India's educational system is in a deplorable state. Dehra Dun, where I live, prides itself as India's 'school capital'. It also has a proliferating number of institu-tions providing professional education. Yet one only has to be out on the streets when the students are out and about (for instance when schools close for the day), to see their loutish behaviour. They drive without li-cences, have scant regard for the law, and use abusive language. Woe betide the brave soul who dares caution them! This is a familiar scenario in much of India.
Where are we heading? India has rarely seen such a rapid expansion in the number of schools and institutes of 'higher learn-ing'. Demand outstrips supply. What this means is that very few of these institutions have been created with a mission or a vision. There is no adherence to a core set of values or goals. The only goal is to fill the seats.
When schools are set up without any core beliefs or values, they fail to teach their stu-dents any. In any case, teachers claim to be far too preoccupied with Board examina-tion results to have time for values. A few years back there was a pathetic attempt to introduce 'value education' as a subject. But the truth is that values cannot be taught as a subject. The entire school and its faculty must eat, drink and breathe the values they espouse (if indeed they do), to their stu-dents. It is not an unrealistic expectation.
Our pedagogical methods by and large remain fairly medieval. We remain trapped in teaching for the test, whereas the rest of the world is moving towards equipping stu-dents with the skills required to negotiate a changing world. The truth is that we believe that success in the Board examination and a good education are synonymous. A 'good education' goes beyond the examination.
Even within schools most heads fail to develop a collaborative culture. As a result, all stakeholders become part of a constant-ly evolving organic institution rather than one which is top-down and moribund in na-ture. If, as chief guests at school events nev-er tire of saying, "the future of this country is in the hands of you children," we must ensure that these hands are strong and yet gentle and sensitive.
