11/07/2013
Indian Education: From Nalanda to Nala
People reading my blogs about education must be feeling how antagonistic my posts are. Just sit back and relax. This will have more positives than the contrary. The graph is descending in the field of quality education because of the standards set by rich cultural heritage of India. The vibrant past has made us robust till this age with its eloquent learning system. Our earlier civilizations are known as the knowledge hubs of this world. We are the successors to the ace educators, why accept mediocrity?
Way back around 800BC Taxila was at the apex of education centers across the world. Quality of education was hailed above all. At a time when Monarchy was the medium of governance, it realized the power behind making people knowledgeable. Free education for the poor was of the same standard as the royal family members. Be it Medicine, Economics, politics or Language the inmates excelled in all domains. The benchmark set by them is still considered the world. Chanakya , Panini and Charaka are the finest of the scholars created by probably the first university ever existed. It was possible due to the recognition of knowledge as the integral part of a prosperous society.
In this era, the affluent only can afford going to best of the universities. The course fee demanded by universities, who are at the pinnacle, is a far away from the Indian middle class. Only dream can take them there. It’s the system responsible for the degradation of many educational institutions. Only making the exam tougher will not generate scholars. Taxila’s teaching method existed without exams as knowledge is considered as the prime motto behind it. The problem with Indian universities is courses of studies are decided by someone, the subject is taught by someone else. Exam paper is prepared by a different person and copies are verified by…
Let’s visit another historical university located in Modern state of Bihar. The ruins are still found with gigantic structures destroyed by them, whose only meaning of life is War. It’s Nalanda the insignia of Eastern education across the globe. A University with strength as high as 10000 and instructors numbered somewhere around 2000. The significant part is students to Instructors ratio. Teaching process involved a bonding of teacher and students. Wisdom is what they were aspiring for. The lawmakers of that era have sponsored the university. All this happened 1000 years back.
We are marching ahead or backwards? Don’t you think our education system needs introspection? Neither it has excellence nor personal care. Our law makers feel reservation should be given on the basis of cast rather than economic standard. Part of it is completely rotten. There are plenty of people who have a plan to revamp this but those cold blooded Government Babus sitting in state and center capitals are too stubborn to accept any change. Now it’s time to take our best foot forward. The condition and attendance in Government schools is not invisible to anyone. The only solution is to accept change and provide good education for our future generation.
