The year 2015 is another last chance for India. Get it right – educate and skill well – and India’s rise follows.
I present three parts to this tale of transition from 2014 to 2015..
PART I
The Edu-India 2014 review, (And the leaky boat metaphor) :
The verdict, upfront:
This year has been interesting for education, not for its grand ideas but for its little fixes. It is time, come 2015 and the Budget, that some significant moves are made
The metaphor:
The problems in education in India are akin to a leaky boat. After a while, one counts so many holes that one wonders if the boat itself needs to be changed, or if the leaks could be fixed. The story of education in India is a story of fixing leaks, with the promise of a new boat along the way.
2014, as observed:
- The focus on delivery
- The need to be above reproach
- The escalation of issues
- The outreach from the Ministry of Human Resource Development
The full article can be read here: https://eduvichar.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/education-policy-plug-the-leaks-or-change-the-boat-2014-assessed/
PART II
The 3 Grand Debates of 2014:
I will call it the year of the battle between tradition and innovation. Globally and in India. It was the year of doubt, a year of taking a stand, and a year of gathering arguments as ammunition. A year of consolidation on some of the questions that have plagued us for long. These debates are not ended yet.
The first manifest itself as the debate on standards and standardisation.
The second trend was the play for textbooks and curricula (where the line between nationalism, politics and education were blurred)
The third trend has seen consolidation is the steady growth of reliable research on education with a degree of granularity that makes it actionable.
The debates of this year are about the global citizen of the future.
The full article can be read here: https://eduvichar.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/education-india-2014-the-questions-that-plague/
PART III
The 5 Mind-Shifts (in Education) required to Leap into a Higher Growth Rate
To change its pace of development, India needs to leapfrog into a higher rate of growth. It can only do that on the back of education and skiils. And for that, traditional thinking must give way to these 5 mindshifts
I start with …
I was glad I did not know the boy standing on the high diving board, hesitating to take the leap. As I walked past, I realised it was the perfect analogy for India and her education issues. We still have to take that leap. It is known that the waters will be chill for a while, there will be shock; it will take some courage to take the leap, but it must be done. Standing up on the diving board only exposes oneself to fear and vulnerability; it won’t get us to a place where we can at least join the race, forget about winning it.
Sure, we know the tools – these are but pieces of the jigsaw….
What needs to be done for these youth? Better schools? Trained teachers? Smarter textbooks? Online lessons? Low-stakes assessments? Skilling? All of that surely, but more needs to be done. The solution to India’s ‘opportunities’ lies in shifting from a constrained resource mindset to feeding unconstrained ambitions. The big leap in education needs different thinking. Though not necessarily radical yet. For example, we are not completely ready to shift all learning out of the classrooms. The new thinking needs to be a step ahead in goal setting for education itself. We need a mindshift to design the new education policy and here are five suggestions for the same.
- Education as investment
- Education as an essential infrastructure
- Education as influence
- Education as an industry
- Education as inspiration
You can read the full article here: https://eduvichar.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/5-mindshifts-required-for-indias-education-policy-5i/
In Conclusion:
What does it mean for Policy and Practice?
In short: Design your Regulations, Allocate your Resources and Govern for Results in line with the above 5I – use it as a checklist.
(Simple, put it in a 5×3 table, the 5Is on one side, 3Rs on the other. Fill the cells with actions and guidelines)
Wishing you a happy new year!
Meeta W Sengupta 