The much maligned Indian education system-Silver lining in dark cloud discussions


As someone who has been part of the education system, observing, interacting and teaching students, the engagement with the system has often lead to a questioning of practices and discussions with students ,teachers and parents have more often than not reflected a sense of frustration,despair,anger and in some cases a cultivated indifference. Stories of unrealistic academic pressure, draconian methodologies, long working hour’s coupled with low salaries…these normally form the framework of the system we engage with on a daily basis. In such a scenario, sometimes you come across a story with a silver lining and komala’s story gives us an insight into the inherent strengths in our system.

When I first met Komala , she was a bright eyed shy young girl. She had just moved to Bangalore from her village in Andhra Pradesh. Having studied in a Telegu medium government school, she was now being admitted to a corporation school in Bangalore and had been given admission into the eighth standard. To say that the journey ahead of her was herculean would be an understatement-she had to learn two new languages, adjust to a new cultural environment and had been told by her father that if she did not “pass” she would have to go back to the village. Susheela ,her mother worked as a maid in our apartment and I would often enquire about her daughter’s progress. “I really don’t know what she was doing but she is studying all the time”. Once in a while Komala would come home and I was amazed at how quickly she grasped concepts and progressed. By the end of the year, she could write paragraphs in both kanada and English and was reading at level. A few months ago ,she appeared for her tenth standard public exams. When the results came she was devastated. She had failed in kananda and science by a few marks. With some help from her teachers, she sat for the re-examinations and passed.

The whole process had given her tremendous confidence. Realising her potential , Komala was sent to meet a principal of a private college. During the interview, he was so impressed with her ability to communicate and her determination to further her education, he offered her a place in his institution to study Commerce. Encouraged by the faith shown in her, she has decided to stay in the college hostel so that she can attend extra classes in the evening and the principal has insisted that she attend either a sport/dance/theatre as part of their extracurricular program. The day she came to say goodbye, I saw a young lady in front of me-excited, nervous and with stars in her eyes. The shay young girl was a distant memory.
What interested me about Komala’s journey was besides witnessing the metamorphosis of potential was the inherent strengths in our education system that allowed such a transformation.
1.Komala’s potential could not have been realised without the support and guidance of her teachers at the government school. She speaks about teachers who stayed back afterhours to help her in her initial period of transition, which motivated her when things were down and who always told her to continue despite failure.
2.The rote learning helped a student like koala who could use her skill of retention to initiate her into the system. Especially as the medium of instruction was now in an alien tongue. What I realised was that the rote system did not exclude her from grasping the concepts and further questioning the content. Most teachers she said answered her “extra” questions and others directed her to Google!-Also many of the teachers had taught the subject in a manner that had helped her grasp the essence and her inability to articulate clearly was more a language barrier rather than a lack of understanding.

3.Failing a public exam was not the end of the journey. The system gave someone like Komala a chance to try again.
4.For someone like Komala, the chance to experience a holistic education would have been a remote possibility. That there are institutions who give students from lower economic groups the opportunity to work on their other intelligences is reassuring.

Komala’s story is not unique-She is a representative of a growing percentage of our country’s population who are breaking down barriers within the framework of our current system. For these young people, the main drive is an economic one and the elitist aims of education as a tool for personal exploration does not exist.
No system is utopian in its implementation. There is much that needs to be reworked in our current scenario. However, there are also strengths and possibilities-perhaps viewing our system in a more positive light will help students, teachers, policymakers and parents build upon the strengths that we sometimes ignore. That should be fodder for discussion.