Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Challenges of Education.


Challenge to provide Equality and Quality in Education
HRD Minister has paved the way for huge challenges ahead by promising quality education to all. It has already been seen that it will be difficult to do so in the absence of good teachers. The Act says that no student would be dropped from school or not passed till the age of 14. With the mix of such students in class, it would be very difficult for the teachers to ensure quality. Substantial efforts would be required to maintain and impart quality education.Teachers and the supporting staff of schools will find it tough to remain impartial and treat all the students on an equal footing without any biases. Besides this, they will also be responsible for encouraging harmony amongst the varying strata of students.

Challenge to Enforce 25% Quota for Weaker Sections
We Can Study Together Now!
It remains to be seen whether this clause to reserve 25% of seats for weaker sections by Private unaided schools will turn out to be a boon or a bane. On one hand the Act aims at removing this bipolarity in education and on the other it is feared that interfering in the functioning of private schools will have an adverse effect on the quality of education. These institutes claim to have brought some semblance of order to the education system in our country.It is going to be a challenge for the government to work out modalities which can strike a balance between a six year old child who has just entered school and a child who has been to a school since the age of 3. It will be a cultural and social shock for him. Since it will be mandatory not to fail any child till standard 8th, the classes would be full and ensuring quality education in the light of this a huge challenge. The biggest challenge in this is going to be the definition of weaker sections. This is where malpractices can creep in. A monitoring mechanism will also have to be set up to ensure its fair implementation.

What will happen when a child belonging to the quota category wants to change school in higher classes? Logistics need to be worked out for a smooth transition there also. Will this help in eradicating the socioeconomic divide? It is tough task to bring together children from varying economic and social backgrounds on the same platform. It would indeed be challenging for the teachers to maintain equilibrium and create an environment for them to blend together.

Challenge to Bring Child Laborers to Schools
Will we get a chance to go to school?
Now that right to education has become a fundamental right of each and every child , it should also be applicable to those thousands of students who are being used as child laborers and have been denied education till now.There are more than 12 million children in India who are engaged in child labor and these are just official figures. Unless and until a special provision is made in the Act, it would be challenging to bring back these children to school.These are some of the problems that have littered the path but our HRD Minister is quite confident of overcoming these challenges and propel India towards even greater heights.This Act has put India in the same league as U.S.A. and 130 other Nations as far as the right to education is concerned. Nothing can change overnight but there is a ray of hope. A hope that if all these hurdles and shortcomings are overcome and the loopholes removed, then this will become the road leading towards an Educated India, a Proud India.