Ancient India had various ideas about education. From the varnashram system, one can easily see that there used to be kind of mandatory education and going to the gurukul was an ancient practice, where one teacher would cater to many students. Yet, Taxashila University became the first model of a multi teacher-many students’ structure complete with residential facilities for the learners. The Nalanda University and its libraries are testimonials of India’s glorious educational past. Though these were destroyed by the invaders along with many other centres for learning, education was almost universal even till the time the British came. For instance, the Madras archives revealed that India had thousands of schools and colleges way back in 1822.
Many modern researchers blame the destruction of indigenous social, political, educational systems on Macaulay and Max Mueller. But many ignore the influences of Wilber Wilforce, a missionary/evangelist, who believed “that it was impossible to conceive that there was any virtue in India; their belief that the people of India were in constant misery and sunk in wretchedness because of their ignorance of Christianity.” James Mill, who chronicled the history of British in India, believed that ‘India was very effeminate and so came very low on his scale of civilization also impacted the way Indian education system was re-engineered.”
However, historical evidence suggests that the earlier Indian model of education was taken to England, remodelled and then sent back to ‘educate’ the masses, making them ‘brown sahibs’ and clerks to serve the British colonialism cause.
Be that as it may, the system produced some great personalities like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhiji. However, as an overall impact of this system the masses got alienated from Indian tradition and heritage.
According to Tagore, India’s role in the world is ‘giving light to the world’ or knowledge. India has been a knowledge society for millennia, and it is still that in a way. However, the present system, which focuses largely on acquiring a degree and not education, is the biggest tragedy. IITs, IIMs and many others institutes are world class. But, there are fewer such centres of excellence. Perhaps, this is the primary reason why many Indian bright sparks could not make their mark on the world stage.
Indian educational philosophy revolves around character building, and not merely getting some information. Quest for knowledge is synonymous with seeking truth, and degree, certificate is irrelevant in that scheme of things. How to use the knowledge for harnessing creativity and earn one’s livelihood certainly entails a definitive social responsibility. And finally, religion has to be separated from education. There is a crying need for more non-religious schools since character building must be an integral part of an education system.
However the ground reality is far from ideal. If every Indian citizen must be educated, the country needs many more schools, colleges and universities. No wonder, the educational institutes are mushrooming. Unfortunately, more than half of young folks coming out of these institutes wouldn’t find a suitable job. Yet, India needs thousands of talented professionals for its domestic needs. There is an attempt to woo some foreign universities to set up shop in India. Is this what India needs? No. India first needs a team of thinkers to evaluate what are its immediate and future needs. In order to re-structure and assess the future, it needs to study the requirements and job opportunities for various states and sectors, and also keep an eye out for the long term needs and trends.
‘God will take care of things’ is a sophistry. Perhaps, God is running the show in India. How else with growing corruption, black money, lack of accountability, frenetic rat race to accumulate wealth, aspiration for a contrived lifestyle and lack of compassion for compatriots would have been allowed to breed with such monotonous regularity.
Now, think of the future. When European and American population grays, who’s going to supply talented workers in every field? Would it be Pakistan or Bangladesh, where population growth is also very high? Would it be China, whose population is aging and majority doesn’t speak English? India, of course, will take the largest share. An exodus of talents hitherto unthinkable may happen only within few decades. What will happen to indigenous needs and requirements?
So, the ‘giver of light’ must focus on the needs of its millions of citizens. India does not need an education industry, where millions of certificates are doled out annually. The nation needs institutions where knowledge is imparted for improving moral standards and patriotic feelings, making the society a better place to live in.
