Modern Education: Is it really modern or just a ghost of the colonial past?

Amisha Mayani

Centuries ago, we had a really vibrant education system in India which was inspired by the “Gurukul Parampara”.

Over there, they were taught multiple disciplines including studies of the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other scriptures alongside the education of math, science, and even politics, the art of war, diplomacy and much more.

The students who graduated out of such schools were really “nipun” (competent). Such education focused upon creation of leaders and not upon the creation of blind followers.

Modern Education: Is it really modern or just a ghost of the colonial past?

In ancient times, education in India was really important which can be deciphered out of the presence of the Upanayan Sanskar and VidyarambhSanska. We could even find references of educations from thousands of years ago as has been observed in Ramayana and Mahabharata. In a country which valued education so much, what changed so much that most of our graduates and Engineers are literally unemployable?

There seems to be an obvious answer here which is, the “colonization”. The British did not really want educated Indians, rather they wanted a class of ‘clerical confirmers’ who would help them in continuing their rule throughout India. In fact they even wanted Indians to give up on their critical thinking so that there is no challenge to their power per se.

Incomes the Anglicist way of education wherein the English language was given an utmost status in contrary to our own native languages, terming them as “vernacular”. The concept of English supremacy has been hammered the in our brains in such a way that till date certain schools fine students if they were to speak in any other language.

So thanks to the so called “modern education”, we have millennial parents who just talk to their children in English even at home causing them to forget their own mother tongues and speaking just in English, thinking of it as a status symbol.

The worst problem arising out of this is that our languages are literally on the verge of extinction as has been correctly pointed out by the UNESCO.

Needless to mention,that the modern classes are conducted in a way that students have to ask for permission to use the washroom or even to drink water; they have to raise their hands just to ask for permission to talk in the class.

In fact, a good student is considered to be one who doesn’t speak much in the class and is quite “obedient”. This is slowly killing the leadership ability and independent thought process of the students and raising them to be people who will just be obedient even in future.

Even the syllabus seems to be haunted by the colonial past wherein, it only includes the West-approved basic subjects like Math, science, etc. This blatantly excludes our rich system of ancient education. For example, “Ayurveda” is easily sidelined by Allopathy. We are not taught moral education, value-based education, or even how to take care of our own self.

We do not know how to cook, how to clean, how to maintain hygiene, or how to treat our elders. Nor are we taught any life-skills like how to raise a farm, how to cook food, how to make passive income, or how to file taxes. We are not taught how to treat genders equally and we are not even taught how to accept differing opinions because even our teachers did not accept the answers for which the steps were different from those given in a textbook.

Another problem ofIndia isthe“marks-based system”. Marks and cut offs are considered even beyond life wherein parents pressurise kids to only get the top-notch marks irrespective of their capacity.Some kids even refuge towards committing suicide just before the result day due to the unbearable stress. Mental health is literally sidelined, and students even resolved to unfair means of gaining marks, including cheating.The NEET case study is just the tip of an iceberg in this regard.

Due to this, even the learning outcomes in India are quite low, as observed by the ASER report. Basic math and reasoning questions, even understanding the map of India, is difficult for primary school students. In the current world where AI might replace human intelligence soon, it is only suggested that we at least know how to live our own life it ever AI were to takeover.

Agreed that the “New education policy” has come as a ray of light with the inclusion of vocational education, value education, and a credit-based system. Yet, we are a long way to go from achieving a holistic education.

In this regard, we can take help from the “Japanese model” of education, wherein children are taught how to clean, cook, garden, and all these basic life skills which will help them become better human beings in the future. The students should also be taught about sex education and gender equality. We need to take inspiration from great models like that of Shantiniketan in order to make the best out of our demographic dividend. Afterall,

“The destiny of India is being shaped in her classrooms”

group of people taking photo — Photo by Rebecca Zaal on Pexels.com

Amisha Mayani is an Educator, Microbiologist, Orator, and from Pune, Maharashtra

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