GOOD INTENT , ZERO PASSION , DOUBTFUL EXECUTION … The Right of EDUCATION ACT

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Right of education is just about giving access to schools. Its important to build education around economic and social goals of the future. Heart of education is in its outcome into economic &cultural growth, access doesn't matter.When people see value in education enrolment will improve.


One April 1st 2010 the historic right to education bill 2009 came into being. The bill will supposedly ensure each and every child from the age of 6 to 14 get primary /elementary compulsory education.. I must admit, there are great intentions behind the bill. I also would like to admit that its a “GOOD Intent, zero passion & doubtful execution

program.

I have been studying this bill since it was tabled in the parliament till it finally got a nod last August 2009. Its a big challenge to the government to actually implement this bill. It may take several years to actually see results from this bill or it could be just another scheme like the NREGA or the mid day meal with either minimal or no social impact.

This bill would ensure accessibility, for sure, but doesn't answer what quality, and what content or the outcome of education. Here when i read the goals of this act i really doubt if it could achieve any level of impact on the learner. I still believe that its more important to analyse the content in this bill. There seems to be no mention of how academics and academicians will actually let these people learn the basics.

In my visits to villages and remote places I found that the teachers are nothing but a figure who represents the schools. With no passion for education he is more interested in signing the muster and earning the wage. I wonder how do we actually train these teachers to enhance quality. What about passion for education??? I am not sure if passion can be built or enhanced, it should come from within.

About the 25% reservation in private schools, I believe its another way of a quota or a rout to get some class of people admitted in the school. May be it would work or it would be a back end entry fro few.

One point i must appreciate and firmly believe is about not  FAILING students. I hope this gets implemented across widely and firmly.

Whatever it is its a good beginning. The country knows that something is better that nothing at all. The only problem is execution. If a clean and swift execution could be managed, this act could do wonders for the future apart from enhancing the quality of education.

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Education in India: Is learning happening in Schools???

Penning down my thoughts on the way our kids learn in the current schooling system.

 

Does the school matter  anyhow ??

Schools irrespective of what medium,brand, funded or unfunded, the fact is learning has taken a back seat. Parents are expecting that their kids would turn into scholars once they get them admitted in the right school but its a big illusion. Age old beliefs like convent education being the best or English medium is better than the vernacular has played havoc. It doesn't matter which school the kid goes, learning matters the most.  

Lets understand what's happening in schools. May be I am generalizing and there could be exceptions. My thoughts are based on experiences and our findings after interacting with several schools.

From day one its the marks that the kid is thought to gain. I have seen parents pestering the kid on marks,I have also seen parents building personal relations, networking and flattering the class teacher to help their kid gain good marks. While its a fashion for the parents to tell others that their kid has gained more marks. What  they fail to understand that marks is just  a result of a that One or Two hour question paper that the kid answer after recitation. The strongest ability is  memory and recall and not the attainment of knowledge.

  

 

Hence there is no learning happening, its only the race for marks irrespective of the schools.

 

Does the Teacher Matter??

Till date the teaching profession was for those who don't get into the mainstream jobs or for house wives who need to spend some time outside. May be my statement would irk several people but its a fact.

In private schools its about ladies who have taken up this profession by some compulsion or just an occupation that keeps them occupied. Lack of passion towards the kids and teaching  is clearly visible. I have seen one of the renowned public school telling the requirement of the teacher that the lady should be good looking and well groomed. Teaching skills are not that important as the impression on the parents who spend a fortune is made by the looks of the teacher.

The salaries in private schools are bad. Since its not the main income in the family the level of perks and salaries are acceptable to ladies who take up teaching as a part time occupation. Even after 6th pay commission some school managements tell the aspiring candidates explicitly that the sixth pay commission salaries will not be applicable.

 

In such conditions passion for imparting knowledge or getting the student to learn is lost. Those parents who have the need engage their students to private tuitions at times to the same school teacher who give special attention to their  kid.

The big names in private tutorials are a joke. I don't understand why parents trust them. There are 40-50 students in a class in school, the private tutorials have more numbers sitting in a cramped place. The kids who have the guts to raise their doubts do it in schools as well as private tutorials and clarify their doubts. The rest of the kids keep mum with a fear of being laughed at for asking a question. What learning and understanding of concepts would happen any how??

The government/state/ municipal  schools even worst leaving some exceptions. Each state run school hires teachers who pass through a competitive exam. Unlike private schools the teachers come from needy background who consider teaching as the main occupation and source of income.  The competitive exam churns out the best in the lot who opt teaching as a profession. They may not be  well equipped with teaching aids plush classrooms but certainly have the knowledge of teaching. This lot of teachers take teaching for a secured job and not as a passion for imparting knowledge.  Ultimately the monotony and slow growth in their profession makes it an unattractive profession.

Irrespective of the schools the teachers are not driven towards results. Lack of passion, Lack of result orientation and performance measurement has destroyed the education culture in India.  

A serious  question comes in my mind.  What was bad in adopting the traditional education system and scaling it to masses?? It was the Gurukul system that has churned out the best students in the past. The Guru not only imparts knowledge but also drives in the Indian value system and ethos. The guru also mentors the pupil with learning avenues making the pupil capable and competent.  Our educationist blindly just adopted the westernized education system which has left the Indian population literate/qualified but not  educated.

Are exams effective ??

Exams is a game of TWO hours. Kids mug up for writing papers. I have seen kids singing and reciting  mathematical sums. The kids also know which are the probable questions. There are keys available in the market.

Exams today do not focus on practicality or the application of knowledge. Ultimately the marks gained is the measure of the  memory of the student that his knowledge.

Knowledge if not put to practical use is sheer waste. Today unfortunately ,there is NO education process in India that links to the practical usage of knowledge. There is lack of purposeful education that leads to economic and personal growth.

 

The toppers in exams are not necessarily the most successful in life. Do do exams matter after all. Can we get rid of exams and try to put a process that assesses the practical usage of knowledge the student has gained??

Are Teaching Techniques Effective??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teachers are trained in Education degrees like B.Ed, D.Ed and M.Ed that

text book is just the reference point. you need to teach the students more that just the text books. Invariably the teaching is just limited to text books.

Today in the kids are tech savvy, they have seen computer games, they have seen cartoons on television, they love to see and then learn. They would like to experience and learn.

Here is a suggestion, can we integrate cartoons, national geographic, the history channel , games and checklist base education that engages the kid in learning, understanding , experiencing and playing with the topics to gain knowledge??

With the current system in education its the a dooms day in waiting, The so called educationists need to wakeup fast or just step aside to let the private players take over. Its the issue of nation building and is critical. Its absolutely important for to student to understand the purpose of his learning and what career/occupation he/she plans to pursue post his education.

 

Research has proven that students who internalize the relation between what they are doing today in academics, why are they studying what they are studying and how it will help in their career, do well in their academics.   

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Passion makes all the difference

Today, in Banaras, after a wonderful meeting at BHU, happened to be at AUM cafe, near Aassi ghat, in the mid's of cow dung laden gallis, a unhygienic surrounding, saw AUM cafe, a place recommended by a friend of mine, Dr. Umesh Singh.

As we entered saw few foreign tourists sitting there. absolutely clean, neatly kept and absolutely positive environment. Everything there gave a positive vibe. Everything in AUM cafe, was made with lots of care and passion. The smallest of the things like the frame of the mirror were decorated with coloured stones. the wired that hung the lamps had been covered with coloured beads. Just to look good! Each and everything was made with great thought.

the food, awesome !!, every recipe well thought and made. And on top , a wireless internet.... just a great experience. Ram wo was serving us was just excellent. All smiles..

While we were leaving there came a lady, a foreign national, settled in Banaras, Shivani, greeted us with "Aum namah shivaya" and asked us how was the experience... it was just wornderful.. found that she has a lot of passion, positive energy and a purpose... have decided to visit the cafe tomorrow morning for breakfast...

Thanks Shivani..for a wonderful experience...

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Managing Failure and success ...

Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic forum , Philadelphia , March 22,2008)

Question : Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam : Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's "Rohini"

satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready..

As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch.

At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine.. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at

7 : 00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7 : 45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof.

Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience .

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Dreaming Works??

Here is an excerpt of a mail that I received recently. Dreaming of your goals and achieving them can be a fulfilling and satisfying aim in life.

“Julie, who lives in the Atlanta area, has been pursuing her
passion for figure skating for the past several years. The
email was to share pictures of one of her outings in which she medalled. The look on her face as she stood there victorious with the medal around her neck was priceless!
We've gotten frequent emails from Julie sharing with us the
different things she's had on her "dream" board. On one
occasion she emailed us to tell us she had realized every
single dream that she put on her board. Underscoring that washer closing statement that "I didn't dream big enough!"
Does visualization work? It certainly does for Julie, and for
millions of others who put it to work in their life. It all begins with a single thought and that thought changes everything to a reality only when you pursue it from the bottom of your heart. Thoughts change to pictures which can formulate into ideas and inspirations. So DREAM on to succeed.

All the best and bring out the best in you.

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