Eye on India

My Trip to India was more than a fun actually but I tried to sneeze into the world’s largest growing economy. I tried my best and every moment I was trying to figure out why they are going good even though they have graver problems than ours. So whatever I am going to write is under the code of conduct of Journalism and totally Unbiased.

I’ll be reviewing both the good and the bad that I noticed.

Goods:

Education: If anyone asks what is the best thing about India? I would say education. It’s not the quality but the system. I reviewed books not thoroughly though but at least it gave me idea what actually India wants from its future. The primary education books were of fine quality from curriculum point of view. There was a good emphasis on science education which is basically future of any era. Coming to Board system, it was divided into two; one was state board system which was not considered as the best and other one was CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education)- the same as Federal Board over here. But there was eye-catching difference between CBSE books and State Board books and their paper-pattern as well. The best thing was there wasn’t any concept of cheating over there. Defining briefly, in CBSE studying smartly was the key factor to success rather than studying and remembering more like in board system.

As far as University/College level education is concerned, it is almost the same everywhere in the world. The difference can be the kind of faculty available and the R&D opportunities being provided or cultivated. I didn’t feel any difference between the technical education over there and here in Pakistan. The subjects were same; books being followed were same and even the course outline was the same. But the difference was there wasn’t any concept of GPA over there but percentage system except in IITs where there was GPA system. There were more colleges being affiliated to a university rather than hundreds of universities for instance, 283 engineering colleges of Tamil Nadu were affiliated with ANNA Univeristy, Chennai and almost 500 different kinds of colleges were affiliated with Bombay Univeristy. And actaully this was good but it increase harmony as students of those 283 colleges were getting the same degree and they all give the same exam unlike here where there are chain of univeristies rather affiliations. So in this way, new and good colleges will groom faster depending upon their results because the parameter for measuring the quality of education is same.

Another and may be the best thing about Indian Education was “Cheap”. The best education was accessible to even lower middle-class if not lower class unlike in Pakistan. Fees of even the best schools were bearable. I.e. my two cousins in Chennai pay only 15K (each) per annum when they are in the best school of the city unlike in metro cities of Pakistan where 15K is fees of one month alone (i.e. KGS, Lyceum and many more).

The only bad thing in education system was the trend of coaching centers. This thing is pointing to the emptiness being left by the school system i.e. in US there is barely any concept of Coaching and tuitions it’s because their schooling is so strong. I myself have gone through this phase of life, so I know how dependable coaching can make you sometimes. In Mumbai, parents were flowing here and there to get the admission of their child in the best coaching centre submitting the fees of whole 2 years together. Coaching is more of a wastage of time if one gets even moderate teacher in school.

I have also witness the side-effects of this good system. Kids were being buried with the high hopes of parents. JEE, Medical, CAT, MSCE, AIEEE, AIMS, IIT, IIM, NIIT and blah blah blah. Parents were stressing more on the degree which is hot in the market irrespective to the skills of their child. I noticed this thing almost every where. Very few schools were providing counseling though but I met one counselor, she says “Actually students are less willing to utilize us”.

But still this promising system was working fine for the government and the economy and that’s what has been and will be the secret of success of India.

-This series of articles ll be continuing. I’ll be covering other good and bad aspects of India. If someone want to add or rectify something he or she is more than welcome.