Is the Indian Education system good?

Posted: 17 years ago

We crib about the loads of the bags, the brutal examination system, the excessive pressures on the tender childhood...we squirm when we hear young children being driven to suicide because of the pressures of the board exams...

Yet this is the education system that has given not just India, but the entire world thousands of doctors, engineers and software professionals...we can pride ourselves on being hardworking,  strong on analytical and problem solving skills thanks to the grinding and grilling in our schools and colleges....

Is our education system as bad as it is made out to be...Would India lose its edge if we were to adapt  say an American format of education...

Please do comment!

Edited by TallyHo - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago
Good question Tallyho. I think Indian education is too tuff on chidren sometime and American system is too liberal at times, maybe if we could settle somewhere in between (I am only talking about education till high school- not beyon that).
Posted: 17 years ago

I really wonder
 Whom should I blame?
What should I blame?
I don't think educational system is bad but examination system is bad in India.If examination is also a part of it then educational system is also bad.The present system is stressful,very very much greedy for marks,percentiles and not knowledge oriented.I wish I get oppurtunity to spend ,study as Henry David Thoreau suggested.

Cheers,

Mythili 

Posted: 17 years ago
I feel the Indian education system in the elementary and high school level is very good. The grilling really pays if not for all. If one can survive this education system, he/she can have the ability to make it big anywhere in the world. Our science and math are exceptionally good at these levels.

I am in US so I can compare with US education system. These days if you are aware there is a lot of hue-and-cry going on in US for it's deterioration in education system. They have one quarter high school white dropouts while the number is half for blacks and latinos. They have even taken the initiative of "no child left behind" program. They cribbing about not putting much stress in teaching science and maths. They are producing more and more crimilan psychologists and creative writers. USA is a very resourceful country with a less than one third of Indian population. So, may be it will take some more time to feel the heat.

On abc there was a program on why India ia growing fast in producing so much tech. and science people. It was told that for modern Indians the only weapon is education to survive and they even respect and worship education(in the form of Ma Saraswati)which is a rare feature in all over the world.
Posted: 17 years ago
The major flaw I see in Indian education system is that it forbids you from asking basic questions. Don't ask why, just do it. Most of the basic knowledge is bookish and less creative. Do we need a 5 or 6 year old to sit through 8-9 hours of school 5 days a week and then loads of homework on weekend? We argue that India produces most hardworking Software Engineers and Doctors in the world. Yet we don't see most inventions attributed to Indians. What is stopping us? It is the basic rule we are fed since childhood and that is work hard, don't ask why or how? Our education system needs to be less meticulous and teachers should bring out the ingenuity in us.  
Posted: 17 years ago

Originally posted by sowmyaa


Good question Tallyho. I think Indian education is too tuff on chidren sometime and American system is too liberal at times, maybe if we could settle somewhere in between (I am only talking about education till high school- not beyon that).

i agree with di here 😛 i sometimes think that teachers here may let off a bit too easy while when I go to India i see my cousins get sad because they didn't get first rank and ended up in third rank. Supposedly that was horrible. I definitely think there should be a place for all this right in the middle 😊

Posted: 17 years ago
Originally posted by *Maya*


The major flaw I see in Indian education system is that it forbids you from asking basic questions. Don't ask why, just do it. Most of the basic knowledge is bookish and less creative. Do we need a 5 or 6 year old to sit through 8-9 hours of school5 days a week and then loads of homework on weekend? We argue that India produces most hardworking Software Engineers and Doctors in the world. Yet we don*t see most inventions attributed to Indians. What is stopping us? It is the basic rule we are fed since childhood and that is work hard, don*t ask why or how? Our education system needs to be less meticulous and teachers should bring out the ingenuity in us.


gud views
Posted: 17 years ago

Originally posted by Pradarshak


I feel the Indian education system in the elementary and high school level is very good. The grilling really pays if not for all. If one can survive this education system, he/she can have the ability to make it big anywhere in the world. Our science and math are exceptionally good at these levels.

 Agree 100%

I am in US so I can compare with US education system. These days if you are aware there is a lot of hue-and-cry going on in US for it's deterioration in education system. They have one quarter high school white dropouts while the number is half for blacks and latinos. They have even taken the initiative of "no child left behind" program. They cribbing about not putting much stress in teaching science and maths. They are producing more and more crimilan psychologists and creative writers. USA is a very resourceful country with a less than one third of Indian population. So, may be it will take some more time to feel the heat.

 This is the opposite side of Indian education system. Students will not choose science and maths when encouraged to express their individuality and be liberal. Some type of pressure is needed to steer students towards science and maths.

On abc there was a program on why India ia growing fast in producing so much tech. and science people. It was told that for modern Indians the only weapon is education to survive and they even respect and worship education(in the form of Ma Saraswati)which is a rare feature in all over the world.

 Thanks for sharing.. Also I feel that we as Indians are basicaly followers as opposed to leaders and hence high number of science, IT graduates because it is perceived as most succesful in later life. Also in a country with Billion+ population the sheer strength of numbers is more noticeble then in less populated country.

Edited by lighthouse - 17 years ago
Posted: 17 years ago
Another aspect is the quality of teachers particualry at school level..you do not have exceptionally brilliant people opting for school teaching as a profession...how can we expect them to broaden the horizon of children when their own thinking is very conservative and narrow...the curriculum is good, examination reforms too are being brought in time to time but we seriously must think of enhancing the quality of our teachers...
Posted: 17 years ago

Originally posted by TallyHo


Another aspect is the quality of teachers particualry at school level..you do not have exceptionally brilliant people opting for school teaching as a profession...how can we expect them to broaden the horizon of children when their own thinking is very conservative and narrow...the curriculum is good, examination reforms too are being brought in time to time but we seriously must think of enhancing the quality of our teachers...

Exactly, I too had this in my mind. Brilliant people would prefer to join teaching more likely as a professor/lecturer, and not a school teacher.

The competetion in India is more than many other countries. I was surprised to see the progress of a three+ year old boy(pre-school) student in India. It's not that he was exceptional, everyone in his class is more or less same. In US in the junior level teaching is more about fun and doing fun projects. But I guess in India the grooming starts at the very basic level.

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