According to a popular website, 'Education' is an act or experience that has a formative effect on mind, character or physical ability of an individual..Does this apply in India.?
The world respects Albert Einstein, Issac Newton and many scientists because of their out of the box thinking and innovative approach to the simple things in life..
My question is, where exactly is India's Einstein or Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.?
I find it difficult to answer this but I am pretty sure that the problem lies in the system..
The nature of our education system inhibits our attempts at being creative thinkers as it is basically memory oriented..
We have only theory without any context to it..
The process is to memorize our way to glory in the run up to the board exams..
Memory is necessary to survive in the competitive global environment but too much of it blocks the creative urge within our system..
Our education system is so rigid and binding that it pushes us into one narrow path with no way back once we are inside it..
We are fed text from the books with no scope of questioning why and what it is all about..
On the contrary, the American system provides flexibility with the courses unlike the Indian system..
The subjects are forced onto us here..
Why does a Computer Science Engineer have to learn 3D drawing of a solid object.?
Why is C language programming taught to a Mechanical Engineer..?
Why do we have to learn the postulates of a theory that has failed.?
The English system we adopted never changed from the days of British rule in India..
Other nations have made vital amendments looking at the global market..
Are the authorities so lazy or are they scared to bring about a change.? Wish I had an answer..
And in India, we have the world class IITs, but whether they are innovation driven is a different question..
I also find it amusing to know why none of them are world beaters at the innovative game..
According to a survey by "times higher education", India's no. 1 institution IIT bombay ranks 317 on a global level..
There were 5 criteria taken into consideration, namely teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook..
Innovation is producing a new concept and revolutionizing it..
Most of the IItian's are in prominent positions working under some big bosses but not necessarily produce Nobel Prize winning innovations..
Education should be about acquiring and application of skills and not just memorizing formulae and derivations..
The focus should be on skills since it is the key to adapt to various scenarios..
The Indian system has its own advantages in terms of enhancing our mental storage, but that alone does not help in today's world..
Our education system needs to be redefined to focus on the areas of exploration and creativity..!!
