The Classroom Test

While 85%, 90%, and 95% of students attend government schools in the United States, England, and Japan respectively, only 45% of students do so in India. This is a tragedy, as free, quality and regular school education are the very foundation of future India. The reason for this decline happening despite higher salaries for teachers and government funding is to be investigated.?

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While Ram Manohar Lohia wrote in 1959 that powerful Indians share three things namely caste, wealth, and English education, the idea that meritocracy must work began ruling the world by 2000. India's idea of meritocracy is however ruined due to failed government schools, leading to efforts like 25% Right To Education (RTE) in private schools.?

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India's 100% enrolment figure hides the fact that only 50% of 5th graders can properly read and comprehend a Grade 2 text. Of the total schools in India, 4 lakh of them have less than 50 students each. The total number of students in China is the same as India's, with just 30% of schools (30% of the number of schools in India).?

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Today's workplace needs capability in the form of the 3Rs which are reading, writing, and arithmetic. A fourth R has now been included which is relationships. All this requires time to learn and grasp. India's farm to non-farm transition is strangely not happening to manufacture, rather it is happening to services, and in that to only in sales and customer services. That mainly needs the 4R competency and English awareness. The future needs learners, because most of the repetitive jobs will be managed by machines. Education will move from the factory model (teaching the same thing in the same way to everyone) to the medical model (teaching everyone differently and that too in a way in which they understand it the best).?

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The government now needs to move one step up, in terms of reforming education operations. Performance management cannot just be the attendance taken by teachers. It must include scores, skills, competence, and classroom management. Governance has to move away from control to learning outcomes. Performance management has to end superficialities and be substantive (stop pretending). English instruction is about bilingualism and more opportunities across geographies, sectors, and roles. Dalits are at the receiving end of the elite-favoring system in India, where higher opportunities come easily in English but government schools such as that in West Bengal do not prefer English.?

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In the Constitution of India, the education policy is present in List I (Centre), List-II (State), and List III (Concurrent). This must be modified, as a lot of power is concentrated in Delhi which affects local appointments and transfers.?

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The year 2021 presents a deadly challenge for us Indians as crores of students are out of schooling, and many of them are permanently pulled out of school. It's a now or never situation for India.

- Aindri Abhishek Singh