Beyond the Blackboard

Swati, a Class X student of a reputed English medium school in Delhi, took her own life fearing she would obtain less marks in her Board exams. One would never know what propelled her to take the extreme step, but there are a few credible explanations; she could have been scared of facing the wrath of her family, or she may have just tried to avoid turning into a laughingstock among her friends, all of whom would be high-scorers, no doubt. Alternately, she might have crumbled under the pressure from her teachers to over-perform. One would never know for sure. But what one does know, is that there should not be any more Swatis. The education process, which exists to open up the mind of students, should never be allowed to become so hollow that it stops that same mind from thinking rationally.
The thinking writer Ayn Rand wrote, quite insightfully:
"The only purpose of education is to teach a student how to live his life - by developing his mind and equipping him to deal with reality. The training he needs is theoretical, i.e., conceptual. He has to be taught to think, to understand, to integrate, to prove. He has to be taught the essentials of the knowledge discovered in the past - and he has to be equipped to acquire further knowledge by his own effort."
Webster defines education as the process of educating or teaching (as though that's of any use!) Educate is further defined as "to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of...". Thus, from these definitions, we might assume that the purpose of education is to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of students. Unfortunately, this definition is found sadly lacking unless we further define words such as develop, knowledge, and character.
It is indeed alarming, the way we have conveniently strung together a collection of unmemorable, bleary sentences to derive the definition of education. In fact, we have totally confused the meaning, purpose and function of education. The students are no more learners, but target-seeking missiles, launched with the intention of locking over and making explosive contact with their targets. What does it matter if they could have had a shot at a different life? How does it matter that they were manoeuvred into unidirectional trajectory by their "learned" teachers? One could always spoon-feed them and ask them to mug up the most important of information; information that passes off for "knowledge" these days. That would keep them occupied, wouldn't it!
In ancient Greece, Socrates argued that education was about drawing out what was already within the student. In fact, the word education comes from the Latin educere, meaning "to lead out". Giving due credit to the origin of the term and concept of education, if - for a lack of other worthy suppositions - we work on the premise that education does actually mean "to bring forth what is within", then how do we so unscrupulously leave behind the other inherent components of our personality that make us complete? Spirituality is one of them.
Then again, what is spirituality? If you ask five people, you will get five different meanings of spirituality, every meaning centred on the respective person's individual belief. For some, spirituality is a way of life, while for others, it is the prime factor that differentiates man from animal. Still others would say spirituality is the ultimate goal of existence, a balance of the self and the outside environment.
And this spirituality is eluding the education process today. When we say there are no values left in the society, no morals and ethics to talk of, we essentially point at a glaring lack of spirituality in the formative years of a generation. The rising number of delinquents indicts the present education system. The increasing instances of crime and corruption are nothing if not a by-product of a hollow learning process.
In their early years, students are taught to focus on the goal, to recoil at the notion of making mistakes, to prepare themselves for the stress they would invariably encounter later in life, and to outdo each other no matter what the cost!
Contemporary formal education - by placing the control of learning in the hands of teachers and administrators, and imposing rules and requirements on students - is stifling the natural love for learning.
"Even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat!" said a very smart person, and at no other time has this statement been more relevant than now. Why be a rat then, when we can be so much better?
"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men," said Bill Beattie. If that is so, then why do we wax eloquent about terms and phrases like "gratification", "goal achievement", "right way to think", "curriculum-based study", etc? Drawing again on the dictionary meaning of education, we have changed "the process of educating or teaching" to "the process of instructing and imposing".
The learners are as much to be blamed as the educators, one may reason. True, there has been a paradigm shift in the preferential constitution of the student brigade. With techno-crazy trends inundating the society and everyday lives of at least two consecutive generations, it does not come as a big surprise that students are exhibiting shorter attention span, less discipline, declined sense of comprehension and reduced scope of interest. They are, in general, loath to try out things outside their own comfort zone, and the constant race to emerge as "winners" has left them exhausted and stressed out.
But all said and done, students are young, impressionable. With age comes experience and with experience comes maturity. The onus to rectify and improve the learning process does not - and should not - lie on the students and learners. It is upon the parents, educators, teachers, guides and gurus to right this wrong, to water the seeds of free thinking, to encourage the students to explore the boundaries of their own minds, and most of all, to let the learners be. Education should - in plain words - transcend the structured environment of the classroom.
Thus the need for spirituality. An ability to discern between right and wrong. A power to make our own choices. A freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. And most importantly, a right to carve our own fate!

A thought

Right from the inception of mankind, education in the broader sense has been prevalent in one form or another. Earlier, research-oriented education was the norm of the day leading to a comprehensive and continuous process of learning. But now, education has become the means to achieving the end called quick self-gratification. Prompt wealth-creation is expected out of the learning process today which focuses on increasing the students’ earning potential rather than their intellectual growth. Quality in education has been relegated to the back seat even as the impressionable minds of children have been diverted to the pursuit of making quick bucks.

At crossroads

India is in a transition stage, particularly in the area of education. Everyday one hears of ambitious plans, revolutionary changes in the pipeline and visionary decisions being mulled over. There’s a catch though. Reforms and changes are ordered overnight on paper, but it takes a lot of time for the whole system to overhaul its bearings and adjust to these changes. The ensuing result is a confused education system grappling to come to terms with these new stipulations and reforms. Take for example, the decision to take the CAT online. A lot of problems, breakdowns and mess characterised its implementation. Same goes for IITs. Every other day one hears of reform measures being mulled over by the people in charge, pertaining to cut-off marks of plus 2, percentage of weightage given to plus2 marks in the admission process of IITs etc.
Bihar’s case personifies this confusion well. While Bihar is making headlines for better reasons now, there is still a glaring lacuna in the precariously balanced growth act of the state. The state government is vehemently pushing the cause of primary and secondary education, with a slew of progressive schemes whose benefits cannot be denied: scholarship money, fund for school uniforms, free bicycles an so on. The common man, casting his inherent cynicism aside, has grudgingly come to approve and even admire these efforts in the area of school education. Not only have they resulted in higher enrolment rates, these innovative schemes have also raised awareness about the importance of education among the rural masses and deprived sections of society.
But the higher education scenario in the state is still crying out to be bettered. Bihar once used to be a seat of learning with Nalanda and Vikramshila universities attracting students from far and wide. Ironically, that same Bihar does not have a proper system of higher education today. Colleges and universities of the state are generally in the news for all the wrong reasons, be it the impending showdown between Raj Bhawan and the state government or the frequent protests, agitation and hunger strikes by the students and faculty. According to S I Ahson, pro VC of Patna University, it is very unfortunate that the appointment of VCs in Bihar has become mired in controversies. “It is a sad affair that the VCs chair has been dragged into such a controversy. It is our collective responsibility; I cannot blame any specific quarter or individual for failing to uphold the sanctity of this high position,” he adds.
To add to these woes, there is the lackadaisical attitude of the teachers and an acute shortage of well-qualified technical staff. The under-funded laboratories, libraries and classrooms stymie any interest in research studies that students might have shown had things been otherwise. IT infrastructure is virtually non-existent in these colleges and universities, with only a broadband connection to show for (which is down and non-functioning for most of the days in a month) in the name of IT.
“A lot of positive steps have been taken by the state government, like establishment of new institutes and universities. But this is just the initial effort. A lot still needs to be done,” says Ahson. Faculty crunch is a major deterrent to quality education, he points out, and adds, “Patna University is running with less than 50% faculty; of around 1000 sanctioned posts only 400 teachers are on the job.”
Where technical and professional education is concerned, things are as gloomy as ever. While many medical colleges face the threat of de-recognition by the MCI, others are found sadly lacking in infrastructure, surgical equipments and machines. Many of the courses in engineering colleges are yet to be accredited.
Janak Pandey, VC of Central University of Bihar, attributes the constant breakdown in higher education to thoughtless planning. “When the present system does not give satisfactory results, people come up with different ideas. But it’s imperative to note that there’s no makeshift arrangement in education,” he says. According to him, quality faculty and infrastructure are essential components of quality higher education. “Every stage of education is organically related; one cannot separate primary, secondary and higher education as each of these stages define the next one. So it’s time we expanded the scope of our approach to higher education,” he adds.
The government, on its part, has tried to make a beginning in the area of higher education by setting up institutes and universities like Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna and Chanakya National Law University. Both of them, established around two years back, have shown potential and promising results. Other branches and extensions of national-level institutes, like IIT, BIT and NIFT, too have cropped up in Bihar. But then again, the older institutes and universities are in a state of neglect and need focused reforms to break their mould and emerge as assets for the state. The exams in universities are still not regulated, and consequently, subjected to annoying delays even as the campus placement in colleges are negligible. All the universities have been instructed to adopt the semester pattern by the UGC but here too, there are unnecessary delays. The reasons cited for the inability to implement the semester pattern vary from lack of qualified staff to dearth of funds and infrastructure. “We have received UGC’s directives which are aimed at increasing the access to higher education and improving the infrastructure. It has also sent a circular containing the minimum standard for admission into PhD. These directives, though essential for improving the quality of education, require sweeping changes and we are working over them,” Ahson reveals.
Surely, the time has come to repair the fractured higher education system in Bihar. With a deplorable gross enrolment rate (GER), Bihar has an arduous journey uphill to emerge on the national map. “The GER of India is 12%, whereas it stands at 27% for China. But more than these numbers, we need to concentrate on improving the quality of higher education; the numbers would follow automatically,” Pandey says. What is needed, more than paper reforms and cumbersome policies, is undivided attention and relentless effort in chalking out achievable improvements and implementing progressive changes. Like Pandey points out, quality education as well as quality education providers, both are essential for bringing clarity and giving a sense of direction to higher education in the state. With so many maladies plaguing the higher education system in Bihar, the students are truly at a crossroads. It’s time to remove their predicament and show them the right way.

Makings of an industry

If one were to inquire about the industries in Bihar, the first answer they would get is the education industry. This particular industry, which has been a consistent preoccupation of the people of this state, has been thriving irrespective of Bihar’s social and political phenomena and the global meltdown. Bihar boasts of some of the finest schools in the country. But even more important is the coaching niche’ within this gigantic education industry, which has not only withstood the test of time but is still progressing in leaps and bounds. It is indeed an achievement when a particular occupation becomes synonymous with its place of existence; it is an even bigger achievement when that place starts getting known by virtue of that occupation. Coaching business has just earned that place on the pedestal. Bihar is being known for its coaching institutes much more than for anything else.

Once accused by traditionalists for adulterating the sublime profession of teaching, coaching has transformed into a necessity in this fast-growing world. Kota in Rajasthan is an example worth mentioning. Students flocking to Kota for their preparatory studies is no surprise for anyone. In fact, an estimated 30,000 students migrate from Bihar to various coaching destinations, most prominently Kota, for coaching courses. Believed to be the Mecca for students who are serious about their education, Kota has been known for and because of its coaching industry. This industry has also been responsible for the economy boost of that region. Somewhat similar is Bihar’s situation. While every other industry has had its fair share of ups and downs here, education in general and coaching in particular are going strong.

Within the coaching industry too, there have been a lot of improvisations. Newer concepts are being introduced everyday. The courses have moved from short-duration and exam-specific to long-term and comprehensive. ‘Catch them young’ is the latest mantra, and coaching institutes are coming out with novel ways of value enhancement like pre-foundation courses, integrated courses and so on. The duration of preparation has increased from six months to four years and the scope of study now covers medical/engineering entrance preparation to school syllabus and beyond, which include IIT-JEE, AIEEE, AIIMS, CAT and other competitive exams as well as class 9, boards, plus 2, Spoken English, Foreign Languages etc.

Students too opine on this flourishing business in the state. Srishti, a class 10 student of an English-medium school in Patna, cannot imagine life without her tutorial classes that help her with the boards preparation. Similar is the case with most of her friends. Jawed, one of her seniors, wants to qualify in JEE and hence has got enrolled in one of the premier coaching institutes in the city’s Boring Road area. Here he is taught Physics, Chemistry and Maths. “My coaching timing is in the evening on weekdays, and extra hours in the afternoon on weekends, so we do not have to rush with the study schedule. Plus, whatever problems and doubts we have at school, we can easily ask our coaching tutors to clarify them,” says Jawed. This shows how the fine line between schooling and coaching is gradually getting intermingled and subsequently vanishing.

But would it be correct to call this coaching business an industry in Bihar? Views are divided. Coaching is a burgeoning business in the state and going by the current figures, definitely shows the potentiality of an industry. The gamut of services offered, the employment generated, the bucks raked in, and the ever-growing popularity of this vocation, all point to the immense scope of this occupation. According to a survey, Bihar’s coaching market is estimated to be worth hundreds of crores and growing at an estimated 20 per cent. And while coaching as an industry has crossed the Rs 10,000 crore mark in the country, a more than proportional part of it is in Bihar’s kitty.