Terrible crisis of education in front of the country

I asked for a bat; I often do this in the many cricket games I encounter in villages and towns, and I’ve never been denied. We talked as we played. “What class are you in?” Fifth, Sixth and Seventh. in three different schools. “So, when schools were closed, you were in third, and you were in fourth, what do you remember from those classes?” The two kids just smiled. “Do you understand the material being taught in the current class?” Both kept smiling. ,Are you afraid, why not sayAfraid, why don’t you speak? I asked. All the conversation in that ‘inner village’ was in Hindi.

“We must have the courage to speak the truth. Always,” said the eldest. “We don’t understand anything in the class, sir. We’ve lost almost 2 years of school.” He said exactly that in English. The boy’s firm, clear voice and his conviction and language didn’t match the ruins we stood among; the ruins, that part of the country An appropriate metaphor for the situation around.

It’s hard to live up to the child’s simple principle of truth. But let’s try, if only momentarily, in early 2022. Not for everything, or even where it is most needed, but only for education.

Our education system is messed up. Children are not learning what they should do. And there are deep inequalities of access, resources and outcomes—often rooted in geographic, social and economic disadvantages.

Learning in India lags behind on every dimension of the abilities and values ​​we want education to develop: basic literacy and math, no real understanding of subjects, deep abilities such as critical thinking and creativity, core human values, and more . Unfortunately higher education is in worse shape than school education.

Therefore, our education system is failing in all its roles. Inadequate in helping the individual to develop for a good life. Inadequate in its contribution to a changing society, which must become more equitable, humane and equitable. Insufficient as the foundation of a constitutional republic.

Undoubtedly, there have been improvements over the past decades: on access, on enrollment, on equity, and more. But if we take this progress as sufficient, we will reduce the potential of our nation and do injustice to crores of people. The children of our country, the future of our country, deserve much better.

The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) is a comprehensive road-map to reform Indian education. I suspect that those who strongly oppose it have not read it. I meet many such persons. Or, do so only because it has been developed by the current central government. Constructive criticisms will help in the implementation of the NEP. This is really the key now – and the next 10 years will require continued effort with the states and the union working together.

The dirty reality of our politics, governance and culture will hinder the implementation of the NEP. Inspired leadership and civic engagement within state institutions can help. There is a difficult road ahead. But given where we are today, the best chance for education will lie in the implementation of the NEP in its true sense.

We must not forget the lessons of the last 15 years. The blatant failure of the three things touted as solutions to India’s (and others’) education problems should be cornered as they belong. The proliferation of private schools doesn’t help; They do not provide better education than public schools. The huge increase in private-school enrollment in India over the past 15 years has not improved Indian education in the slightest. Technology is not effective in the basic process of teaching-learning; To imagine that it will cure the ills of education is an illusion. The Covid pandemic has sadly hit this point. Testing and then more testing doesn’t help; It is like repeatedly measuring one’s temperature in the hope that this fever will be cured, and when it does not, punishing the person for not being cured.

A terrible crisis in education is in front of us today, which is unprecedented in the education history of India. More than 200 million children have lost two years of learning and more. If the states – who run our schools – do not address this adequately, as they should, we will have a learning generation.

In the ruins of India, which are the most incongruous theaters for performances of moral clarity, I asked the child, “How did you learn all this?” “My teacher, sir,” he said. “He says we should learn everything, including English, and more importantly, be a good Indian. Even when the school is closed, he has been teaching us.”

And hence, the final truth. There is hope, because there are remarkable people. Unseen, uncountable, unnamed, but holding the world together, and moving it.

Anurag Behar is the CEO of Azim Premji Foundation