The basic flaw in the present system is that it fails to reflect the national ethos adequately. The system of education devised by the erstwhile alien rulers was not in consonance with our national goals and aspirations The national spirit which marked the educational efforts during pre-Independence Days was conspicuous by its absence in the post-independence era. Put simply, Education was neither accorded due importance in the scheme of things nor adequate funds were allocated and the implementation of whatever educational policies were decided lacked the will and the commitment. It has taken more than 60 years to give primary education the status of fundamental right.
The educational system has acquired a dualist character. It operates with a strong class bias. There is a wide disparity in quality. While 75 per cent of children go through an educational programme of poor even rock-bottom quality provided mostly by government schools and colleges, 25 per cent benefit from a small number of quality institutions run by private organisations. The former hail from the lower strata of society while the latter come from the elite class.
Academic and administrative problems faced by the educational institutions are further compounded by government control and council or university regulations. Government policies and programmes are not effectively implemented. There are administrative, operational and financial problems.
The syllabi of many universities reveal the extent of academic backwardness. They spell out subjects which are neither job-oriented nor life oriented. When students enter the world, they are surprised that there is hardly any job for the course they have studied. For a young ambitious man hailing from a middle economic class family, it is sheer waste of time, energy and money to have spent three or five years in a college. It is not uncommon to see swarms of students finding no job eventually throng the abode of unemployed.
Vocationalisation of secondary education was accepted as a policy decision. The aim was to see that 25% of the students at the secondary level opt for the vocational stream by the year 1995. The time target was later revised to the year 2000 but even this target was not achieved and the scheme failed to take-off. In essence, the basic problem of India’s education system is the lack of National will to accord it the priority it deserves.
