Education System in India – A student’s side of story

My parents gave the utmost importance to me and my sister’s education. The importance was so big that they lived separately for 12+ years for our education purpose. My dad works in Maharashtra, in a small town where education is not a big thing. My parents realized that if this is the case then my future will be dull and so we moved to Nizamabad-Hyderabad etc. But today when I see myself, I don’t understand what I have achieved of this.

There are not one or two problems in our education system. The topics raised in recent past were really important and I want to emphasize from the students point of view.

Right from the time I started remembering things, the only thing I heard from my father was “You need to be a Software Engineer”. I didn’t know what Software Engineering was in the first place, but since my dad wants me to be one I will work for it. 3^rd year of my engineering and I read Software Engineering definition, and I think “is this the thing for which I have been struggling all my life?????” if yes then that’s stupidity. Why did I read about Chacha Nehru, why did I read about chemical formulas, why the hell did I break my head on history books when all I need to know is mathematics and little electronics and technology.

Then I finished my engineering, came to US and started doing my Masters. I attended a campus fun program and I saw something unusual. The guys who were sitting beside me in my class were actually talented. There was this guy who was playing a guitar like anything, a girl pianist, a painter etc. I started talking to these guys and came to know not only arts, people have interests in various things apart from just entertainment. A guy who writes blogs on politics, a guy who can tell exactly what and how the sensex will turn only because he was studying it since childhood, etc etc. And all these guys were pursuing software engineering degrees but had a “LIFE”. I felt so small in front of these guys. Little more deep dig into their lives told me that it was their interest and their parents, teachers supported them. Hell, I was interested in cricket but I didn’t had time how did they get time to do these. Believe me they had time. When I was sitting in study hours in my school he was attending painting classes. When I was going through mathematics classes in the classroom, they had MUSIC period. A ‘B’ or ‘B+‘ was good enough for his parents. My parents, teachers, society wanted me to be 90+. Anything less was a shame.

What did I do in my bachelors when I had a lot of time. But, interests can be inculcated only during childhood. Once you are past that age, you are done.

Then after I finished my masters I started a job and we use to have discussions about a lot of social problems and believe me I am the most silent person in that discussion. Somalia war, Iraq issues, civil rights thing, terrorism, Haiti crisis (I didn’t knew Haiti was a country till I was in those discussions), etc etc, I knew none. But, whenever there is a technology related issue I would be the best, but again its not like if I am not there there is no discussion. I asked a colleague of mine how do you know about this and he said “Dude it was a big thing during that period, didn’t you watch news or read newspaper???” and I told myself “No dude I was buried in my S.Chands textbook.”.

Slowly in my life I started realizing that we have very less values and ideologies. I do care for my country, but I don’t know if I will die for it. I am more worried about not getting a citizenship of USA than worrying about me losing Indian citizenship. I am more worried about my company here working fine and I don’t think at all that what I have done for the development of my country. Money, survival, self growth, life are the only important things. My grand father was a big deal in his village, and I don’t know if my own relatives like me or not. My grandfather knew Quran, Gita and Bible. All I know is “C++ by Balaguruswamy”.

Finally from a students point of view

We don’t have right curriculum. Idealogies, Morals, sports, activities, art, culture should be inculcated in curriculum.

Competetion helps in no way. Healthy competition is important. Media should understand that. Stop publishing who is state first. Help students.

Privatization and commercialization of education is wrong.

If we can educate and develop todays kids and if every kid in our country receives the right education, we will have the right leaders and right public tomorrow, hence solving the issue of corruption, crime, dirty politics, and all those illicit things which todays illiterate, uneducated, immoral, cultureless, selfish morons are doing.

We need more sportsmans, artists, speakers, leaders but not doctors, software engineers, Business administrators. We have enough of these guys.

Somethings to think about

Modern technology, day to day problems, the quest to generate bread for the next time he is hungry has made man so busy that he has stopped thinking about anything else. We, as in Indians, live in a very corrupt, populated, most unorganized and highly unethical and enormously irresponsible society. We don't think about other, untill unless he is a friend, max. But its time now, and we need to open up, widen our vision and start doing the simple thing called THINKING.

From our childhood we have been taught only the pretty merry happily ever after stuff about our history. We think India is the best country in the world.The fact is ITS NOT and I don't see it happening in near future. Now the thinking part, why I am more ignorant about the facts of my country than other of their country. Why?

Why was I taught about only the useless things during my childhood. How some chacha loved children and had a rose in his coat instead of teaching how he was responsible for the division of the country into India and Pakistan?

Why how many bullets were shot when a certain prime minister was walking in a park is more important than the emergency declared by her in an inappropriate time caused a major revolution during that period and the fact that she was the reason to impose censorship in newspapers and not letting the people know the truth of government which caused a major issue?

How some great person was responsible for india's independence instead of letting me know that the independence of India was dragged for more than 30 years by following non-violence and that he did not support the great leaders of that time and just let them die just because he didnot agree with their idealogy? Speaking of which, why independence is considered as a virtue earned only by non-violence when its actually earned equally by himsa (violence) and ahimsa (non-violence) vadis?

Why was I only taught about Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abdul Kalam, Indira Gandhi, but not about Udham Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, Komaram Bheem, Rash Bihari Bose, Surya Sen, Chittaranjan Das, Achhar singh Chinna? Why is my history book had only one chapter about revolutionaries by violence and all the other non-violence white collared people had one chapter each. Why is Godse always shown in a negative shade as an asasin but never showed the reasons behind the assasination and the fact that he was an ardent follower of Gandhi before taking this decision is always hidden?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Is it because of money, power, people? We only see what is shown? Because thinking about what we are seeing will make us spend time, which we don't have. What is the solution for this? How can we build a better India? What is our part in building a better India?

Think!!!!

Think!!!!