Ills of our System

We live in 21^st century, in this age of cut-throat competition; the role of education is becoming tougher by each passing year. There are few countries in the world that have as many universities and academics of specialized learning as India. Its position is high on the list of countries with the largest number of technically-trained and skilled manpower. The contributions of many Indians in modern times to the development of pure and applied sciences, mathematics, literature, fine arts, medicine and management are remarkable and praiseworthy. The country can recall with pride the work of its great leaders, who were blessed with a rare vision and political acumen, and laid the foundation for an enduring democratic polity. In fact, it was the worthy education all these Indians had, that was responsible for their achievements in various fields of life at different stages.

It is the matter of great disappointment that Indians of later generations failed to let themselves be inspired by such a glorious heritage. But the surprise loses much of its sheen when certain aspects of Indian society, like over population, illiteracy are analyzed in detail. It can be seen that the achievements of the present day Indians match favorably with those of people in advanced countries only in numbers, not in portion and content.

In India, higher education suffers mainly owing to the tendency to overlook merit and talent, while deciding eligibility for such education. Merit and talent are natural attributes. They may be prevalent widely, but their distribution among people is not uniform, both in nature and magnitude. In Indian society, however, higher education or at least qualifications like Bachelor’s degree – there’s a craze among Indians to get them at any cost in order to acquire respectability in society. Thus from being means to pursue knowledge, education has been transformed to a device to acquire social status. Coupled with a change in the objective of higher education, is the choice of corrupt means to compensate for poor eligibility – a fact that causes most of the ills that plague higher education.

Of all the corrupt practices that are visible on the higher education scenario, favoritism and financial influence are the most damaging. Money and its ill-effects are the most evident in privately owned educational institutes, where admission is based on capitation. In many of these institutes money often compensates for poor performance or for failure in examinations.

Another major setback is the government’s policy on reservation. The reservation policy was conceived to counter India’s peculiar socio-economic condition, in which larger section of the population led a life of humiliation and deprivation. But in recent times, the reservation policy has become more of vote bank!!!

Much of the scenario of higher education seems discouraging, hope for a turnaround should not be abandoned. Sincerity of purpose and single minded dedication to realize it, are all that we need to restore the glory of the country’s hoary tradition in education system. Such changes as are necessary can hardly be brought about quickly. Patience and perseverance in nurturing the changes will make them durable and meaningful.