There are a lot of differences in the education of India and China. In 2009 children of the age of 15 took a test called PISA. This test was conducted across 74 countries. In India students were selected from Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. From China the students were selected from Shanghai. According to the test India was ranked at the 73rd position where as China was ranked 1. Kyrgyzstan was the country to be placed last in the rankings. The test conducted was taken basically on mathematics, science and reading capabilities.
What went wrong?
The Chinese education system does not believe in taking a lot of examinations and putting load and fear into the minds of the students. The Indian education is filled with examinations that scares the students and takes the main motive of learning away from the students. India wants to compete with china in the global arena but the education of the country needs to improve. There is no scope for innovation in India. The students are taught the same old things. China on the other hand prepares students to have a creative and innovative thinking.
Difference in attitude:
A few decades back the Indian education system was far ahead compared to china. It was then that China took the initiative to improve the standard of education. In India the enrolment of students in the primary classes in nearly 97% but only 30% of these students go ahead and complete the 12th standard. On the other hand in China 9 years of schooling has been made mandatory for all the students. After that the students can choose whether they want to continue with education or they want to go ahead with vocational training.
Steps taken after the test:
After the test was taken the Chinese students were set as standards by the government. The Chinese government made it the standard of education in the other cities and schools across the country. On the other hand the Indian government pulled out of the next edition of the test held in 2012. The Indian government said that the test was completely different from what was taught in the schools across the country. The performance level of the students of India has no record. There is no proper education in India as there are too many different organizations in the education system of India.
What should be done?
The Indian education system needs to be reformed. There needs to be better prospect in the education for students. The students need to be taught about innovation and new thinking. There is no point in learning what has already been established. Politics need to be removed from education in order to provide the students with a fair chance. The fear of examinations needs to be removed from students. There should be constant survey across the country regarding the schools and the education provided. Proper scrutiny will help to get a clear picture of the current state of education in India.