Are Indian schools preparing our kids with skills the future demands?

It was an interesting experience to moderate the discussion at the #KSPawards held yesterday, “Are Indian schools preparing our kids with skills for 2040?” The ready and immediate response this question solicits is that no our schools are not prepared to help students.

But that is an obvious and simplistic response. Revamping the curricula and education system is a complex and time-consuming endeavor, which is not only the responsibility of the government but a collaborative effort involving multiple stakeholders. The purpose of this panel was to build on existing dialogues, to try and raise greater awareness among parents and education services providers, so that we can collectively develop actionable solutions that make sense for the diverse needs of this country.

Why this debate and discussion?

In the past, it was accepted that an education system that revolved around competitive exams would prepare students for the job market. That is, however, not the case anymore. Just as our grandparents could not predict the impact of the digital revolution, we cannot perfectly predict the future of technology, industry and business. The world is rapidly transforming; it would be shortsighted to think what worked for a generation of Indian students and young professionals will work for our children.

Scott Klososky, former CEO of three successful technology companies and principal at consulting firm Future Point of View, recently shared his insights during an education conference in Mumbai. He explained that, over the next 20 years, 35% of jobs in the United States currently handled by humans will cease to exist. Even more staggering is the World Bank’s estimate that 69% of labor-based jobs in India could be replaced with artificial intelligence

Today’s jobs are fluid, requiring an array of skills ranging from critical thinking, communication and domain knowledge. A singular focus or ability to do well on an exam doesn’t offer the opportunity to develop or showcase those skills. Further, with the advent of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other technological advancements in this era of digital transformation, nobody knows what the careers of the future will look like, what activities will be uniquely human and how organizations will find balance between automation and human delivered output.

So, how do we encourage and empower students to build skills and knowledge that will prepare them to be productive members of society?

As a counselor who has advised parents and students, and who has represented educational institutions, I have observed several changes in the education landscape across India.

It is encouraging to see an array of meaningful opportunities in art, music, social service, drama, debate and more being offered at schools. An emphasis on development outside the classroom is definitely increasing, as Indian schools understand the value of learning beyond just academics. Moreover, many schools are offering international curricula, which have projects related to non-academic learning embedded in their lesson plans. Many schools across the country are also engaged in a dialogue about training and skilling of teachers – this is indeed important because teachers are role models who will be the facilitators of change.

At the same time, there is more that needs to happen. We cannot perfectly predict the demands of the future, which means that our children need to learn to be flexible and adaptable. Siloed, sequential thinking will not be effective. For example, urban planning is going to be critical as the world’s population increases. Architects, policy makers, environmental activists, sustainability experts as well as real estate developers will need to find integrated solutions to the problems facing future cities.

To prepare students, we need open and flexible curricula, which emphasize inter-disciplinary learning and exploration. We need to ensure that learning is a lifelong process, not one that ends with Class 12, a bachelor’s degree or a CA qualification.

Based on my experience and dialogue with school representatives and education services providers, here are some of the skills that I think will be useful for students in the future and which education eco-systems should encourage and nurture -

Analyzing and understanding information

?Information is now available at our finger tips. With a quick Google search, you can find the capital of any country, the date of a history-defining battle or even the genus and species name of an organism. Focusing on understanding, processing and drawing effective conclusions about this data is more important than memorizing volumes of mundane, searchable content. In many international schools, the curricula encourage students to do comprehensive research, analyze the findings and present their conclusions to their peers. This gives them first-hand experience of how to source, organize, analyze and apply data in a meaningful way.

Questioning and critical thinking

Traditionally, in India, the teacher’s word was gospel. If she said something was correct, you accepted that as the truth. But for our children to become strong critical thinkers, able to look beyond existing paradigms, they have to be able to question “truths”. In many schools, defying your teacher’s point of view or asking questions is seen as a sign of disrespect. Instead schools and teachers need to starting seeing themselves as facilitators of conversations, asking probing questions and encouraging discussion, rather than merely as lecturers delivering facts.

Encouraging healthy debates and asking questions will lead to greater awareness and ownership of issues that impact communities.

Problem solving

Currently students see problem solving as doing mathematics sums on paper or filtering information from a text. Content in schools should be more application-based. Whether you set up maker spaces and design thinking labs or optimize resources based on your budget, there are inventive ways to get students to use tools and available materials to address challenges in their immediate environments. This is an essential step toward hands-on, real time problem solving.

Basic Technology Skills

Many schools do not teach basic technology skills to younger children due to a lack of trained staff, budget, facilities, or an understanding of how to infuse technology into other parts of the curriculum. While students might learn computer languages through tuition or outside classes, it is just as important for them to learn job-ready skills such as coding, website design, Excel and PowerPoint, at school.

Written and Oral Communication Skills

Communication skills are vital in today’s work place and will continue to play an important role in the future. Since modernization of old syllabi has not happened in a systematic and structured way, school curricula are still focused on outdated use of language. In this digital age, schools need to embrace and teach students effective writing whether letters, emails or What’s App messages, and explore the pros and cons, suitability and ethical issues of each channel. Schools should help all students, not just those involved in MUN, elocution and theater, develop dynamic, engaging presentation skills.

Whether it is written or oral communication, students need to be adept at getting their points across in a timely, efficient and coherent way, across a range of media and platforms.

Global Citizenship

We live in a world where each person is a part of many communities, whether defined by geography, shared interests or cultural heritage. Encouraging our children to understand the power of collaboration is critical in ensuring that holistic, scalable solutions emerge from organizations and institutions. For example, in the future, health problems might be solved by technology fused with chemistry, ecology, and sociology, and our kids need to be able to think on all those levels to join the conversation.

It is crucial to engender empathy and compassion in young minds, while helping them develop collaborative skills; this needs to a collective effort - at home, an integral part of school and in the wider community.

What skills do you think are important? How do you think that schools should bring about this change? Please share your ideas and be part of the change.