We all strive for a change, but unfortunately, fail to gather enough courage, and rely on others to see that. In terms of Education, we see many individuals, NGOs and parents getting onto the streets and raising their voices against the commercialization and cost of education.
What we forget is that, Education is a complex subject and opinions do differ with respect to what system needs to be followed. Hence, we do see many systems have been developed with different boards like CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE, IB, CIE, SB. All this makes it even more complicated, messy and confusing from the perspective of a Parent with limited understanding of the subject.
Sometimes, i wonder, if this is done to create an atmosphere of one – upmanship where everyone is claiming to be better than the other. The marketing and systematic endorsement of a particular board does promote a particular system impacted the minds of the parents seeking admission to their wards.
Education for a child is a decision, which is driven sentimentally and every parent would want that their child getting the best. But, somehow we see a parent lost in the ocean of ideologies, where one board claims to be better than the other and Ultimately, ending up choosing one where he seems little better convinced by someone having a good sense of counselling skills. In fact, it is more of a gamble than a choice that the parent makes expecting their child getting the best. This only makes a parent feel handicapped to bow down to the monitory demands of the system.
The more the confusion, the more the agents of Education tend to gain. The supply- demand gap, the affordability, availability, the population explosion, makes a big impact on the cost of Education. The non-existence of Govt. regulations and implementation of laws, makes a parent feel frustrated and agitated, but can find little hope of improvement. We see that, our Education system has got so rotten that, most of the Educational institutes is owned by, either the influential, the corporate, the politicians or the financially strong people. The only objective that they have is to make most out it from the business perspective. They are here to earn and not make anyone learn. The society, over the years has only ended up accepting this and, only kept complaining about Cost and Commercialization of Education, without contributing themselves, finding ways to fix this.
Where do we go from here! Is there something that can be done! What steps do the people need to take! What should the Govt. be doing!
How do we really get back the lost glory of Indian Education culture we have read about, the relationship of respect between Guru & Shishya, the sacrifice of Eklavya giving away his Thumb, the devotion of Karna giving away his Armour. Why have we forgotten that India has been at the forefront of its teachings to the world? The Vedas, The Puranas, The Sanskrit, The Aryabhatta giving “Zero” to the world.
The solution lies in the mindset of how we perceive Education. It definitely needs to be set free from the clutches of those considering education as a lucrative business. Mere talking will not do, and we are unlikely going to find enough voices creating a storm and shaking the govt.
The system of Education must empower parents. Not just theoretically, but parents should definitely have more say in real terms. The model of school Education should be based on PPPP (Public Private Parents Partnership). The system of Education has to be driven by people wanting to contribute selflessly. The empowerment of parents would fill the gap that exists between the commitments, the delivery, the direction and, the Vision, since this will be driven by the Educationists with a goal of Serving to the society. The more the parents are engaged through this model, the more there will be accountability. A model driven by parents will change the way Education is perceived, the expectations are taken care, the exposure and opportunities are given to the child, and the associated fee is decided. The model with Public Parents Partnership will be more powerful and focussed than the ones running today and hence will multiply and replicate over a period of time, and bringing a Change that we all want to see as Parents.
Let there be also be some introspection by parents. There has to a balance between Demand and Expectation. The pampering and looking for comfort is only hampering the growth of the child, as a strong and Independent person and in turn enabling the demand for more fee.
Education as a profession is more about, A service to the society, A service to our Children, A service to a Nation and A Service to the humanity. And, when we see it as a Service, it is a responsibility which we take voluntarily wanting to Educate and groom our children, see a better world, without our personal interests.
Somehow, in the race of one - upmanship, we have forgotten, and probably intentionally ignored the contributions from the Teachers. A Teacher, from the perspective of what they contribute, can never be measured in terms of remuneration. But, are we really doing justice with them? Do they not deserve much better! Do we not need to be fair to them! Have we not ignored them in the course of time......Are the questions, we as a Society need to introspect and answer!
Only when we start respecting our Gurus more, give them their due, Thank them for their efforts, see School as a Temple of Education, see Education as a Service to the Society, Empower parents, let our children face tough situations to meet bigger challenges, Let our children get opportunities and chase their dreams, .....will be when we can say that the Glory for Education, for which our Country is known for...IS BACK...!
