of the drawbacks of our education system. Our country has educated unemployed people. Shows the inadequacies in our education system.
companies want educated fellows with practical skills. That our education system is unable to give. Because it is limited to academics. Youth lack new-age skills that companies need from their employees. With limited online and offline courses for industry-specific training such as engineering, IT, etc., Most young professionals lack confidence while dealing with problems at their workplace. Moreover, since schools, colleges and universities are following the traditional system of education. it acts as a hurdle when professionals come to face real-life circumstances.
Students need to develop new skills. So that student can learn something above education and makes students ready to be professionals. India has the potential to be a preferred destination for global sourcing. Skill development can bring this to reality by instilling more confidence in young professionals. As their skill increases their employability will increase, and ultimately lead to the nation’s financial growth.
The government needs to assist India’s workforce informally trained. With immediate competition, we need to adopt better strategies too. we need to improve standards of education and adopt newer methods. The higher the standards of training and skill development, the better our workforce can be. The country National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) can also contribute to solving the problem by creating more awareness and come up with suitable programs that can help professionals.
Transformation can only come with the government. The education system, industries, and students collectively understand and recognized the significance of skill improvement.
The covid pandemic not only impacted adults but students also. At one place the children lost their childhood and on the other hand, students are concerned about their career, future that seem bleak to them due to covid devastating impact on the economy.
one of the most significant reasons is finance and the need for funds. Students are concerned because the global pandemic has created havoc in the employment sector. This resulted in many job losses in the informal sector. As the country is closed so those earning money daily and business have to suffer. The question of school, college, and tuition fees is another issue. This, in turn, has been magnified in the lives of the students and the youth of the country. The financial crisis within the family has bothered almost the majority of the population, especially the students.
The very first concern is the digital divide. Accessibility of digital gadgets especially among the lower economic classes. Eventually, which means withdrawing from school to some students. Being already distorted by financial emergencies, the necessity of digital devices acts as a hindrance in the way of student learning. leading to many students dropping out from formal courses and institutes. increasingly pitted against the highly competitive labor market with most being trapped in the vicious cycle of underpaid labor or disguised unemployment.
The government too is not in a position to solve this problem of digital devices because of treatment and aid expenses.
this economic crisis has an unfortunate effect on the mind of the students. The financial dependence on the family, often severe, mostly reduces them as isolated victims. It also hinders the access to academic opportunities of the student. . Many family members getting affected and the huge expense occurs on treatment, amidst the acute scarcity of oxygen cylinders and other medical pieces of equipment.
The students are facing the problem of academic costs at the same time when a lump sum amount is required for admission failing which the seat might get canceled.
Further, the debt trap will lead to a greater burden in the future for repayment with interest, leading to more psychological suffering. The hostility between maintaining academic costs as well as fending for health expenditure has had severe effects on the young minds, putting their future and aspirations at stake. In this situation, a and well-planned approach is needed to address the issue of financial crisis which can be aided by the government.
Recently our Union minister Prakash Javadekar said in the Lok Sabha, “No child was deprived of online education during the pandemic as the government had taken several steps in that direction.” Such a statement is nothing but a mere lie when we encounter reality.
A majority of Indian school students do not have the means or privilege for online education. Some face network and technical glitches. Some face electricity problem. The non-availability of gadgets is another problem. Accessible and compulsory education has always been a challenge in India. Right to education is something that is written merely on paper not exist in the real world. The pandemic broadened the pre-existing gap making online education a commodity of sheer privilege. During the lockdown, thousands of students have suffered due to the digital divide. Taking the example of the Indian state with the highest literacy rate, Kerala witnessed numerous cases where students took away their lives due to a lack of accessibility to digital tools. sometimes Internet accessibility act as a hindrance.
the obvious failure of the system and concerned authorities witnessed from the devastating act of suicide by the students. Not just that; for powering devices, access to electricity is crucial for digital education. Some states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have a severe problem with electricity.
In the rural area, the houses received electricity for less than 12 hours a day. most of India’s population lives in villages where only 15% of rural households have access to internet services. Whereas in urban areas, it’s 42%. Moreover, India witnessed a spike in unemployment during the lockdown affecting the livelihood of millions.
Especially compulsion of electronic gadgets for online education became a severe problem as in rural areas subsistence is very difficult. Not every rural person could afford expensive gadgets. In most households with a meager income, eating three meals a day was not guaranteed, purchasing costly internet plans or devices cost them a fortune. From mortgaging assets to cutting off on essential household expenses, families have done it all to make online education a possibility when the government schemes failed to reach the neediest.
Although several NGOs, social groups, and individuals rose to link this digital gap by sponsoring smartphones and laptops, the negligence by the authorities can’t be overlooked. An ordinary Indian citizen expects its government is to at least acknowledge the problem. After all, how will one solve the problem if one does not acknowledge it!
Indian Education System is all about mugging up and children are taught to find a good job with a good salary and do that job forever (till retirement).
World’s best education systems vs Indian education system
There are many good education systems around the world namely, Finland, Denmark, Japan, South Korea. These education systems have their own advantages, disadvantages and specialties. They have understood that students are not machines and they have provided a number of methods to help the students to reach their true potential.
From my point of view, Indian education only focuses on academics and theory. There is no opportunity for any vocational training, sports or hobby development. Due to this, there are many ‘limited’ career options according to the mindset of society – Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer, and any government job. Only some privileged students have an opportunity to follow their dreams.
Indian education focuses more on theory rather than practical. Indian education system doesn’t allow creativity. Whereas in foreign countries; they focus more on practical based learning. And they allow creativity in education. Foreign education curriculum contains everything from arts to sports along with studies. The US has arts, sports, music and theatre in syllabus while Australia focuses more on sports.
Some counties with best education systems
Finland – Each resident of Finland does not go to school until the age of 7. There is no standardizing test in Finland. They don’t get homework by the teachers. Children in Finland spend no more than four hours in school a day, this time also includes a lunch break. Teachers in Finland have to get a master degree. Every Finnish student is taught at least two foreign languages.
Japan – Subjects such as mathematics, science, music, and physical education are taught, but morals is a separate subject complete with textbook and allocated time. This subject focuses on how students would react to a given situation. There are never wrong or right answers, they talk about the black, white, and grey areas in life.
South Korea – Kindergarten is optional in South Korea. However, at age 6 their child must move on to 6 years compulsory elementary education. The main difference between middle and high school in South Korea is the ability of students to choose specializations such as scientific activity, foreign language, art, history etc.
Denmark – Education in Denmark is compulsory for children below the age of 15 or 16, even though it is not compulsory to attend public school. Almost all educational institutes in Denmark are free. Not only are students charged no tuition fees, but all Danish citizens are offered monthly financial aid, known as “SU”.
Norway – Primary and lower secondary education covers children aged 6 to 15. Upper secondary education normally provides three years of general education or four years of vocational training. Tertiary vocational programmes are also there. Higher education is based on general admission, normally completed secondary education. The main structure is a 3+2+3 model.
United Kingdom – Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged 5 to 18. Students can leave school at 16 but must then do one of the following until they are 18:
stay in full-time education, for example at a college.
start an apprenticeship or traineeship.
spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training.
The pupils in ancient India were also taught by teachers, but quite differently. This ancient indian education system is very impressive and we should learn about it.
Majorly there were two education systems in ancient India – Vedic and Buddhist. The Vedic system revolved around the Vedas, Vedangas and Upanishads and they were taught in sanskrit, while the Buddhist system preached the thoughts of the major Buddhist schools and they were taught in Pali.
Education in ancient India was very different from the rest of the world back then. A child would leave his home to get an education, a child had to leave home and live with a teacher in a gurukul for the entire duration of his studies. No fee was charged for education; in fact, the teacher took care of everything, including food, clothing and housing. According to this system, even if a child was interested in acquiring philosophical knowledge, he would still have to do some manual work every day along with debates and discussions.
Education for women was quite important in ancient India. Women were trained in housekeeping, as well as in dancing and music. Girls also had to conduct the Upanayana ceremony. Vedas and Vedangas were taught to women, too, but were limited to religious songs and poems necessary for rituals. Some notable Vedic and Upanishad women scholars were Apala, Lopamudra, Gargi and Maitreyi.
The teacher used to ask some students to sit in groups and then they would recite the Vedas for hours. Same verses were also taught in different tones so that it would be easier for the students to learn it. Teachers or gurus also taught separately based on the ability and the capability of the student.
According to ancient education, there were 3 processes of learning – Sravana (listening to the truths that the guru speaks), Manana (Interpreting the meaning of the words spoken by the guru in your own words so that you can remember it for a long time.) and Nididhyasana (The complete comprehension of the truth so that he may live to it and not just remember it as a theory) To them knowledge was the realization of truth and this truth must be passed on to the next generations.
There were very popular educational institutions in India during the ancient times as well. Four of these institutions were quite prominent and known for different specializations. The University of Nalanda was famous for its Catholic and cosmopolitan character and its department of logic. It was located in the east of India. Takshashila University, in an area what is now modern-day Pakistan, was well-known across the world for its medical school and was the chief learning center in 6th century BC. Vallabhi was a very well known university in west India. It was also a famous study center that had specialized in subjects like law, medicine and economics, and had students attending from all parts of the country. Vikramshila was yet another esteemed institution, best known for Tantric Buddhism.
The ancient Indian system of education focused on the training of the mind and process of thinking. But the British rule erased this system and erected an education system that had written examinations and had scheduled classes. India has now introduced a new education policy for the betterment of students.
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