The Indian Education System

In Ancient times

In ancient times, the young people used to be sent to Gurukuls to study unto the age of 25 – theology and various arts and skills then prevalent, under the able guidance of their selfless gurus who stayed with them in the same apartments or quarters. All of them led a simple Spartan life in the lap of nature far from the madding around. At that time, equal attention to girls’ education was also given.

In Medieval

In medieval times, girls and women were thrown behind the pardah and had to live the life of ignorant, illiterate slaves within the four walls of their homes.

In modern times

In modern times, the spirit of mass education or literacy which was perhaps most widespread during King Ashoka’s reign has been revived. Now, in modern times it was mainly spearheaded by the British rulers, even if for their exclusive selfish motives.

In India, there have come into existence a large number of universities, school boards, schools, and colleges – government, public and private – with the mushroom growth. Many of the private institutions and even some of the so-called public schools and other institutions are just teaching shops being run on commercial lines to exploit the gullible students and their parents.

Though some efforts have been made and are still being made even with genuinely sincere intentions much of the education scenario in our country is still lopsided and ill-planned. The result is that many foreign institutions and universities are taking advantage of the situation and attracting the brilliant creamy students and scholars into their own sphere of influence.

Technical and vocational education

What we still lack mainly is technical and vocational training which should be linked to jobs somehow.

Our education system though multipronged has not been well-planned even more than fifty years after independence.

Of course, now there are many industrial, vocational, and technical institutions. But, still, the instructors, directors, or teachers cannot deliver the goods in an efficient manner. It is mainly because these teachers have only theoretical knowledge of the subject concerned. They have never themselves dome work.

Teachers have no practical experience

It has been proposed in certain quarters that the teachers working in the technical, vocational, and industrial institutes should be sent for a few months for field work every three or four years to keep abreast practically of the new discoveries, inventions, and improvements in techniques and devices being made a day in and day out. Such a suggestion seems to be a quite good and solid one for the growth of the industrial and technical growth of the country and is expected to be in tune with Dr. Kalam’s vision to make India an advanced country and a technological giant by 2020.