As we celebrate the "Devi" during the 'Navaratr", we pray to all of her incarnations, be it Kali, be it Laxmi. As an academic, and even otherwise, as per our family priorities, perceptions and proclivities which have shaped me, I adore Devi Saraswati.
I find everything about her image gorgeous. Her mild demeanour, her unmistakable brilliance, her gentle goodness are my ideals, too. She is kindly unified with Nature, too. The peacock, her vehicle, is unbelievably beautiful, and truly independent. It can never be domesticated. Like imagination, like intelligence, like creativity!
As Navratr Shashthi and Saptami are closely related to Devi Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and education (in many states, a child is taught the rudiments of script/alphabet on the sixth day of the Navratra), I want to make the following observations. My comments are based on the stark realities of the tertiary stage of education. Could be true of the earlier stages as well. I do not know enough as i have never taught at these levels.
Currently the talk is centered around soft skills, right? These people skills are sure power skills. They are supposed to inculcate work ethic, leadership qualities, time management, collaborative style, et al. Superb, great! Well, given the doubting Thomas ever awake within me, I feel a certain unease!
Are students' presentations/assignments/submissions any proof of the mature self that should thus emerge as they are in their very late teens and/or early twenties? Sadly, the answer is a resounding "no". Credit-crazy, they seem to believe in the minimalist philosophy, in as little effort as is possible! The AI, anyways, is Alladin's lamp these days!
Under the pretext of extra credit courses, students would give some excuse or the other for avoiding any actual studying. Under such pretexts, they surely paint the campus, and the entire town, red!True, it is not totally their fault. Often lectures do not take place at all. Nobody feels anything wrong or horrible at all that whenever lectures do happen, of an entire batch of hundred and twenty students, not even one-fourth remains present in the classroom! Saturdays are informally off, it seems!
Sure soft skills do matter. The core of education, however, is the hard skills! If you were to look either at the etymology or at the history of the concept called 'skill(s)', you would realise that the concept means the intellectual prowess to discern, to distinguish, to analyse, to understand.
When students do not attend lectures, and neither their parents nor the authorities in colleges/universities care, how would they develop any basic understanding of the subject? They may gallivant around the whole town under the pretext of some event or the other, they may dance, croon, sell food items, etc on campus, et al. Such "soft" abilities are sure to make them "smart".
What about the 'hard' skills though? If the students do not even know the basics of their core discipline as they rarely attend lectures, and without any impunity, how would they be job-ready, especially given the marauding AI? Industries apparently cry hoarse that most students are ''unemployable". The basic reason behind this inability is their total ignorance of their core discipline! They never learn how to learn, moreover!
Unfortunately, the entire educational system is more interested in 'showing' the success rate. So somehow "passing", in all senses of the term, the students matters! There are teachers(!) who subtly and/or openly leak the (entire) question papers, students(!) study (!!) only that much the night before the exam, and all are happy that nobody failed!
Well, when there are teachers whom students tell the page number of the guide from which they teach, when there are teachers who overnight publish books (the 'self-publishing mode' as well as 'publishing against payment' have completely ruined scholarship), when there are teachers who give ten on five, who can 'correct' thousand answer sheets in a day, who 'allow' students to submit as per their sweet wish-n-will, who tell students not to attend as they stay far away, why would "smart" students care???
There are students who stay in Madhya Pradesh, while registered in a Pune college! Most students are busy with some coaching (which makes them exam-ready without any/much clarity at the base/core level), or the other. Why cannot students carry on such coaching, pocket money providing teenie-weenie jobs, extra-curricular activities, preparing for events, et al, after college hours which strech up to twelve noon tops? Otherwise, how about joining the very many Open Universities, and get a degree as per personal convenience?
If during the school days, parents prepare all the project work, if the graduation studies consists of 'regular bunking', how can students learn even the basics? Why the compulsion to pass students somehow? Why not at least seventy-five compulsory attendance at the tertiary level? Such and many more are the pressing issues. Urgent steps are necessary to empower education. Hope Devi Saraswati thus enlightens all!
Pratima@They say, lack of money just cannot be hidden. Neither can be hidden the total lack of basic information, forget knowledge or wisdom!
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