Doing well in examinations and getting jobs will continue to be a goal for a good proportion of youth but life goals that are not connected with academics are also becoming popular. Our system has to evolve to support them. Technology can assist
Two decades ago, there was much hope that computers with the Internet would revolutionise education. A decade later, mobile technology led to the belief that education anytime anywhere was possible. From one laptop per child, we started thinking of mobile devices replacing books. Now we are about to reach a situation when there will be a mobile phone in every home. In its survey of 14-18-year-olds across the country, the recently released Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 shows that about 89 per cent youth in the surveyed age group of 14-18, said they have a smartphone at home. An even higher proportion — 92 per cent — said that they can use a smartphone.
Of those who reported knowing how to use a smartphone, two-thirds said that they had used mobile phones for their studies, the week before the survey. This is a large proportion, but it’s smaller than the population who reported using smartphones for entertainment. The market has many products from for-profit and not-for-profit companies for education but they are generally focused on preparing for examinations. AI-based tutoring programs are growing. As technology advances, making such programs in local languages will be easily possible. There is reason to believe that costs will keep falling. But their focus is still on preparation for exams because that is what the market demands.
Technology barriers to the availability of knowledge are falling but the transfer of this knowledge and certification is still a restricted process. These processes need to be opened up.
The idea of education anytime anywhere is now being put to test. Universal elementary school enrollment has been achieved in India and we are on our way to achieving universal secondary and higher secondary enrollment. But, as ASER first reported in 2005, enrollment or schooling is not the same as learning. Also, the 2023 report points out, half of these adolescents start working part time after completing Class X or the age of 15-16. Although the education policy talks about greater flexibility in entering and re-entering the formal education process, the need really is for the underprivileged to be able to study while working to earn a living. Open schooling and digital technology is a powerful combination. The open school and open university processes need to be decentralised and strengthened. Rapidly developing technology is going to make it easy not only to teach and learn anywhere-anytime but testing anytime-anywhere should be possible as well.
The need for many more universities in India is much talked about. This is directly linked to the fact that the population is going to continue growing for the next 40 years or so. But there is also a need for non-formal education to supplement the formal processes of education or fulfil other needs. Widespread smartphone ownership combined with cheap data presents a huge challenge because of the risks of distortion of information. But it is also an opportunity for education of the kind that is not offered in schools and colleges. For example, agriculture, or broadly natural resource management, is a subject that is not offered in rural schools and colleges, at least on the scale it should be. The ASER 2023 survey found that while 56.4 per cent and 31.3 per cent rural students respectively were studying Humanities and Science beyond Class X, only 0.7 per cent reported they were studying agriculture. Agriculture employs over 50 per cent of India’s workforce and ASER 2023 shows that nearly a quarter of all adolescents in the 14-18 age group also work in agriculture while being enrolled in schools or colleges. The need to formally train our youth in advanced skills and knowledge of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, traditionally handed down in families, should be obvious. This is not a matter of skilling for jobs or livelihoods alone.
Issues of natural resource management are the issues of environment and climate. They have always been interconnected. The difference now is that there is a growing awareness about the linkages. Therefore, there is all the more reason for the entire population to learn about agriculture and the environment — not just agrarian communities. Each home has a laboratory around it for experimentation and learning. Knowledge and information can be accessed using digital technology wherever people are. So, the way to do it probably is not through rigid structures of classrooms, departments and universities run by governments or for-profit private players although these will continue to thrive for much of the foreseeable future.
Our education system has grown to train students to aim at one purpose — do well in examinations and get jobs. Times are changing. Doing well in examinations and getting jobs will continue to be a goal for a good proportion of youth but life goals that are not connected with academics are also becoming popular. Our system has to evolve to support them. Technology can assist but our mindsets have to change.
Written by Madhav Chavan
Source: Indian Express, 18/01/24
