India’s education policy needs a revamp

India’s Education Policy Needs a Revamp The Education Sector in India is going through a rough time as many of the students that pursue a degree from the top colleges are still unemployed or working for very low wages. Consider this scenario where an engineer student studies for four years passes out with distinction and now gets a salary of Rs.10000 only. Yes, it’s true such severe conditions in the education sector persist and it may be due to other reasons or the way the education sector works.

Only the students that pursue education from a top notch college are not affected by such conditions. Hence pursuing a degree from the best college is very crucial. There are many top colleges in Pune that provide better education to the students. Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic, due to its remarkable performance towards the students is been ranked as the best polytechnic college in Pune. The students wanting to take big steps in the engineering field, polytechnic will be the first step to getting there.

To cope up with the need we must take some steps in overhauling the education policy. These changes can decide the fate of the young crowd. We must start with thinking what changes should be made?

What facilities must be provided to the youth? Better schools? Smarter textbooks ? Trained teachers? Online lessons ? Skilling ? Surely all of these, but there are more things that need to be done. The big change in education sector needs different thinking. Though it’s not yet necessarily. For ex, we are not ready in completely shifting learning from inside classroom to the outside. The new thinking or change in the system needs at least a step ahead in goal setting for the education sector.

Here are five suggestions that can be used to design the new education policy: 1) Education as an investment: How does one measure the faith a good school gives or the friends one makes for life? But most things that can improve earnings for each year of education, the importance of networks, the gains to investors for professional courses focused towards employability, etc. The change from expenditure as an input into a dark hole to an investment shapes the attitudes and beliefs from education entirely.

2) Education as an infrastructure: It is the next change required. It is not of much value if there are bullet trains and superhighways when there is no one to create value out of these. Education is fine infrastructure and must get priority investments and concessions like the other infrastructure sector. Just as one knows and supports preferences in infrastructure, one needs to know priorities in education and complete them through a medium-term national education policy.

3) Education as an impact: Not just as part of the national story for national pride but also as a reason to raise the nation’s power across the globe. Education has been adopted by various countries as soft power, the point that you are reading this blog in English is evidence of such control. Countries spread this soft power by encouraging foreign students to pursue an education in their countries and go back with honor, deep friendships and also a valuable degree. This is a complex, but powerful plan for India’s national aims and must be planned for in the national education policy.

With an improvement in the number of institutes, facilities in colleges and enrollment, the annual dropout rates have come down by 1.28%, from 5.62% in 2011-12 to 4.67% in 2012-2013 to 4.34% in 2013-14 for all category students. The dropout rate for boys decreased by 1.36% from 5.89% to 4.68% to 4.53% and for girls decreased by1.2% from 5.34% to 4.66% to 4.14% percentage point respectively during the year 2011, 2012 and 2013.

4) Education as an industry Though education may be a not-for-profit sector by law, it contains all the other features of an industry. The only and most important difference here in education is that it deals with people and their development process. And it is much easy to say that in education, people are the product. The industry has problems like vendor management, funding problems and more the same as the education sector may have. But, the education sector denies the answers to these problems that come from the corporate world, the business of education can learn all the things from the successful solutions of the industry. As per changing the education policy design, it means supporting more businesses to start and grow by encouraging the young entrepreneurs to improve their service delivery and standards continuously.

5) Education as an inspiration.

The goal of education is to foster us to be better human beings who develop societies and civilizations that are valued over a period of time. Education must promote us in ways we haven't even been able to see earlier. Inspiration actually means inhaling of breath, the life force.

Education is just like a life force that will drive us to the better future and build more value. To think employment as a purpose of education is not correct, it is only the first step in shaping the future. School teaching must allow the students to be inspired to find more things and learn, faculty must be inspired to head classes and not just teach them. The education policy has to be changed to boost the sector and make it to a whole new level of growth.

These five changes are essential to strengthen an education policy.