Page 58 - EducationWorld October 2020

Teacher-2-Teacher

Looking back with anguish

& regret

SAROJINI RAO

HE ON-GOING SKIRMISHES AND STAND-OFFS History teaches us one important lesson.
at various points on the 3,488 km Sino-India
border in the north-west stretching all the way to Countries cannot grow their economies
TArunachal Pradesh in the north-east, has brought first and develop public education and
the asymmetrical power balance between China and India
into sharp focus. health services later. The reverse is true.
It is a matter of deep regret and anguish to recall that Unfortunately India has under-invested
on October 1, 1949, when the People’s Republic of China in these crucial services
(PRC) was proclaimed, newly independent India was
educationally far ahead of our neighbour nation. India had a
string of excellent British-style public — including boarding placements in prestigious colleges and universities. This
— schools around the country and well-reputed universities dominant mindset has to change in the emerging highly
including the Presidency universities of Bombay, Calcutta technology-driven academic and workplace environments
and Madras established in 1857, and the Indian Institute in which artificial intelligence will soon substitute most
of Science, Bangalore (estb.1908). On the other hand in cognitive skills.
1949, China was educationally and economically backward, Apart from teachers and parents, school managements
devastated by the Japanese invasion. also need to re-orient their thinking and move beyond
Seven decades later, the situation is completely reversed. preparing students for examinations. They need to
While in India, 30 percent of the adult population is still purposively train students to discharge leadership roles
illiterate, PRC is 96.8 percent literate, has a GER (gross in all sectors of the economy and all segments of society.
enrolment ratio) of 81.7 percent in pre-primary education, A spirit of service which epitomises leadership needs to
high learning outcomes in its schools and higher education be inculcated in all school curriculums to develop much
institutions, and significantly higher productivity in needed leaders in all walks of life. Indeed leadership
agriculture, industry and services. Moreover six Chinese training should form the core element of every school’s
universities are ranked among the Top 200 in the WUR curriculum.
(World University Rankings) league tables of the pioneer owever, for students to transform into leaders
London-based rating agency QS and three in the WUR of Hdeveloping their cognitive skills of reflection and
Times Higher Education (THE). Not one of India’s 40,000 introspection are a prerequisite. These important skills
colleges and 1,000 universities is ranked among the Top can be developed by encouraging the deep reading habit.
200 of either agency. Book reading is not the equivalent of deep reading;
There are two major causes for the relative backwardness there’s a huge difference. The former is for leisure, for
of Indian education. First, the archaic pedagogy of rote information. Deep reading, on the contrary, is mindful
memorisation of content continues to be encouraged to reading to absorb concepts for creative application in life
this day in the vast majority of the country’s 1.5 million and/or work. Moreover, deep readers invariably become
schools. Opening young minds to develop the competencies deep thinkers.
of critical thinking, experimentation, research, innovation, Research studies conducted by Marianne Wolfe, a
design thinking, risk taking and problem solving which distinguished professor at the University of California, Los
are of vital importance, is confined to a small minority of Angeles, indicate that it’s important to develop the bi-literate
education institutions across the country. brains of students by exposing them progressively to both
The second major cause of the pathetic condition of print and digital media. School projects and assignments
foundational K-12 education is the rock-bottom quality should provoke students to develop bi-literate brains and
of education dispensed by India’s 6,846 teacher training prepare them to cope with the fast-changing workplaces
colleges, 90 percent of them privately promoted, recklessly of the future.
licensed institutions of professional development. The fact Finally, history teaches us one important lesson:
that barely 10 percent of the country’s 9 million primary- countries cannot grow their economies first and develop
secondary teachers have passed TET (teacher eligibility public education and health services later. The reverse is
test) despite being given a five-year time window to prepare true. Unfortunately, India has under-invested in these vitally
for it, is testimony of the poor quality of the B.Ed degree crucial services. That’s why 70 years after independence we
awarded by teacher training colleges and endorsed by Indian are being forced to fight an unequal war on our borders
universities. As a result, most teachers still believe their role with a neighbour nation which has well-developed human
is to teach and prepare students to pass examinations. Too resources and great technology absorption capacity.
many parents also believe that the purpose of education
is to enable school students to get the best possible (Sarojini Rao is principal, Indus International School, Bangalore)

58 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2020