Date: 01/05/2023

Relevance: GS-2: Education and Skill Development; Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.

Key Phrases: New Education Policy 2020, Learning outcome, Future-ready Mindset, Multiple Entry and Exit Options, Vocational and Academic stream, Critical thinking, Logical Reasoning, Holistic Development, Future-Skill Linkages, Co-curricular Activities, Instructional Design and Pedagogy, Evaluation and Assessment System.

Context:

• With a population of around 1.3 billion, it is not an easy task to provide basic resources to citizens of India.
• To provide quality education, there are many issues in our education system which need to be addressed effectively.
  • Here is a look at some issues that plague the education system and what can be done to redress them.

Key Highlights:

• Education comes under concurrent list of Indian Constitution.
• Despite having the largest base of 900-plus universities in the world, only 15 higher education institutions from India are in the top 1,000.
• India's higher education system is the world's third-largest in terms of students, next to China and the United States.

Constitutional Provisions For Education:

• The 86th Amendment Act 2002 :
  • It has inserted Article 21(A) as a Fundamental Right providing free and compulsory education for the children of six to fourteen years.
• Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 :
  • It aims at universalizing free and compulsory elementary education for all, India’s Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
  • It holds local authorities responsible for maintaining a record of children (up to the age of 14 years) residing in their jurisdiction.
  • It will ensure that they are enrolled in schools, attending the same, and thereby on their way to completing their elementary education.
• Article-45 :
  • As amended by 86th Amendment Act 2002, now directs the state to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.
• Article 51 A(k) :
  • It is a fundamental duty, as newly inserted by 86th Amendment Act 2002, in Article 51 A(k) that a parent or guardian is to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward, between the age of six and fourteen years.

Issues and Solution:

• Limited funds and redistribution :
  • The government at the provincial and national levels has to provide resources such as manpower, infrastructure and funds to cater to the country's educational needs and teaching resources.
• Autonomy for education institutions :
  • In India, there is a certain degree of administrative control over the functioning of both public and private educational institutions which sometimes affect them negatively.
  • So, High-performing Institutions should be given autonomy in their operations.
    • Liberty in the revision of the syllabus, and introduction of new reforms can aid in offering quality education.
    • Measures that relieve top-graded/ranked educational institutions from excessive control must be introduced collectively with the state and the central government.
• Expensive higher education :
  • The affordability of professional and technical education has become a crucial component due to the privatization of higher education and the rise of profit-driven education entrepreneurs.
  • To make education more affordable, the government can float a new entity that provides education loans at cheaper interest rates or by offering longer repayment tenures.
    • A facility to repay the loan by auto-debit from the monthly salary after study can be made available.
    • Private institutions should also offer more scholarships to those from economically and socially weaker sections.
• Obsolete curriculum :
  • The curriculum in school and college focuses mostly on general education, which does not adequately prepare students for life and the challenges they will face.
  • Therefore, International standards of education must be taken into consideration while formulating new guidelines.
    • Multidisciplinary institutions, with a fully flexible credit-acquiring system may help overcome this problem.
    • Students must be free to choose their courses and the number of credits acquired.
• Archaic academic structure :
  • Assessment and evaluation of students need to be brought on par with the latest international standards.
    • More practical and vocational courses are the need of the hour.
  • The areas of education must be streamlined, and the students must be assessed based only on that particular skill.
  • As envisioned in the NEP 2020, institutions should follow the continuous evaluation; a formative assessment model, and do away with the rote system of summative assessment.
• Inferior primary education infrastructure :
  • According to a report shared by UNICEF, due to inadequate or poor infrastructure, 29% of boys and girls leave school before completing their elementary education.
    • This has financial implications for society and also leads to the wastage of capable human resources.
  • More focus should be on skill development and vocational education for job creation at the middle school level.
    • Most students who drop out of school/college are earning members of the family, and their education cost is considered a liability.
• Aptitude to Teach :
  • Teaching jobs are widely regarded as safe, well-paid and risk-free jobs.
    • Most of the teachers do not want to change.
  • As they become experienced, they get septic and do not even think of the nature and needs of the students.
  • Understanding the present generation is a necessity.
  • Guidelines should be made in this direction.

Conclusion:

• Therefore, to reach and achieve future requirements there is an urgent need to relook at the Financial Resources, Access and Equity, Quality Standards, Relevance, and Infrastructure.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. What are the major issues in the Indian education system? Also, suggest some progressive measures to address these issues in an effective and comprehensive manner. (250 Words).