Dr. Santosh Gupta
Youth are the nation but today youth is in state of moral turmoil. Depletion of values has weakened our social fabric. Youth of the country has been going adrift and also derailed from the main stream to a large extent. They are more influenced by the environment of greed and luxury in which ethics has no values. A spiritual and ethics value which governs the human relationship has been replaced by a commercial ethos. Youth are going through turbulent times and feel alienated and frustrated resulting in becoming disinterested in the affairs of society and involving themselves in violence and other evils. Of course they are working in political, economic and social affairs but as detached observers to earn their livelihood. But fact remains that it is on their shoulders that the responsibility of change, innovation and progress lies. What is expected among youth is vigor in blood, strength in nerves, and iron in muscles of steel to march towards a purposeful and peaceful life.
In this atmosphere, Primary education is a beacon of hope as it aims at imparting values and training to the youth of tomorrow. At this stage of education, the students are just like the clay which can be molded and trained in any direction. So there is urgent need for diverting their energy in the right direction so as to become responsible and responsive citizens of tomorrow. Primary education should be character making to make worthy citizens who can fit in the democracy of our country and move toward an egalitarian society.
We are still following traditional, orthodox and outdated approaches to teach our students irrespective of several Government and private institutions have been established. There is a lot of disparity in elementary primary education in rural and urban areas and also among different classes of society. Schools are in subpar conditions. Private schools are using all tactics to attract children , charging huge fees and prescribe many books to be purchased from their institutions while Government schools do not bother for studies and teachers either are absent from class rooms or coming late at their will. Safety measures are lacking in the schools as small children has to travel a lot on buses, on foot covering a long distance and locally available transport system. At this stage superiority or inferiority complexes are developed among students on the basis of type of schools they are studying.
Looking at the scenario, alternate method of teaching for students is the demand of today. To my best understanding e-learning and on line teaching methods is the only solution. Virtual class room teaching and learning process may be made more effective to give uniform education at all levels of the society. At this level of education criteria should be to identify, explore and develop their hidden talent and to divert their boundless energy in the required direction. At its initial stage, it may pose certain threats and challenges but over a period of time with technical knowhow, it seems to work more effectively and efficiently. To achieve the set target, the followings are major challenges
* Infrastructure
* Qualified trained teachers
* Uniform syllabi to develop towards responsible youth/ leaders
The system of our school indicates that there is lack of infrastructure and insufficient capacity of computing devices making the system stagnant and obsolete. Great need is there to make our country more advanced in term of technology at school level so that students who are the future of the country should not suffer any more. Modern technology need to be upgraded to bring uniform education at the door step of learners so that students in any corner of the country can make use of this set up. Education in the modern times should equip with internet access within or outside institutions. Even if smart phone may not be provided, it can also be managed through TV channel, computers and various meets available but on uniform basis for all students. At the initial stage, it may pose certain difficulty and challenges but with appropriate technology know how, we can achieve the target
Skill of teachers in imparting knowledge to students through on line classes using techno tool is another challenging task. Not only this even mind set of students is also needed to be refurbished for on line classes by making the programme interesting and friendly for desired results. Better quality of lectures from teachers can also be ensured. Monitoring and evaluation mechanism also be strengthened by self assessment tests and otherwise regular tests also. Education should make students vocationally as well as morally strong citizen. This challenge can be squeezed and eliminated from our country if we work with dedication, commitment and responsibility.
Uniform syllabus to explore and divert the talent of the students to make them responsible and responsive youth/ citizens/ leaders of tomorrow in the democracy is another challenge. Elementary knowledge of subjects, craft classes to make them innovative, tips for cleanliness and yoga to keep fit physically and mentally, various competitions to make study more informative and interesting, social harmony and patriotism to serve nation and society, examples of great personalities to inculcate those qualities in them, empowerment of family concept, environment and entrepreneurship and moral values can also be included. Children deserve special care, proper motivation, deserving encouragement, self reliant exercises, constructive and creative exercises, guidance and necessary inspiration etc. otherwise their boundless energy will be dissipated in the wrong direction.
(The author is Prof. Head &Dean (Retd) University of Jammu)
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