Gurukuls to Schools: An insight into the past, present, and future of the Indian education system

Adhavan Kumar - Neev Academy, Bangalore

Email: adhavansk@gmail.com Linkedin

Abstract

This paper discusses the lingering problems of the Indian education system, stemming from the British legacy of education that continues till today. It dissects the major areas that need to be addressed while taking into account the government's current approach to improving the quality of learning through the NEP 2020. NEP 2020, although ambitious, lacks a clear action plan which makes its implementation a challenge. By understanding what the NEP’s targets and associated criticism are, this paper delves into further policy recommendations required in order to aid the fulfillment of the goals mentioned in NEP 2020 while furthering the quality of education for children in a feasible and practical manner. While reiterating some of NEP’s goals, this paper also introduces some new ideas that may improve student education in India and build a better foundation for future generations.

Context

Today’s Indian Education system is based heavily upon the methods, institutions and systems introduced and maintained by the British. During the British rule, two major concepts were introduced to the Indian Education system: textbooks and the idea of a common curriculum and the examination system. Prior to British rule, Indian education was highly specialized, catering to the students' future professions and tailored to the teachings of their individual gurus. The British, however, abolished this system of education, instead opting for a more centralized, common system that gave them control over Indian education. By introducing textbooks and a defined curriculum they began to restrict the knowledge students can learn, preventing specialization at a young age itself and discouraging the pursuit and creation of new knowledge. This system also pushed for english as the main language studied, sidelining native languages as well as the role of teachers in forming and teaching knowledge. The establishment of an examination also had similar consequences of restricting what students learned as well as propagating the infamous rote learning and cramming practices that India is still known for today. In order to perform well, cramming and memorizing became common methods of imbibing information. Today, we continue to follow this very same system, with little change to the curriculum. The Indian education system, therefore, faces similar foundational problems: restrictive curriculums, rote learning, cramming culture, and a lack of recognition of Indian history and culture. 

The Problems

The first and foremost problem that needs to be addressed in the Indian Education system is the quality of education. We can break this down into 2 aspects, the first of which is the curriculum and method of teaching itself. What once used to be a process of learning that gave children the freedom to explore what they wanted to learn is now a restricted course that forces students to memorize information regardless of its usage, practicality, or attractiveness for the student. A point to consider here is the “coaching culture” that has been built around these exams. The main hurdle this poses is the cycle of rote learning and exam oriented mindset that threatens to lead to a stagnation in the learning and education of younger generations. (NEP, IJPSS, Mohit Kumar). This problem can be further extrapolated as a cause for lower Gross Enrollment Ratios beyond primary education.

As seen here less people are enrolling in higher education with an especially steep drop after 10th grade. We can see a clear lack of interest in pursuing education amongst most Indians beyond 10th grade. [1]

The above table shows the reasons why children drop out of school. The most common reasons are a lack of interest in studies, economic or domestic activity engagements, or financial constraints. This shows us that the current method of educating students is clearly unattractive and leaving students uninterested in pursuing further studies. The lack of any immediate practical application of the knowledge learnt at school may also contribute to people dropping out to do economic or domestic activities. On top of this there is also a clear lack in actual learning. According to the ASER 2018 standardized test  only half of all grade 5 students could read a grade 2 text fluently even before COVID [2]. In the National achievement survey of 2017 only 45.2% of students were able to achieve the targeted performance levels across subjects and classes. 

Since COVID this has dropped further due to the second problem with the quality of education, infrastructure. Most government schools are lacking in infrastructure. 

According to PRS less than 1/4th of households have access to the internet and according to UNICEF less than 1/3rd of schools in India have ICT labs with functioning computers. This has led to difficulties adopting online schooling and incorporating digital tools into teaching and learning methods. There is a lack of labs and equipment required for practical application, partly due to the course material focusing mainly on rote learning and also due to a lack of funding for that.

In the Annualized change from 2019-20 Actuals to 2021-22 Budget we can see a decrease in funding for organizations like the national education mission or Samagra Shiksha which allocate a portion of these funds for infrastructure development and maintenance. In the revised stage there was a further 28% decrease as well [1]. The final contributing factor to the quality of education are teachers. Many schools are facing an issue with teacher vacancies due to a lack of interest in the profession. Another issue being pointed out is the outdated curriculums of B. Ed and D. Ed which need to be revised. The poor content of teacher education and the lack of continuous in-service teacher training and upgradation of skill set are contributing to a decrease in the quality of education. 

So far what has been discussed are the problems with education up till 12th grade. Higher education in India faces some similar problems such as a low enrollment rate. This is mostly due to financial constraints, with limited seats the alternative for most people are private universities. These universities are profit driven, however, the outlook of the current government on education is that it is a charitable act that must be done without profit motives. This is leading to a clash in ideologies which is not being addressed. In the absence of well-defined norms private universities continue to charge capitation fees which acts a barrier for students trying to enroll in higher education. Another problem is that some institutions in India run unaccredited courses. Since there is no legislation strong enough to ensure legal action against them, no sizable action is taken against this. Quality assurance mechanisms have failed to stop misrepresentations and malpractices in higher education as well [3]. The second problem is the reservation system. This system essentially reserves certain seats in education institutions for people belonging to ‘backward classes’, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, etc. This was done in order to take into consideration those who are underprivileged due to unfair circumstances such as oppression through the caste system, providing them with equal opportunity to reserve some seats for them. This system of reservation was introduced by the British in 1933 [4]. The Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act was enacted in 2005, inserting Article 15(5) in the Constitution.  This empowered the government to mandate reservations in private educational institutions [5]. Today, however, there is a requirement for reconsidering this policy. The relevance of caste in whether or not someone is underprivileged is something that needs to be considered. Together these problems need to be dealt with in the current Indian higher education system. 

NEP 2020

In light of all these problems, the government has created the National Education policy 2020. The goal of this policy is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030. The NEP acknowledges that previous education policies were focused on access to education and equity. Acts such as the right of children to free and compulsory education of 2009 address this issue of providing access to education to all students. Samagra Shiksha is another programme that focuses on improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes. These programmes and acts have been relatively successful in providing education to India's young population with close to hundred percent of the population in the age groups of primary and upper primary being enrolled in schools. 

Now NEP 2020 is looking to shift focus towards the quality of education with a goal of achieving the best quality education by 2040. With a focus on mathematics, computer science, datascience, and climate change awareness, NEP 2020 proposes a series of steps in order to achieve quality education. A summary of some of the important basic goals that address the problems mentioned above: emphasis on conceptual understanding rather than rote learning, flexibility and choice in subjects, regular formative assessments, less focus on summative assessments, incorporating technology, respect for diversity and local context, continuous review of progress. Multidisciplinarity and the idea of learning how to learn are key aspects that the NEP emphasizes in its suggestion towards improving the teaching quality. To combat the declining GER the NEP also recommends strengthening of existing schemes and policies which are targeted for such socio-economically disadvantaged groups (for instance, schemes for free bicycles for girls or scholarships) to tackle dropouts as well as establishing special education zones in areas with a significant proportion of disadvantaged groups. For higher education NEP suggests an increase in institution size (with enrollments in the thousands) with one large multidisciplinary institution in or near every district by 2030 [6]. For foundational literacy and numeracy the suggestion made is to set up a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy under the MHRD. A national repository of high-quality resources on foundational literacy and numeracy will be made available on the government's e-learning platform (DIKSHA) [6]. In terms of curriculum the main proposal of NEP 2020 is replacing the 10+2 system with a 5+3+3+4 system. The initial 5 years takes into consideration early years education from age 3. The idea behind this is to focus on a more holistic early years education, otherwise known as ECCE (Early childhood care and education). This contributes to the goal of establishing foundational literacy and numeracy by grade 3. 

In higher education the NEP 2020 suggests a drastic change. Restructuring institutions form the previous system to just three types now; research universities focusing equally on research and teaching, teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching, and degree granting colleges primarily focused on undergraduate teaching.  All such institutions will eventually move towards autonomy, administratively, financially, and academically. The NEP 2020 also aims to implement a new regulatory system where regulation, accreditation, funding and setting academic standards are performed by separate, independent bodies. This is implemented with the aim of decentralizing regulatory authority and thereby decreasing conflicts of interest as well. The NEP, however, does not address the reservation system. 

Policy Recommendations

• Teacher Education
  

This is partially addressed in NEP 2020, teacher education needs to be revised and upgraded. Since the advent of the British, the role of teachers has been diminished and long with it the education of teachers. It is therefore paramount that a clear curriculum framework for teacher education is made as mentioned in the NEP 2020. Adding on to this,a system for reviewing and monitoring teachers in class is required. This will help maintain the quality of teaching and motivate teachers to continue improving. The role of teachers in curriculum making and teaching should also be considered. Drawing from the gurukul way of teaching, the curriculum was personalized for students and specific to their specialization. While it is not possible to replicate the same, drawing from this is a good idea as we can add weightage to teacher inputs when it comes to local curricula that students follow as they have the most knowledge about what would work best for the children in that school. 

• Language
  

Indian education has been primarily bi-lingual so far with English and the local language being taught usually. The NEP 2020 has suggested that schools teach in only the local language up till grade 5 which poses certain challenges as English is the language of mobility in India. It may therefore be much more practical to teach in English while also having classes for 2nd and 3rd languages. Another issue to be considered is the push for hindi to be taught in every school. Many states have a negative outlook on this enforcement of Hindi which may not bode well with many schools. It is instead better to provide freedom of choice that allows students to pick the language they want to learn. This however requires enough teachers which is a challenge that needs to be dealt with while implementing the first policy recommendation. 

• A plan of action
  

One of the most criticized aspects of the NEP 2020 which does attempt to solve many of the problems mentioned is its lack of a plan of implementation. Many of its goals are just that, goals, and some of them are almost impossible. Doubling the GER rate for HEI as mentioned in the policy, for example, requires one new university to be opened every week for the next 15 years in order to be achieved. These goals, therefore, need to be reviewed with a clear roadmap and a plan of action made for each that timelines every milestone on the way. 

• Multidisciplinarity
  

The concept of multidisciplinarity is in line with providing students the freedom of choice. By exposing students to the interconnected nature of the subject, it becomes much easier to reinforce critical thinking skills and real world application which utilizes multiple subjects. The recommendation here is to create a curriculum that provides space for students to approach the links between subjects in real life and have the opportunity to use them in practice. The acquisition and application of this knowledge can be addressed through project based learning that aims to replicate real life problems or situations. 

In higher education the NEP 2020 clearly emphasizes this concept however there is an issue. Multidisciplinarity is a foundation aspect that needs to be present in the early years and even up till secondary school, however, higher education is inherently specialized. It may therefore be more practical to have multiple colleges in or near a district that offer different streams of subjects that they specialize in. This allows students to pursue the subject they want without being restricted due to a lack of choice. These tasks, however, of involving real world applications in the curriculum and providing multiple colleges in a district that specialize in different streams of subject requires a lot of infrastructure and funding which means that a larger portion of the budget must be allocated towards infrastructure specifically and this has to be monitored and reviewed in order to check the utilization of these funds as well.

• Internal Exams
  

The NEP 2020 established that more focus must be put on formative assessments which will discourage the coaching culture. However the policy still relies on standardized final exams in 3rd, 5th and 8th. This also does not help the problem of having a restricted curriculum due to having a centralized body controlling the education system, just as with the British. Therefore, the policy being recommended here is to have internal assessments. Internal assessments provide scope for student projects that are graded on established criteria by teachers within the school. The precedent for this system can be observed in curricula such as IB. Providing these assessments as much weightage as standardized exams would help assess the students application of knowledge as well their critical thinking skills. Regular reviews of the schools grading of students also helps reinforce and maintain the quality of assessment.

• Ethics Education
  

Borrowing from the gurukul education system. One of the key aspects of such education was ethics. Or to put it in other words, how to use the knowledge one learns. Adding this as a mandatory aspect in school curriculums is crucial as we must provide the tools for students to navigate the world as well as how to responsibly use them. 

• Reservation system
  

As mentioned earlier, the reservation system is outdated in terms of who provides equal opportunity. It is therefore required that the factors identifying those who are underprivileged are reviewed and as such are eligible for reservation seats. Working with a definition from 1933 is not practical nor relevant in today's socio-economic context.

PASTEL Analysis

Stakeholder Impact Analysis

Conclusion

The current Indian education system is riddled with problems, whether it be enrollment rates, corruption, quality of learning, curriculum. Government schemes have so far been successful in ensuring access to primary education for all students. With NEP 2020, we can look forward to even more policies aimed at improving the quality of education for children. However, the NEP 2020 is limited in its planning and actionable points. It is therefore crucial that the document is overlooked once more and clear roadmaps are laid out in order to achieve the ambitions goals set out by the policy. Beyond this, 7 crucial aspects must be considered. The languages we teach children. English is crucial and must be taught in 2 other languages. Educating teachers is paramount as we need more qualified teachers to push forward most other policies related to education while reinstating the role and importance of teachers in deciding how children are taught. Teaching students how to responsibly use their knowledge. Revising the beneficiaries of the reservation system. Enabling multidisciplinarity. Changing exams to internal, project based ones.Establishing a clear plan of action around NEP 2020’s goals. These 7 recommendations will help further the goals India is trying to achieve while bettering the quality of education in a practical and feasible manner for the benefit of students and society as whole.

Bibliography

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