Our education system has today discarded or reduced the emphasis on art, music, physical education, and healthy lifestyle which were considered as necessary education for life. Somewhere while moving with time we just tilted our focus on those areas that could be tested and we could rank our students on a measurable scale. We took away from them the choices that they could make on the areas of their interest, we put them in silos ensuring that they look straight and not get distracted by other disciplines. What a mistake we have made and as a teacher, I feel guilty that I cannot make the change alone. In this process, I also realized that when you want to do something good you have to look for people who will walk the talk but when you do something wrong, you suddenly get a lot of interest from people who are willing to share the pie with you. That’s another story for another day.
So what should be the education system for the new economy and for the new generation? I have always believed that the answer lies in our traditional values and methods of education and we don’t need to look beyond that. Our education system should encourage and develop skills and attitudes that lead to producing risk-takers, outside-the-box thinkers, and entrepreneurs. We need to develop an education system that helps students move from a system of dependent memory to independent thinking and problem-solving. So what changes are required in our education system to bring back the glory of Higher Education in India?
