The Irony of Indian Education

“Irony is the gaiety of wisdom and the joy of reflection.”

In India however, irony seems to be the daily staple of our lives as we reflect on the happenings in the country.

The best defense to a false degree accusation.

From being a country where pissing on the road is fine, but kissing/any form of PDA isn't and where moms want their daughter to control their husbands and expect their sons to control their wives, the latest in a long list of ironies is that Smriti, Irani, the cabinet minister for Human Resource Development, responsible for education in the country herself has extremely murky education credentials.

In the ongoing furore that followed this revelation, one could not help but wonder, how education came to be such a controversial topic at times.

Even before the above mentioned incident occurred, a massive “fake degree scam” in Bangalore was unearthed where offers of degrees and certificates were openly advertised. The ads, posted on various websites, claimed to provide degree certificates from various varsities in no time to (un?)suspecting netizens. Another popular example of disrespect for our education system was the famous  IIPM or Indian Institute of Planning and Management issue, where a complaint by the University Grants Commission UGC, revealed that the institute is ‘cheating’ and ‘fooling’ its students as it is not recognised by any regulatory body.

Scams are more staple in our country than rice and wheat.

Even despite outright illegal acts, a  lot of activities in India’s education sector have been in a certain grey area; these include the system of “donations” to gain entry into universities, the setting up of universities and educational institutes without accreditation etc.

The main reason for a general sense of disrespect and heedlessness towards the education sector, is mainly that education is either viewed as a simple means to an end; students look at degrees from colleges as one way tickets to placement with an MNC and lifelong series of foreign trips and a priority savings account with Axis bank, or education is viewed as an inconvenience to be dealt with before entering the job sphere.

Education is neither of these two; it is meant to be an enlightening experience, to prepare you for the numerous challenges that you are inevitably to face in your later life.

Rural areas have particularly low literacy and education rates

A degree is meant to be nothing but a proof of these efforts, and a sign that you have the knowledge required to survive in the world, instead of being a “employable” stamp.

The moment that we as a country realize this, education and fake degree scams will cease to exist, and rural parents will start sending their children to schools 57.8 million children are out of primary school globally with India, ranking among the top five nations with 1.4 million children being out of school.

In the meantime, one can only hope that our other ministers make more educated claims henceforth.

- Anand Banerjee is a  creative intern with +Citizens Association For Child Rights, a non profit working in public schools on India to improve the standard of education and well being of children.

www.facebook.com/CitizensAssociationForChildRights

www.ngocacr.com

Video Tutorials: Possible future or an illusion?

We have read countless time that the basic problems facing public/municipality school is lack of empathy/support from Government and teaching staff. Government is always facing shortage of resources -Teachers, school buildings, study aids, etc 

The obvious solution found a few years back was using video tutorial. The advantage of it was you do not require a teacher or internet facility on your computer. It was an answer awaited by all children whose parents’ were not in position to sent them for private education. The technique was low-cost and effective.

CACR volunteers use Video Tutorials to teach English 

But has this idea brought out the required change or relief to these common woes? You could say in a small measure they have helped, but looking at the larger picture it probably has a long way to go.

The basic problem this idea faces:

• No room for computer lab in schools. Certain classes in government schools are being closed down due to insufficient number of students, there is still no provision for a computer lab in many public schools of India 
• A mandatory law that every school should have a computer lab with fully functioning computers and a computer teacher assigned is a must. A large population of educated Indians is unemployed and it’s time to accommodate them into public schools thus providing them an employment opportunity and resolving the teaching staff situation. Even retired or handicapped people should be given an opportunity for teaching positions.
• Maintenance of computers is another issue. In those schools where a lab is provided with the necessary software and a maintenance contract, still many of the computers are inoperable. No maintenance is done and no sign of future actions to get it done are in the to-do list. Neither the government nor the required school personnel are accountable for it.
• How to operate video tutorials? Students are definitely not born with an internal manual on how to operate computers or video tutorials. The only advantage the current and future generations have is their ability to grasp computers and other electronic gadgets like smartphone/tablet at faster rate than their parents.

E-Learning via Video Tutorials 

           Few solutions could be -getting into a five year contract with the I.T. firms (who have made India famous in the world of IT)who  will solve the problem of maintenance and provide regular updates to software. A special audit team should be created by the Government for random checks in school regarding student welfare, day-to-day operating problems in schools and computer labs functioning.

Students learn basic IT skills via Video Tutorials

           So, what we essentially need is a teacher for some period of time to teach them basics and an access to computer lab to practice it on regular basis. Practice is what is needed to make these students masters in their game and for a possibility to use more video tutorials to expand their knowledge. These same students can in turn help their juniors who are on a novices to  the world of computers.

Once these bottlenecks  are removed, we will have a bright future for the BMC (inner city) schools and its students. All we need is participation from all the stakeholders – parents, Government, teachers, volunteers and public to give their time and effort to this endeavor.

-JZ is a engineer and a  volunteer with +Citizens Association For Child Rights a non profit working in public schools on India to improve the standard of education and well being 

The Rise of the Youth Intelligentsia

George Bush at a Young Leaders' Summit.

Being a part of the urban youth population today, doesn't mean what it mean what it meant before. At the risk of sounding clichéd, an undeniable truth is that today's young generation is highly empowered! 

    There has been a unmissable boom in youth related events, actions and organizations. Conferences, donation drives, NGOs and social service initiatives that are 100% founded and run by young persons are an extremely common sight, and what is even more evident is their inherent efficiency and success.

Many of these initiatives are by highly driven and motivated students from some of the best institutes across the country, who have the requisite support systems, ideas and verve to brainstorm solutions to current day  and execute them. This can be seen in organizations like CACR itself, where we have tie-ups with students from social service cells of some of the finest colleges in Mumbai, as well as a tie-up with IIT-Bombay for the computer literacy programme.

Tapping into this potential is essential, especially from a social perspective. Majority of college and school students have summer holidays and vacations at this time, and again the vast majority of them have a desire to have a productive summer, making this the perfective time for undertaking such initiatives.

A youth related NGO leads relief efforts in Nepal.

The only thing that is between the youth and making a difference is a direction.

      The good news is that opportunities are abound for contributing to any cause that you hold dear. Not only can one try to start their own initiative with a couple of equally driven friends, or intern at an NGO, one can also volunteer with multiple NGOs over the course of months.

Not only is this is a highly productive and beneficial thing to do from a career and CV building perspective, but it imbues one with a sense of satisfaction and personal fulfilment. Realizing that you are a part of something that is larger than yourself, and incessantly dedicating your time, efforts and energy towards a social cause is something that is internally fulfilling and rewarding, and teaches you empathy and dedication, qualities that are highly admired and looked upon in today's day and time.

Additionally, in a time when the majority of students while away and waste the precious summer months, productively working toward a social cause is no mean feat, and definitely sets you apart!

So, what are you waiting for? Head to your nearest NGO now and make a difference.

- Anand Banerjee is a social media intern with CACR , a education non-profit based in Mumbai ,India. 

CACR +Citizens Association For Child Rights works to improve the quality of education and health of school children in municipal (inner city) schools

www.facebook.com/CitizensAssociationForChildRights

www.ngocacr.com