"We are students of words: we are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation-rooms, for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing." ~ R. W. Emerson
Education is one of the fundamental rights in India now. Though to how much extent that right is being delivered to people is a matter of extreme concern, we also need to think about the standards of education in our country first. Many say the Indian education system is one of the finest. I disagree. I think that statement has got it wrong because of two reasons: One, the education system for India isn't the same throughout the country and two, the syllabus or portions may be really good – not the system as a whole.
First things first, there is no common board of syllabus for all the schools in India so basically, there’s nothing as the ‘Indian Education system’. Maybe we can call it the ‘Set of all education systems in India’ or something of that sort. However, I’m not sure if India needs a common education system or not. Think about it. A common system will surely be in the control of the Government and we know how things turn out when the Government is in charge. But then, the common system will ensure equality for all the students and a sense of belonging to the country. Broadly speaking, it will make something common for all of us [which is saying something, as there are few things that are common for all Indians].
My second point that the education system is not entirely good is based on facts… such as the percentage of graduated engineers who are employable, the number of children who drop out from school, the percentage of teenage suicides [that includes those who kill themselves because they've got low marks] in a year and the number of children who drop out of school. I can also include how some of the stuff in the system is completely useless, but then, my criticisms maybe affected because of my own experience with school. I've heard of many students who were dumb and senseless in Indian schools fare very well in foreign colleges. I've also heard of many ‘brilliant’ students of Indian schools fare very badly in Indian colleges [including the IIT and the AIIMS]. I cannot help but reflect on how almost every engineering graduate student I see says how they had to study stuff which was totally irrelevant to the job they might take up later on.
The main problems facing the higher science & technology (S&T) education system today are quite well known – over-centralization and lack of autonomy and accountability (most institutions have little authority even in the area of faculty appointments, student admissions, structure of programs and financial management) resource constraints and wastage (heavy subsidies, lack of resource sharing among institutions, high drop out rates); poor quality and relevance (outdated programs leading to skill shortages in various industries); difficulties in attracting and retaining high quality teaching professional (industry salaries are higher so many students get a job or go abroad for higher studies than enter teaching); poor technology and infrastructure support (limited use of IT, poor quality of libraries, non-existent laboratory facilities); limited access and regional disparity (the four southern states alone account for over 70 per cent of engineering seats in the country).