In this modern jet set age, every field in the social whorl has metamorphosed into a completely new aspect altogether. This radical change has not even spared the field of education. The sheer impact that the changes have had on education have not only metamorphosed it but also given a new dimension and meaning to many diverse aspects. India too has experienced a lot of changes in its education system over the years. In due course of time, education has transformed from a purely knowledge affair to a cash venture.
How education has changed in India
In colonial India, it was a privilege to be properly educated. Schools and colleges were few while graduates were meagrely in number. The relation between the teacher and his students represented that of a master and his disciple. Diversity of courses and expenditure of huge amount of money was unheard of. Knowledge was everything as rote learning was never encouraged by the educators or the system. In contrast, the present generation knows that education means money. People nowadays think that an institute that costs less, gives less. Courses are aplenty but knowledge hardly trickles down the minds of the educated. Everywhere we see, rote education is rotting the system with an irreversible strangulating effect. The mindset and relations have changes drastically. Students hardly show the virtues exhibited in the past neither do the teachers care for their students likewise.
The reasons behind the radical changes
The innumerable reasons behind the appalling changes in the education system are varied and diverse in nature. Change of colonial rule has had an impact on the nation. The growth of the country meant that people had more money to spend and divulge more on education. The market grew in size with time. An ever increasing population meant the creation of a huge number of schools and colleges which compromised quality for quantity. Moreover, westernization of Indian culture and the rise of a more liberal generation had their effects to escalate the changes even more.
Adverse effects of changes in the education system
The positives coming out of the changes were few but the negatives that emerged with time were innumerable. In the present age, the major concern about education in India is that the quality has been greatly compromised on a persistent basis. Education is no more a field of excellence; it has somehow changed into a medium for shaping careers to earn money. Knowledge is a thing of the past; the education system now promotes rote learning for clearing exams and asserting ones brilliance. Huge number of graduates means a high rate of unemployment for the youth. These are changes that are worrisome and many fear whether the development of the nation will be sustained if the roots of the nation are embedded so shallow in knowledge.
Solutions to counter the negative implications
The system needs to change. That is the one and only sentence that gives the pathway for the solution of this problem. Education should never be a material that can be bought for money. The people as well as the government must understand this fact. Compromising quality for quantity is good for the present but never for the future as it never gives good results in the long run. Knowledge is the key to success while money and rote learning never are and never will be.