Insightful article, however stops short of suggesting concrete sweeping reforms in Indian education system, which are need of the hour.
We are well aware of the rot in our education system and all of us are to be blamed for that.
To quote an example, my son is currently studying in a reputed school in Panchkula, they have fancy dresses AC Classrooms and whole lot of enticing facilities to offer. However the computer teacher is more interested in teaching him the definition of Microsoft powerpoint than making him learn actual use of the tool and to top that she expects it to be learnt by heart word by word, so much so for discouraging rote.
There were a few steps taken towards reforms like introduction of Tech, weightage to extracurricular activities and intro to sex education but over last four years I have noticed that we are into regressive mode. Examination still remains key to gauge intelligence or aptitude however exam system is only promoting rote learning wherein a person is expected to cram and vomit out the answers on a sheet without ever understading the subject.
Grading system as per our policy makers has failed to make an impact and recently Haryana Govt reverted to board exams for class 8th.
As education remains a state subject it makes it very difficult to implement changes nationwide. No doubt our engineers are rated lower than other countries and our medical degree needs further certification and is not accepted world wide. This is not to say that we are not producing world class engineers and doctors however the percentage remains miniscule when compared to number of colleges and institutes we have.
Tech skill sets required for IR4 are way too steep for student from Indian educational background to learn and grasp. That's why there is a major revamp required. However political heirarchy is still busy in changing the course of history and education reforms are seemingly lying in cold storage somewhere.
Not too late to take them out they are still breathing and not dead yet.
We need structural reforms in education System. There is a need to promote original thinking. Need to promote writing of original thesis for doctorate and need to sternly check plagiarism which is rampant in our culture.
Things need to change from very start and a major effort is required to align the infrastructure and teachers with the goals we set for our education system to achieve.