What kind of education is badly needed today?

What kind of education is badly needed in the present scenario in the world? Some fifty years ago, India hardly boasted very few Universities of repute. Today there is mushrooming of universities, Institutes of higher learning which are mostly autonomous. More than one lakh of students pass out from the portals of Engineering Collages every year. There is no dearth of collages offering Management studies. Of course, the policy of the Government has enabled mushrooming of many Institutes. Whether they are up to the standards prescribed by the University Grants Commission is another question. We have Educational Ministers who boast the number of collages we have in every State and the number of students who pass out every year.

The statistics is only for the sake of advertising! Are the new graduates are reasonably placed in jobs in their respective disciplines is really a wonder. Hardly 30% gets suitable jobs in their respective subjects. Others attend many competitive examinations conducted by the State for general stream employment which is not at all connected with their degrees. We find many Engineering graduates competing for administrative, clerical and financial jobs. Even there are good numbers of Doctors who go for Administrative, Police, Forest or Fire service posts. There is lot of mismatch between the education and employment. This category forms another 30% of the candidates. For the remaining 40%, searching a job has become a utopian dream. They try their hand in outsourcing and other desk jobs.

My contention is not to highlight the unemployment pattern that exists everywhere. I just point out that hardly 30% gets suitable jobs pertaining to their Engineering disciplines. Here I have safely omitted the Humanities graduates. Their number will exceed one million every year.

Reverting back to the main theme, “What kind of education is badly needed today? My answer is “Spiritual education along with secular one is the most suitable one for all students of this country. We have safely forgotten the spirit and pursuing only worldly education which concentrates on the physical entity rather than the spirit within. How can you starve the spirit which needed different kind of nourishment than the one needed for the protection of the body. In Christian countries, we might have heard about the “Sunday Schools” where the children, boys and girls learn about theology, Bible stories and about Jesus Christ. The intention is not for propagation of Christianity but to inculcate moral values in the boys and girls from the early ages. Attending Churches on Sundays is followed by majority of Christian population. The Church is meant for prayers, confessions and mental disciplines needed for life. Also each family contributes their mite for the Church based on certain rules. Birth, anointment, marriage, and death are certain ceremonies which are very important for Christian Faith. By these disciplines, the child learns to follow the teachings of Bible to some extent.

Likewise, all religions promote moral education in their respective societies. Unfortunately in this materialistic world, many such practices are in decline. Nowadays, many parents have realized the importance of disciplining the mind of children from early days and they too send their wards to temples or ashrams on fixed days to educate them in bhajan singing, congregational prayers, repeating the verses of religious texts, and to learn about great saints and sages of the country. Each child should get specialized education on their own culture and religion. But this should not make them religious fanatics but inculcate the spirit of tolerance to other views. Hence it is necessary all students irrespective of their religious back ground should learn about great Prophets, Saints, Sages and philosophers who were born in the world and imbibe their teachings. I want to emphasize here that no religion promote quarrel or strife amongst various people. Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence are the basic tenants of most of the religions. Hence along with secular education, children should learn spiritual and moral education as well so that they become responsible citizens of the world who unite mankind into One through brotherhood, tolerance and non-violence.