K.K. Sen
Economic development of a country cannot be imagined without reinforcing the spirit of knowledge among the masses. A large section of people in our country are still deprived of availing the opportunity to strengthen their educational background. The knowledge, spirit, and initiative of an individual remain stagnant due to lack of scope within his reach. The door of scope is likely to be widened provided education is universalised in a competitive outlook from the beginning. At the backdrop of momentous reform in educational policy, the education system is attempted to be reinforced with a renewed vigour, keeping pace with the emerging global order in an innovative perspective. The New Education Policy (NEP), 2020, has brought a revolutionary modification to the educational system by replacing the 10+2 system with the new 5+3+3+4 structure, which means children will spend 5 years in the foundation stage emphasizing play and activity-based learning. The next preparatory stage, which covers grades 3 to 5, lays emphasis on the development of literacy and numeracy skills. Next to which the middle stage includes the students in the age group of 11 to 14 years within grades 6 to 8, which reorients the children towards a subject-orientated approach. The final stage, or secondary stage, encompasses the students in grades 9 to 12 and provides greater flexibility and choice of subjects for higher educational prosperity.
The new NEP, 2020, aims at mitigating the high pressure of board examinations by conducting them twice a year. Though the policy focuses on transformative change in India’s education system with the goal of modernising through a holistic approach of quality, it encounters many challenges due to implementation complexities. This faces several obligations in light of India’s heterogeneous socio-economic environment with varying infrastructure and resource levels. Though it is encouraged to introduce the mother tongue as a medium of instruction, it proves to be controversial for the students planning to continue education in other states or overseas, where English is the prime language. Further implementation of the scheme needs a significant investment in the training of a large number of teachers. To synchronise with the new policy, the institution needs to be equipped with competent faculties conversant with the new curriculum and techniques. For the policy to be successful, more financial assistance and resource allocation will be needed, which is considered to be a major constraint in terms of government liabilities. To fulfil its promise, the government, educators, and stakeholders need to execute hand in hand.
To mark the educational setup as more vigorous, the need of the hour is to embark on a more and more competitive approach in diversified activities. The initiative taken by NCERT in this context as a flagship activity assumes great significance to provide exposure to the young generation. To compete in those activities, competitors must be equipped with all-round knowledge, but it is noticed that many students emphasise selected topics and learn those by cramming. Nowadays under the NEP curriculum, examinations have become so competitive that they compel the learners to read between the lines. This sort of examination undoubtedly helps in making an upheaval in the progressive dimension and also focuses on a major facelift in projecting an ambitious target. Encouraging the children in their formative period goes a long way in providing spectacular achievement in the future. In the course of a noble attempt, failure may creep in, but this must not allow the students to lose heart because entailing misfortune is not a matter of consideration; rather, wholehearted involvement coupled with a good deal of exercise is always appreciable. Failure is experienced not due to lacking in talent only but also for lack of proper guidance. It is thus a great responsibility of the society to lead the weaker sections who move blindly to locate the destination. Some knowledgeable persons even care a little to rectify the mistake committed by someone. Many a student is not habituated to going through a newspaper or the books beyond the syllabus. Visiting a school library or public library is a distant dream for many learners. So they normally lack perfect knowledge. It is thus said, “Teach today as if you are to die tomorrow and learn today as if you are to live forever.” Obtaining a degree or diploma is not very significant in career building, but gathering knowledge in all dimensions is deemed to be pertinent.
Unlike earlier education systems, a tremendous diversification has been visualised in the modern education system, right from the infrastructure to the institution. Despite the existence of a healthy environment, the education scenario across the state has not been enhanced satisfactorily. The existing teacher-student ratio is also not balanced to a desired extent. The deterioration of quality of education is attributed largely to the lack of earnestness to studies as well as the insincerity of many a faculty. The teaching process is hampered either due to lack of knowledge or negligence of the teacher. Most of the teachers are characterised by a professional attitude in their teaching pursuit for financial return rather than the welfare of learners. It is now the crucial role of the young generation to play the role of drivers of change backed by quality education. Quality education mostly relies on the strength of academic institutions, as the engine of education cannot be geared up if the institutions are not equipped with competent faculties. Sometimes it is said that students have been provided with the fishing rod to catch the fish, but it is not always considered to be genuine because their performance needs to be reviewed regularly and followed by effective guidance. Strictness in administration and academic discipline may go a long way to improve the scenario to the fullest extent. The quality of education can be achieved through a three-dimensional approach of self-dedication, tutor’s guidance, and parental care. The method of teaching and interaction between trainee and trainers has much bearing on all these issues.