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Santosh HK Narayan
Reporter
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Changing faces of education
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| Entry gate of development |
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On August 15, 1947, just over 16 out of every 100 Indians knew how to read and write. But soon the ‘baby’ India was forced to grow up and it was the time to take some concrete steps on the front of education, which is considered as the bed-rock of all-round societal development. After Independence, providing education to the people of the country became the responsibility of the states mainly. The central government’s only obligation was to coordinate in technical and higher education. A few months later, India become a republic, the Ministry of Education prepared a draft bill entitled, ‘The Universities (Regulation of Standards) Bill’. The sub-title of the Bill was “To regulate certain matters relating to the coordination of the standards in universities.” It was an effort to extend the governmental control on higher educational system.
Keeping in mind the needs of Indian society, which was largely agrarian, the First Five Year Plan referred to the University Education Commission’s recommendations regarding a new system under the name of Rural University for providing higher education in the rural areas. Obviously, it was the manifestation of the priority of the government, which had larger say for the larger section of India. But, during the Second Five Year Plan, which saw the 71 per cent increase in the enrollment for graduation coursen in comparison of First Five Year Plan, some important steps were taken. The first one was the introduction of diversified courses at secondary level. It was thought that this would check the rush of students to arts courses. The number of universities also rose from 27 in 1950-51 to 45 in 1968-69.
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Improved infrastructure attracted
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But the Fourth Five Year Plan observed that the choice of students had been shifting from science to others, particularly towards commerce. The proportion of enrolment in science courses in 1950-51 was 32 per cent, which dipped to 19 per cent in 1978-79. It was thought that base of national development and growth could be hampered if this trend of neglect towards science curriculum continued for long. A strong plea for the expansion of enrolment in this course was made for the first time. Several measures, however, followed through larger provisions of scientific equipment and quality textbooks and teachers. Students were not satisfied with ordinary facilities at colleges and as the gap between demand and supply increased, hundreds of qualified Indian brains started to drain. It was a new trend during mid-1970's.
Soon after the beginning of Seventh Five Year Plan, the ‘New Policy on Education’, 1986 was announced. To meet the increasing demand and need of education, a network of facilities was proposed through open universities and correspondence and part time courses. It did help in bringing a boom in the education sector, which in turn, contributed towards increasing the pace of education.
But with this, the most obvious fact about higher education that came to surface was that the student's population crossed the 3 million mark in 1970-71, but on the other hand 22.96 lakhs unemployed youths were registered with employment exchanges throughout the country. It was not only an indication of the rise of young educated Indians but also a sign of flood of job seekers in future. These facts and circumstances turned the tide towards job-oriented courses and warranted a change in the overall educational system of the country. “It was largely the impact of technological and social changes. Last 10 years have seen changes in commerce as a subject. New dimensions like e-commerce, on line trading, market management have been added and becoming popular due to their up market demands,” says Ramesh Gupta, a teacher of Commerce at Delhi University adding that the quality of education has also increased at under-graduate level itself.
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After 1980s the population and income of middle class bloated and their golden dreams led to the attachment of study with money directly. Management, Accountancy and Marketing, though considered as a high salary return courses did not remain the only choice after the flood gate opened through liberalisation because jobs from around the globe started flowing in. It was the time which changed the focus of engineering courses; old favourites like civil and mechanical engineering were replaced by computer or software engineering. Many private institutions took the advantage and filled the vacant spaces. This was the clear imprint of changing society and its aspirations with the tunes of education and ways of earning which can be derived from the statement of Manoj Srivastav, a Centre Manager of NIIT. “We have been witnessing this change due to which we changed our strategies to meet this growing demand of courses and market. We have modified the courses and are very much successful.” During this period, India emerged as a human resource supplier to the needs of the world and inflow of outsourced jobs witnessed a paradigm shift. Unseen jobs like travel and tourism, tele-marketing, call centre jobs, corporate communication and many others have been added to the wings.
Even in science streams, students preferred to opt for innovative subjects like microbiology, industrial fisheries, molecular biology, industrial law and computer science. Other dimensions of applicable science like aeronautics and space engineering, nano-technology, plasma research originated with the growing quality and quantity of infrastructural facilities. This diversification in the science education took the pressure away from traditional science which on the one hand was loosing its employability but on the other hand was considered unavoidable. Apart from taking new subjects the students started pursuing Diploma and Certificate courses along with the conventional degrees in 1990s.
The period of 1980s witnessed the inclusion of studies related to rights of women and socially backward people. In the view of planners and educationists, education was not only the most important instrument to achieve rapid economic and technological development but also for the creation of social order founded on the value of freedom, social justice and equal opportunity. After signing the Memorandum of Understanding with universities, Kiran Bedi, the Director General of BPRD (Bureau of Police Research and Development) emphasised that the time has come when police and prison system in the country should be a subject of research. Urging the Registrars of the universities, she said, “Shake the young brains to do that. You have all the resources and the time has come when universities and police should come together on a single platform.”
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Researches in the medical education were encouraged by the succeeding governments since Independence providing students opportunities to understand the health needs of the fellow countrymen. Along with the advanced medical study, the government also encouraged the traditional practices like Ayurveda, Yunani, Sidha, Yoga, Naturopathy and Homeopathy, which were neglected by and large and a separate department was created for that. Educational outlook of India also reflected the changes occurring in the international arena. Asserting the impact made on English literature, Professor D K Pabby of Delhi University pointed that the reduction of power and influence of Britain at world stage has shifted the focus from their literary materials to indigenous one. “Earlier it was Anglo-American centric but now it is becoming diversified. After 1980s, some classical writings of Indian literature like Mahabharata, Abhigyansakuntalam and also from other regional languages with translation. Indian writers like R K Narayan, Mulkraj Anand and many others made their entry into literary studies. It was a paradigm shift.”
It is the young India of a new millennium with huge educated and not just literate population. This vibrant India is raring to go worldwide. Education may have become a part of public priority but whole hearted effort on the part of the government is missing. Despite recommendations from various quarters for the allocation of 6 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Products) our planners are spending about 3 per cent. Middle class of 1980s have become the upper middle one and 'buying' education is not a problem for them. Amid this reality, education is metamorphing into a business and in the process providing happy hunting ground for the 'buyers'. Amity, IIPM, Rai University, Vedanta University are some of the favoured destinations with market oriented courses.
The face of India is changing and at the doorstep of 60th 'birth anniversary', the Republic has not become old enough which can not bear the transformations. Cheers and be ready for more challenges. Come on India.
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Economy at 60