The Hindu Business Line : For a world standard education system

Governments, educationists, corporates and policy-makers need to join hands to ensure that the country capitalises on its biggest strength — the people.

BY FAILING TO ensure that children attending school achieve a basic level of literacy and numeracy, we are jeopardising their futures with false promises.

The defeat of the National Democratic Alliance in the 2004 elections clearly indicated that India was not shining for all its citizens. However, despite the mandate, the country is gaining recognition on the global stage. An August 2005 issue of BusinessWeek dedicated its lead article to two emerging Asian powers — China and India. The article pointed out that given its apparent poverty and lack of infrastructure, India does not look like an emerging superpower. Yet, this has not deterred industrial giants such as Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Google and others to set up office here.

A series of graphs in the article indicated that China has overtaken India in terms of per capita GDP. However, the very next figure painted an optimistic picture as India has a younger workforce and a growing population. In 2004, India contributed to 2 per cent of the world economy. By 2025 and 2050, it is estimated to contribute 5 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

Many urban Indians swell with pride at such projections. Indians from elite academic institutions advertise the fact that our education is world-class. In his best selling book, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman extols our "brain power" based on anecdotal evidence.

True, India does produce some of the world's most talented scientists, doctors, engineers and writers, but the cream is by no means representative of the average.

A dampener

An article in the very same issue of BusinessWeek cited statistics that should put a dampener on soaring spirits — 75 per cent of children enrolled in schools drop out by VIII standard, while 85 per cent discontinue by XII standard.

Less than half of those remaining manage to graduate. Moreover, ensuring that children complete school is only half the battle won.

A study by an NGO revealed that 41 per cent of children in Uttar Pradesh were unable to read elementary-level material. By failing to ensure that children attending school achieve a basic level of literacy and numeracy, we are jeopardising their futures with false promises. Urbanites might dismiss these findings as rural phenomena. After all, our institutions of higher learning produce premium candidates. Unfortunately, the facts speak otherwise as this utopian vision is limited to a few select institutions such as the IITs, IIMS and NITs.

What about the average student graduating from an average institution? Mr Kiran Karnik, former President of Nasscom, recently wrote that the "market is providing strong signs about failure of our education system." He was not referring to graduates from rural schools, but to graduates of colleges of higher education in the urban areas.

According to him, only 10 per cent of engineering and other graduates are employable in the IT industry. He bemoans that the average quality of a graduate is below par. Hence, despite a number of graduates being unemployed, industry continues to face a shortage of people.

In a similar vein, Mr Mohandas Pai, Human Resource Chief of Infosys, complained in an interview that our higher education system is "deteriorating rapidly".

Clearly, the country needs more schools with adequate infrastructure. According to the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, 33 per cent of schools lack such basic amenities as toilets and 50,000 do not have blackboards. Second, schools should be made accountable for student performance.

Every student graduating from high school should be able to converse in the medium of instruction, read texts fluently, demonstrate adequate comprehension and exhibit understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts.

If children attain these basic skills, they will be more successful at mastering knowledge at the collegiate and professional level.

Moreover, schemes may be implemented whereby schools are rewarded for improvement shown by students over time as opposed to merely gauging performance in a single exam. Schools serving disadvantaged students may be provided additional incentives. Attendance of students and teachers must also be a criterion for rating schools. Corporate houses can provide partial sponsorships when schools demonstrate that students are making tangible gains.

Teacher talent

To attract a talented pool of teachers, the remuneration packages must be restructured and opportunities provided for self-improvement through career development programmes.

Teacher shortages are being felt right from Kindergarten to institutes of higher learning. Last year the Human Resource Ministry sanctioned 5.96 lakh posts of teachers, of which only 3.29 lakh have been filled. In fact, UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation have forecast that a global teacher shortage is only going to get more acute. Teachers from India are migrating to the US and the UK. In addition, other professions are drawing teachers away. Substandard faculty in schools and collages can threaten the brain power of the nation.

The education system that stresses rote learning and does not foster creativity or critical thinking needs to be revamped. A study by Educational Initiatives and Wipro indicated that even children studying in top private schools exhibit a lack of conceptual understanding and an inability to apply what they have learnt. Most questions in exams may be answered without requiring students to pause and think. Even mathematics curricula tend to emphasise computations and procedural knowledge at the cost of neglecting conceptual analysis.

Thinking Students

Right from primary school, students should be encouraged to think analytically, creatively and express themselves cogently. The demand for the talented is only going to increase as India continues to grow.

According to the Corporate Executive Board in Washington D.C., since 2004, the average quality of candidates has fallen by 10 per cent. Moreover, over a third of managers interviewed admitted that they had hired substandard candidates.

As ripples of this global dearth of talent are felt at home, India needs to make a concerted effort to overhaul its education system. Governments, educationists, corporates and policy-makers need to join hands to ensure that the nation capitalises on its biggest strength — the people.

Only by guaranteeing that every child who passes through the schooling and college systems attains a respectable level of competence, can India say its education is truly world-class.

(The author is the founder and director of PRAYATNA, Centre for Educational Assessment and Intervention. She can be reached at arunasankara@gmail.com)