Author Name : Sourish Batra
It is rightly said “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of mind to think.” Education is considered one of the most essential personal investment sectors in a country like India. Though, the matter of concern is that India invests $100 billion annually in this sector while superpowers like China and USA continue to spend over a trillion dollars annually outnumbering the figures invested in Indian education. Moreover the students of India believe in Rote learning and resort to unfair means in examinations while the authorities are indulged in the cases of bribery as well. Through this essay I wish to highlight my deep concern over the declining state of education in India which may soon become out-dated if urgent reforms are not made.
The foundations of The Central Board of Secondary Education have shaken after the pandemic of 2020. The syllabus has been reduced by 30% stating that less syllabus would create room for critical thinking and analysis. CBSE has removed the foundational topics with the prospect that children should only grasp the core concepts that will be applicable in daily life. The Indian government has further enrolled schemes and reduced the syllabus on the concerns over mental health and stress. On the contrary children are facing difficulties since the basics have been removed from their curriculum while the intellects have ceased working hard since 50% syllabus has been already eradicated. However the narrative is not entirely negative, there are noteworthy positives to consider. The council has introduced the new initiative of competency based questions to fight against rote learning. It tests the conceptual clarity of the students and the questions cannot be answered through direct bookish knowledge.
India is a country where most of the government jobs and placements in top colleges are done through the medium of competitive exams. It tests the aptitude, awareness and the ability of an individual to think critically. The most common examples are UPSC for Civil Services; JEE for Engineering College placements and the like but these governments based competitive exams have one thing in common- RESERVATION FOR SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULE TRIBES. Article 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution clearly states that 15% seats are reserved for Scheduled tribes and 7.5% for Schedule castes for the upliftment of those communities who have faced the atrocities of caste systems in the past. Ideally this law goes against the Right to equality as both general and specially represented communities have different acceptance rates for these exams but the government deems this law to be affective. Take an instance of the Yadav caste, they are listed under the OBC category, they continue to study in top schools and even in the same school where I go to! But they get the unfair advantage in these competitive exams leading to incapable people infiltrating our administration and taking impulsive decisions.
This vicious cycle has led to one of the most common yet the most danger posing act called “BRAIN DRAIN.” It is a term used for the act of emigration to other countries in search of better opportunities, equality and better standards of life. This directly impacts our economy as the skilled people losing their seats to the people of reservation often move abroad seeking a better place to study while these people continue to be the highest tax payers. Moreover the shortages of doctors and engineers may stall the growth of a developing nation like India.
The Government has rolled out a scheme called Prime minister’s research fellowship. It provides the PhD scholars in STEM fields 70000 Rs and an annual fee up to 2 lakh Rs in order to encourage students to work in India. Some other schemes include VAJRA faculty scheme which attracts non-Indian scholars to contribute and research in Indian institutions. Though there is ample room for improvement as the students still continue to move abroad in large numbers. In conclusion, the persistent failures of education system must not be ignored, for their consequences extend far beyond classrooms affecting the economic and intellectual growth of the nation; only through urgent reforms can this detoriation be prevented.
