Much development has been witnessed in the field of education. In Goa, the MoI issue is dividing her citizens into different camps. Union Education Minister, Kapil Sibal’s proposal regarding the Common Entrance Test (CET) is much talked about. Ever since the Right to Education(RTE) Act came into force, our education system has been experiencing a complete overhaul. The central idea of these changes is to modernise our education system. We are trying to adopt the American methodology. India has more number of graduates and degree-holders than America, but the American concept of learning is to understand what is given in the textbooks and syllabus, and think over it. It is not simply to agree with the textbook as if it were a holy text. It is to argue, differentiate and even disagree with what is given in the textbooks. It is about originality and innovation-something which is frowned upon by Indian teachers and students. When a student asks something which seems to contradict textual ideas, he is either laughed at by his fellow students or given an unsatisfactory answer by his teacher, thus killing his curiosity. The true goal of education is not to produce millions of degree holders, but to make a thousand people think. It is to nurture in them a sense of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. The purpose of education is to create a sensible human being, and not a good money making machine. Why are most of our IITans going the ‘Three Idiots’ way? Should we call this a ‘brain drain’?
Creating a balance in our right and left brain would bring in harmony in our thoughts and actions. Let teachers encourage their students to think outside the box. Let teachers love and respect for knowledge. Students should be intellectually independent thinkers. The student-teacher relationship should ideally be an interactive relationship, and not a static one. As the changes affect us, the minds of the youth would be activated. Only time will tell if the ongoing changes weave the mindset of the society in a positive or a negative web. We can only predict that ignited minds would give rise to imagination, laced with positive thinking, and sow a dream in Indian youth to conquer the world with their knowledge.
(The writer is a student at Smt Parvatibai Chowgule Junior College, Margao)
