MODERN TRENDS IN EDUCATION

The British colonial hypothesis of schools and colleges are like factories for turning out clerks for government. The education scenario is changing rapidly. It has now turned out to be a thriving industry especially when it comes to higher education. New schools and colleges are coming up in the nearby localities with CBSE or ICSE syllabus and offering a lot of other facilities required for excellence and for an overall development of a child. Disciplines catering to the modern era have been introduced for graduation and post graduation. Specializations in varied branches in Engineering, Medicine, Law and other fields are introduced to meet the challenges and requirements of the future. Computer science is also given greater importance.

The parents decided to send children, with the hope that they might accomplish what adults had failed to do. Both the parents and their children are aware of the importance of quality and excellence in education. A lot of students at Kumbalam who could afford such schools are now availing such opportunities. Such nation building exercises by such entrepreneurs are highly commendable. I sent my children, Kiran Rose Thayamkeril and Karan Jose Thayamkeril to “The Choice School” at Tripunithura, in Kochi. I would like to mention that the former principal of that school, Smt. Lekshmi Ramachandran, was instrumental in making it one of the popular schools in the State of Kerala. She was followed by Smt. Molly Cyril Pallikkaparampil. Shri. Jose Thomas Olassayil, Chairman of the Choice Foundation, is the manger and takes a personal interest in the management of the school.

The entrepreneurs should not be lured by the profit motive alone and impose prohibitive tuition fees and conveyance charges from the students without any basis and disproportionate to the services rendered by them. The management, teachers and other staffs shall ensure and afford adequate protection and security to the students entrusted to them should not be exploited in any way. It should also be ensured that extraordinarily bright students among the poor in the locality (nominated by the government) are also given opportunity in such schools.

The government would also ensure that the managements of such schools paid the salaries, the provident fund, gratuity and other benefits to the teachers and the non-teaching staffs and make certain that they are contended. The government should also ensure that such teachers and other staffs have the required qualification, character and integrity and dedication, and they are terminated only in accordance with law. If the present situation is similar to the position that existed in the 1950s and 60s when, Prof. Joseph Mundasseri, a great teacher and scholar that Kerala have ever seen, and who was the Minister of Education of Kerala (1957-59), an Education bill was brought to set right the anomalies in the private education sector, which was later incorporated into the Kerala Education Act & the Rules. This avoided illegal cuts on salaries payable to teachers by the private school managements. I sincerely hope that the government would do the needful in the matter. I hope the government has learned a lesson from the previous experiences. Therefore, it would be better for the government to avoid taking the burden of payment of the salaries of teachers of CBSE and ICSE schools and leaving the power of appointment to the management. Kindly bear in mind, that too much political interference in the affairs would spoil the school atmosphere.

I am immensely happy to learn that the UGC has hiked the salary of professors to make them contended. There are such senior professors who draw more than one lakh fifty thousand a month as salary and the retired professors receive up to fifty thousand a month as pension. Now they are contended with their pay packets. As the salary increased multifold they are scurrying around for investments in the offices of stock-brokers and stock markets; gold, diamond and jewelers; they are into real-estate business and money lending as well. Hardly have they find time to teach or interact with their wards. What an irony! The government has increased the emoluments and other benefits of the members of parliament and legislatures. The military personnel’s and others are no exception. I appreciate the hiking. But I would like to point out that enhancement of salaries to an unreasonable level makes them lethargic, makes them corrupt, and inducee them to neglect their duties. Is it fair or proper or justifiable to expend the entire revenue of the state for payment of salary and other emoluments to 2% of the population comprising elected members, government servants, teachers and others? Each time when there is a hike in salary it is reflected in the price of essential commodities, vegetables and other goods in the open market. The chasing power enhances the price of goods. The labourers and the organized sector could clamour for higher wages. But, where do the common man, the unorganized agriculturists and other suffering classes go for the extra money required. Enhancement of salary is not a solution in itself. The government shall make earnest efforts to keep and maintain the demand, supply and price steady. Don’t we need funds for infrastructure development?

Children of all ages are seen cramming into three or four wheelers, and carrying a heavy load of books in a bag flapping on their backs or shoulders. They are burdened both physically and mentally. By the end of the day they are thoroughly exhausted. Why doesn’t the education system be more innovative? I was taken aback while going through my daughter Kiran’s text books. She was then studying in Std. IX. Various portions of the Constitution of India like the preamble, fundamental rights and duties and she was doing a project on how to enforce the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India by invoking the writ jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226, at that young age. I remember having studied the same only during my graduation for Law. On another day I was further shocked to observe her doing a project on the symptoms, cure and medicine for the disease “Jaundice.” It is strange on the part of the Syllabus Committee, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development to unnecessarily burden the students who are helpless in this regard. However, it is important to make children, aware of the realities of life. It could be legal problem like one relating to the fundamental rights of a citizen, civil cases with regard to property, tax, labour and even criminal cases. In such an event a lawyer with character and integrity and the required specialization should be approached without any compromise whatsoever. Similar is the case of diseases and doctors. A good doctor or hospital neither require any advertisement nor lack patients. This applies to all other professions. Availing the services of the right kind of professionals for the right kind of job is a great time saver. In this manner the children are able to face the realities of life with ease.

Parents and teachers should encourage their children/wards to use interrogative words, adjectives, pronouns and adverbs like what, when, where, who, why, how, whom, whether, whence and which, often to understand more about a person, a particular thing, topic or issue or problem, which would open up a new horizon for them.

Education should not suppress the student’s curiosity; it should create a thirst for knowledge. Education would have been more interesting and lighter to a child if only the teachers had to deal with the basics up to the tenth grade to introduce them to all the avenues available for a career.  Probing for the child’s innate and genuine talent could be done simultaneously. Thereby encouragement, support and recognition for the same could be given during these years in school. This will prepare them for their right choice in the Plus-2 level of their education.

Sports and athletics and all other extra-curricular activities like – music (vocal, wind, stringed and percussion), dance, painting and martial arts available in the school should be given adequate importance. They play an important role in the character formation of a child. It is important to provide them a good library facility and inculcate a general reading habit in them. Drama club, debating and public speaking are significant to develop their talent for leadership and personality development. They must be given time to interact with Mother Nature and inculcate the dignity of labour from their very early age.

Pollution is one of the major global menaces that threaten even the developed countries around the world, our country is no exception. I have noticed children studying in the urban areas eating toffees and littering the plastic covers carelessly while passing through my front main road and other public places. Why they eat so much toffees, whether it contains any drug is also to be looked into. It is the duty of the teachers and the parents to create awareness among children about this seriousness of pollution and impart methods to avert it.

Every student starting from the high school should attend a three months course in any one of the trade or occupation mentioned hereunder. This could be done during their vacations. To cite a few examples are NCC cadet and their attendance in two summer camps; agriculture or gardening (as a Casual Labourer); animal husbandry; chef and / or supplier in a hotel business or sales-man in a mall; attendant in a hospital or member of a palliative care unit; stenographer or typist; helper in an automobile industry and driving or factory employee or any other skilled jobs; social work including cleaning of public places and helping the poor or any other similar jobs. Educational institutions and the government should ensure that their students are not physically or mentally be exploited or harassed by these institutions or their agents. Learning a skill, trade or business gives them the confidence to meet challenges and open up new avenues for their development. A certificate of experience from the recognized institutions in the respective fields should be obtained before the plus-two certificates are issued to them.  Enjoying their childhood without unnecessary worries makes moulding a child into an adult a less laborious process.

The State of Kerala was declared to be the first fully literate state in India. I wonder why the State does not try for excellence in education. There are no IITs, AIIMS, and other advanced courses in Kerala except an IIM in Calicut. Why are such facilities for excellence denied to Malayalis? Kerala, CUSAT and Calicut Universities have the infrastructure for sanctioning such prestigious courses in the State of Kerala. The callous indifference on the part of the central and the state government is unfortunate in this regard. I sincerely hope that both the governments would take appropriate steps for the above mentioned in the right direction.

Education today goes to students with below average intelligence; mediocre students in the state too go for graduation, post graduation, doctorate and even post-doctorate degrees. There have been instances where the university guides have physically and mentally harassed and exploited the students who undergo their research studies with them. By the time he / she attain the highest qualification he would be 35 to 40 years of age.  It is a sheer waste of time, energy and money for many of them. They do not realize the fact that half of their life is over with this prolonged education. For some it leads to depression. Wisdom dawns late; life meant a lot of other things.

I recall the pathetic story of Neena, a lady Research Scholar of the department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, who committed suicide because her research guide spoilt her family life; false and unnecessary rumours about her were flashed on the campus. This frustration and desperation made her take the ultimate step of taking her own life. What touched me most was that she did not live to see and obtain the award of her doctorate degree which was announced almost simultaneously with her decision to commit suicide. Unfortunately she did not get the news of the fruits of her labour prior to her death. I appeared in the High Court of Kerala on behalf of Neena and six other collegues of hers. The Kerala University or the government did not take any action against the erring guide, Dr. Padmakumar, whose writ petition was dismissed but he got scot-free.

The government should discourage the trend of below average students going for higher studies. Minimum qualifying marks required for admission or entrance test shall be fixed at 50% for the skilled courses in Polytechnic Institutions; 60% for the graduation courses; 65% for the post-graduation and doctorate and 70% for post-doctorate in any discipline. A leniency in marks at 5% for the O.B.C., 10% for the scheduled castes and 15% for scheduled tribes could be given. Not more than 5% reduction shall be given to management quotas as well. More leniencies would result in inefficiency and would spoil the life of the reserved candidate. I would like to remind the government that there is dearth in human resources for skilled and unskilled jobs in the state.

I would like to borrow the Lohian example to easily understand and justify the theory of “reservation to the socially, educationally and culturally backward classes of people in the society.” “The caste-ridden Indian society can be compared to a multi-wheeled truck. The front wheels on either side represent the upper-castes in the society; the hind wheels on one side represent Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the wheels on other side represent the O.B.Cs., (Other Backward Communities.) For the smooth running of the truck all the tyres on the wheels are to be in good condition. In the event of one or both the tyres on hind wheels are deflated the truck will not move forward.” In the event of more air being supplied to the tyres on wheels than is necessary, it would burst the tyres. I recall the idiom in my mother tongue, Malayalam which goes like this, “Adhikamayal Amruthum Visham.” It means, “Excessive intake of the nectar of Ambrosia, the elixir of life or to attain immortality turn out to be poisonous.” When the lower class did gain ascendancy over the upper, corruption and inefficiency were ever worse than before. Therefore, the reservation quotas for education, jobs and elected bodies should not be allowed to continue indefinitely because it might lead to further chaos and confusion in society. It is therefore significant to remove forthwith those communities and / or classes of persons who have managed to overcome their backwardness. In Kerala backward communities like the Kutumbis or Chettis and Scheduled Caste converts to Christianity (agricultural labourers) deserve to be included in the category of Scheduled Castes. Since independence, their demands to include them in the reserved category fell on deaf ears. I sincerely hope that their meek voice would be considered by the central and state governments.

The Indian system of education is skewed; wherein the ability of by-hearting and vomiting is encouraged; providing a distorted image of how “smart or intelligent a person is.” How a student analytically understands and applies his mind is less significant according to this system. The practical application of a subject to different situations is more important. This is the reason why many top rankers of universities fail in real life.

The government should promote people-to-people exchange to universities abroad involving, among others, students, youth, artists, sportspersons and academicians.

Very few are born with silver spoons in their mouth. For others, life is full of challenges. When we are confronted with unexpected challenges, some of us have the courage to take on anything that is thrown at us, while others struggle to overcome them. Challenges are opportunities to grow. It is the duty of parents and teachers to instill confidence in their children/wards. A student must learn to accept defeat with head held high.

Why he is a rebel? Children in a family without love become rebellious, recalcitrant, stubborn, selfish and cruel. Adults who live in a loveless or Godless world end in despair which is the last extreme of self-love. Those who are loved, become kind, ready for service and quick to love others.

Mere learning or acquiring knowledge is not education. It should also instill values in the individual. It is important to guide children to respect their parents, teachers and elders in society. The parents and teachers should develop in their children/wards concern for the poor and less fortunate in society.

I would like to quote some of Gandhiji’s striking thoughts on Education, which are still relevant. “An education which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad, to assimilate the one and eschew the other, is a misnomer. Education should be so revolutionized as to answer the wants of the poorest villager, instead of answering those of an imperial exploiter. Basic education links the children, whether of cities or the villages, to all that is best and lasting in India. Education is a gift that visibly distinguishes man from beast. Real education has to draw out the best from the boys and girls to be educated. True education must correspond to the surrounding circumstances or it is not a healthy growth. By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man—body, mind and spirit. Experience gained in two schools under my control has taught me that punishment does not purify, if anything, it hardens children. A balanced intellect presupposes a harmonious growth of body, mind and soul. Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requisite for acquiring learning of any kind. If we want to impart education best suited to the needs of the villagers, we should take the Vidyapith to the villages. In a democratic scheme, money invested in the promotion of learning gives a tenfold return to the people even as a seed sown in good soil returns a luxuriant crop. All education in a country has got to be demonstrably in promotion of the progress of the country in which it is given.”

 “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela.  Education is the key to eliminate gender inequality, reduce poverty, create a sustainable planet, prevent needless deaths and illness and foster peace. And in a knowledge economy, education is the new currency by which nations maintain economic competitiveness and global prosperity. Education is an investment. It is essential for sustainable development. Our current knowledge base does not include the solutions to contemporary global, environmental, societal and economic problems.

I sincerely hope that the government scans the promise and performance of the management and faculty of each school and college, ensuring that they impart noble ideals and values to make their students world-class citizens.

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

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