Government Adopting Latest Technology to Boost Education System

The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry is coming up with a unique ID programme to monitor education system in India. This program is set to help millions of students across the country in various ways from their primary and secondary to higher education levels.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will store the entire record of a student’s education. It will be made compulsory to enroll students in the programme from the first day of their school. UIDAI, based in New Delhi aims to assign 12-digit universal identity numbers to more than 600 million citizens in India over next four years. Some of the benefits of adopting Unique ID are listed below:

-Monitoring the education system

-Speeding up the education loan grant process

-Smoothening the repayment of study loans

-Tracking school and college dropouts

Moreover, it will help check forgery as banks will not have to worry about students showing fake educational qualifications to avail loans. It will prove to be of immense help to poor students and can propel dissemination of education across the nation.

The Unique IDs will contain photographs, fingerprints and iris scans but since these keep changing up to 18 years of age, the biometric identity of parents will serve as a foolproof measure. And as soon as the student turns 18, his/her photograph and biometric prints will be treated final for all future uses.

The discussions between Union Government and UIDAI are nearing completion with two rounds of consultations already done in last three months. It is one of the largest government schemes in several decades and so, many highly experienced professionals are roped in to implement the task effectively and in time. Since ‘UID is not a one-size-fits-all product’, the biggest challenge is to market the idea among citizens from every caste, region and religion while creating ‘want’ for this identity number.

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Modernizing Education in India

There has always been a debate in India over transforming the traditional education system into the contemporary one. Today, the way education is imparted is witnessing a transition with blackboard, chalk and duster being replaced by whiteboard and marker. It has become a two way interactive process rather than teacher teaching and students listening (or hearing in many cases).

Everything in the education system is changing from the look of the classroom in schools and colleges to the learning process via use of technology. The conventional methods of teaching or rote learning are now inching towards modernity with tech based learning becoming immensely popular. Various schools and colleges have come of age and are adopting e-learning ways to walk hand in hand with the rapidly changing world scenario, trends and technologies.

E-learning has become an indispensable part of learning in the current times. Other countries have been following it from ages but it is comparatively newer to Indian domain. The low literacy rate and the lack of access to computers and internet have been detrimental to the progress of education sector in the country. Though learning process has improved by leaps and bounds, lot needs to be done to develop and maintain the overall efficiency of the system.

The content quality is not only the top most priority but also of paramount significance. Information anywhere anytime seems to be the buzzword, catching up with both students and teachers. With the vast usage of laptops, CDs, web, wireless networking, etc., learning is just a click away. Distance learning is growing the fastest with e-learning becoming a favorite across the taught and the teaching faculty. Even though internet has grown the fastest in the world, Indian education system still needs to cash in on its benefits galore. The path is defined and thus, success too shall come soon.

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Novel Learning Mantra : Borrow and Study

The young generation in India has been maturing everyday, call it Western influence or age of technology or increasing awareness or anything else. The Generation Y definitely knows how to handle itself and overgrow the boundaries they have been fenced in for so long. Thwarted till today by societal pressure, they are now coming up as the future leaders who are poised and competent enough to take on the world.

These global leaders of the future are taking rein of their lives in their hands from as early as their schooling times. No longer hidden behind their mothers’ shelter or guided by their parents, the youth of today is ready to unharness the horse and take it full on. This begins even before they complete their schooling as they plan their career path and the course of action well in advance. Immediately after clearing Class X exams, they would join coaching centers for preparation of engineering, medical, law and other entrances for various government and private institutes of higher education. And then after preparing for two years and clearing the entrance, they get into the graduation colleges. Then begins the preparation for clearing through post graduate colleges offering courses like MBA, MCA, MA, etc. These institutes generally charge hefty sums of money as tuition fees which salaried people may not be able to afford owing to the increasing cost of living and fluctuating markets.

Here comes the role of education loans as they have made it much easier for students to pursue higher education. Taking loans or borrowing from banks was earlier seen in negative light as it invites liabilities and burdens but has become important today to live a quality life. So, the education fee of students is financed by banks who then repay the loan after completing the course and getting a good job.

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Achieving Excellence in Higher Education

The education sector in India is set to reach new heights with top Indian B-schools and technology colleges spreading their wings. The entry of foreign universities into the country also shows positive signs for students who will now be endowed with better academic opportunities.

Union Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal is spearheading a huge reform by asking focus on increasing the number of college enrollments and the creation of more infrastructures for education institutes.

According to him:

-Education sector should be given priority lending rates and not commercial rates to enable construction of more schools and colleges across the country.

-The gross enrolment ratio (GER) should be improved which demands focus on substantially increasing the number of college going and research students. The GER of other countries varies from 40 to 50% whereas it is as low as around 12% in India, thus, becoming a matter of serious concern.

The coming up of new institutions would definitely add volumes to the opportunities available in higher education. This will help in potentially increasing enrolment and improvement of quality both directly and indirectly. But, this will help only if the foreign universities impart education in line with the goals, objectives and mission of Indian higher education.

The importance of creativity, new ideas and innovation has to be understood by our education system. It must give space to students and help them develop the qualities they already possess rather than forcing them to follow conventional study patterns. The scope and extent of collaborative learning and exchange programmes is huge and needs to be taken advantage from.

The mission of higher education in India is better access and excellence. As more students pursue higher education and take up research, it will bring immense benefits for the country and its economy.

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Entry in a renowned college is a sure short way to success

Students these days are very much considered about their future and the job to which they land after doing a particular course. Whether it’s you or me, we make it sure that a proper plan is followed to reach the destination or the goal decided. Obviously there are back ups for the same, but we put in the best possible efforts to fulfil our aim through the primary route. For students like us, the sure short way to success is grab a seat in the most renowned college, after which things like jobs and success follows. Though, the most difficult part is taking admission in these colleges, but, once a student gets enrolled in such colleges, the road to success is comparatively much easier and convenient. Hard work is surely the synonym to success, so if you say, its difficult, that a lot of hard work has to be put in, for taking admission in the cream college of the country, then it’s surely not your cup of tea.

These colleges takes a lot from you in the starting, you need to study like crazy, need to have extra intelligence, must have great analysing power, put in a lot of money, but at the end what it gives you back is unbelievable. Loads of success, name, fame and an ever growing bright career, are the sure rewards given by these institutes. Whatever you put in, whether its money, hard work or madness in the form of time you studied for, works as an investment for your future, the return of which is manifold.

Therefore, one should never hesitate or act lazy in investing all these factors, because initially if you are able to crack a seat in the top institutes of the country, then your future is set. The associations, these institutes have with companies and faculty is mind blowing and surely helps in making it easy for the student to find a perfect and suitable job for himself. Being a part of such institutes, your condition can also be compared with a child who is in the safe arms of his mother, where you don’t have to fight for anything, everything comes to you in a ready made format, which is in this case is money, fame and loads of success!!

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Need for change in law education

Education in any field, needs to be reformed with the changing times and demands of the respective industry. I hope you would agree with me on the fact that, change in the work environment has lead to change in the course curriculum of the related fields. Same has been put by the Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, who says there is a strong need for promoting Inter- disciplinary agenda in the curriculum for law education. According to him, there is a need to focus on the subjects like sociology, political science, economics, psychology, history, languages and literature, which would help students in gaining knowledge about these subjects. Implementation of such subjects in the curriculum for law students can help them understand the deeper prospects of a particular case.

As a part of his speech in the first annual convocation of the Gujarat National Law University, he shared the difficulties he faced while solving cases, due to the unavailability of the knowledge about these subjects, during his course days. Also, he mentioned that law statements and judgements sometimes can not only be given on the basis of proves and witnesses, there are cases, where you need to perceive things on the grounds of social and economic backgrounds of the person. In such cases, one must also possess a great understanding about the human psychology and his actions and reaction at different stages of life. He stated that law colleges, should also focus on producing honest and reliable lawyers, who in future helps in the growth of the country’s economy in the right direction.

Changes like this, and many more revolutionary benchmarks in the studies for law, can surely help in reforming our society and its law structure. Everything starts from the ground level, so change in the teaching methodologies and course structure for the law students will definitely lead to a breakthrough in the ways, the criminal and other legal cases are solved.

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Foreign Universities coming to India

Foreign universities, foreign education, has always been a craze among students. Foreign degrees in higher education even do wonders for students in terms of preference in job opportunities. Students with degrees from foreign universities are in high demand comparative to degrees from Indian schools and colleges. The major factor involved in courses from foreign universities, is the price and the difference in lifestyle and culture of the foreigners from India. Now students don’t have to worry about their adjustments in the foreign land, and the extra pounds they had to shed for food, house rents and many other things. The students now can earn foreign degrees, studying in their country only, without sacrificing the love of their mom and the home food, which are the most prominent things which are said to be missed by students.

I m not exaggerating anything, I am just writing, according to the Foreign Educational Institutional bill passed, by the Union Cabinet of Indian Government. The bill states the biggest milestone in the Indian education sector, as per which, foreign universities are now onwards allowed to set campus in India. Yes, I am, not kidding, finally the dreams of many foreign universities have got fulfilled, and they have already approached many Indian institutions for tie ups. The entry to these institutions would be in the form of tie up and associations with top Indian universities and large business groups.

Though, the approval for 200 universities is pending, covering few of the top universities like Cambridge and Oxford. India has proved to be a great market for the education industry, because of the level and standards of school education in the country, many foreign universities want to open campuses in India, so that they get to the produce the cream of the society. It’s good for the future of the students of India as well, because it will give birth to more choices for the students to opt as a career and advancements in term of educational practices and the methods to disseminate information to the students will be seen.

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