Less instruction, more involvement works well for students

Recently I saw a video clip in social media on " Vikasa Vidya Vanam" filmed and shared by BBC. The school has been established by SR Parimi, a scholar who has returned from the United States and running this school where the instruction is confined to only four hours. It resembles an ashram type of education where the children are indulging in activities that will make them aware of the worth of sweat of working-class people.

The children are involved in gardening, cooking, washing of clothes and agriculture what not every activity that will make them spot the worth of dignity of labour.

When we analyse the record of accomplishment of the school, the success rate is more than the reputed corporate institutions and the students are dispersed across the globe. The interesting aspect of this school is 'less instruction, more involvement'. With only four hours of instruction, they are promoting all-round development in the kids and transforming them more value studded. Our academicians should have to think about this concept of " Vikasa Vidya Vanam" instead of making eyewash changes to the existing system.

The working nature and culture of our schools has failed to bring the desired change in our younger generations. We have defined our education system aims in National Curriculum Framework -2005 such as:

Lifelong learning

Democratic values

Meaningful work leading to social transformation

Development of creativity

Development of life skills

Independent of thought and action

Holistic development of children

However, our methodology of schooling is not supporting the realisation of these aims and whatever the new trend that has been brought with immense hope fading away gradually. The globalisation and its demand of human resources made our system to ignore its fundamentals and to produce a more materialistic technology-dependent tribe. This demand for human resources has its perilous effect on the human tribe from early childhood. The parents /adults have changed their perspective on education and considering their child as a goose that can lay golden eggs. These expectations are mounting pressure on the younger generations and forcing them to kill themselves. As the Tagore said in his article "Civilisation and progress", the two important factors "creative spirit" and "generous joy" that are very important to make their childhood as more fruitful are pilfered both the education system and parents.

We all know that education has become a source of minting money instead of making an individual as evolved. It is not correct to blame the corporate educational institutions for their micro schedules and caged nature it is the mistake of parent tribe that are greedy to make their children as money machines. Ranks and grades have become measuring rods for today's education. The recent decision of IITS to introduce exit system for the joined reflects that they were neck thrown into those prestigious institutions instead of their interest. The quality education will not pressurize children; further, it will make them for enjoy the learning.

Quality education will instill democratic values, creativity, life skills, independent thought, and holistic development. However, today the educational institutions filling the society with the individuals devoid of all the above said traits and with irresponsible individuals. To change this scenario, we need to bring swift changes in the age-old system that promoted only Babu's culture. It is an unconvincing fact that after completion of education an individual still needs a course to sharpen his skills to get a job. That itself portrays the incompetence of education.

To change this scenario, we need to stop all these activities that have not brought the anticipated change in the educated. It is necessary to bring a paradigm shift in the education that will make an individual live with confidence and with self-reliance. It is substantiated that with mere instruction of concepts the educational system has not achieved the holistic development in an individual. However, the successive governments have constituted many committees on education in the post-independence era the recommendations of those committees were not implemented letter to the spirit.

It is an inconceivable thing even after seven decades our academicians failed to find which education system suits to our country that cannot debase our culture and heritage. It is noticeable that the education system should conserve the scientific temper of its culture and strengthen the villages with the help of technology. But in our country, it is totally, in contrast, the educated are evacuating and the uneducated are migrating villages leaving them in rubbles. It is so right according to Mahatma Gandhi, "The cities are not only draining the villages of their wealth but talent also".

Therefore, it is necessary even in this globalisation era we need to design the education system that can protect the integrity of the village system with the help of technology. All the governments irrespective of their ideologies are in favour of developing the cities and ignoring the villages. Hence, in the education system, the concept like "Jeevana Vidya Vikasa Vanam" managed by Perimi of Krishna district may initiate the change in the minds of younger generations and become aware of the fact specified by the Mahatma" "India does not live in its towns but in its villages"