Author: Khyati Mudliyar, III year of B.A.,LL.B.(Hons.) from Amity Law School, Amity University, Chhattisgarh
Co-author: Sourav Agrawal, IV year of B.A.,LL.B.(Hons.) from Amity Law School, Amity University, Chhattisgarh
INTRODUCTION
India is a country where knowledge is worshipped holy books such as Bhagvat Gita, Quran, Guru Granth, and Bible is referred to as the primary source of knowledge, where the teachers are respected as gods and where education is given a foremost priority. Today we are the most civilized and fastest developing country among the other nations in every sphere with education is a rapidly growing sector in today's India it has attained great heights in 71 years of independence with schools being well equipped and furnished with qualified teachers and interactive classrooms, focusing on nurturing young minds with easy pedagogy with equal fun to study ratio, students are taught to deal with various other co-curricular aspects as well as academic challenges put forward them to render them more responsive towards new scenarios. Education is spreading its arms in every nook and corner of developing and incubating India from elementary villages to those who didn't afford to go to school to extract knowledge ever, knowledge is the only currency that makes a person wealthy and vice versa. India has won several accolades and recognition in the field of education be it Nobel prizes and so on, we had been incubating and sheltering great minds since the era of gurukuls to smart classes who had made immense contribution in the field of education and learning. unceasing attempts had been and still being to uplift the scene of education in India and it surely will be at the pinnacle in coming years. Education is not only gaining knowledge but we consider it as wisdom passed on by generations. In this world of speed and technology, to step up head to head with anyone's education plays a vital role as a tool to Express and spread ideas and thoughts. It makes a person more productive and brings positive vibes to the environment. It breaks all the boundaries and helps to overcome all obstacles and hindrances coming in the path of success. Education is not only about some bookish knowledge or passing exams but it also talks about our culture and heritage. What our elders have passed on to us and how it's a debt that we have to pass on to our coming generations.
From Drona teaching Arjun the art of archery to ISRO giving MOM to mars, education has played an impeccable effort in the transcendence of knowledge from root to leaves of the tree of light under which Buddha achieved enlightenment, we have various other exemplars other than buddha who satisfy this statement such as Ramanujan and APJ Abdul Kalam and their countless contribution in the sector of education, govt has also raised awareness regarding education and specially girl education by 'Beti Bachao Beti padhao' measure, it keeps increasing annual funds for a better learning experience in schools aiding in better learning exposure, their main aim is to elevate the literacy rate so it could be utilized to minimize the corruption and criminal offence and other illiterate activities occurring inside the country degrading its prestige and neighbouring relationship.
Talking about India as a developing nation, we have progressed and managed to reach a 75% rate of literacy and education is one of the fundamental rights in our constitution. According to the most recent data given by the UN today, we are standing at 123rd position in literacy rate with 1.38 billion population. Kerala is the leading state with almost 94% of literacy rate which is followed by Lakshadweep and Mizoram with 91.85% and 90% respectively according to the 2011 census report.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Learning is valued through the years ago, It’s the root that defines the resilience of a tree and its immunity towards cyclones and vulnerabilities. The same goes with a nation and its ideologies regarding education and promoting it in every nook and corner which forms the foundation of a country rooted in profound depths there is no bigger form of wisdom than rendering an individual literate and educated and eventually the whole society followed by the nation and the world. The country is often known for its achievements in the field of education and spreading awareness with regards to it where India being a land of worshipping education, calling it vidya and connecting it with sacred and holy aspects, and history has its authentication that it had treasured different Vedas and Puranas and various scriptures which accounts for numerous and countless therapies walking us in its pedagogy to live life ideally. At the time of the Ancient or Vedic period, the teachers are considered to be the most eminent and the purest soul of the society and they were called the Gurus and the institution's named Gurukuls were traditionally, only the son of the kings or the upper caste such as Brahms were allowed to take the teaching in the oral form under the tree in an open nature or a monastery. They were mainly taught the ideology of religions and moral values, literature, medicine, astrology, and history.
To bring changes and improvement in the education system and extend the boundaries of learning, some universities were established in the earlier era which is not only in existence but is also well recognized such as Nalanda, Takshashila, Ujjain, and Vikramshila.
Today Kota is said to be the education hub of India, over 1.5 lakhs of students studies there, came from different parts of Nation pursuing their dreams, working hard to achieve them but sadly the system of our country pressurize them so much that there comes an extent when they see suicide as the only way to become free. Every year thousands and thousands of students enter this hub with their dreams come true and with flying colours and also become an example for others and become a motivation for others, such as students.
EVOLUTION OF EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA
Revolutions in every field are only possible if the person knows and his knowledge becomes wisdom if it is applied in the development of humankind. Looking at the current scenario of the education standard of our country, the mixture of digitization with education and studies acted as a catalyst, it shows we encourage technology and advancement through our education system. English is the language spoken universally as it is said to be a sign of the development of a nation, keeping this in mind English has been selected as a primary language in schools in our country. This increases the proficiency of an individual and enhances their personality and makes him/her capable of getting selected in any institution abroad. Though our education system progressed a lot in recent years we have seen a lot of change where students have been inspired a lot by parents and teachers. Women in our country almost constitute more than half of our country's population, but if we check into history, the story of women and their struggle to read and write depicts a different story. Census report of 2001 says the literacy rate of our women is 54%and that of men is 65.38%. The government and different NGOs have made sincere and significant efforts to up bring women. Since the time of the British Raj, where Leaders like Raja ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyanagar, and many more fought for the rights of women and conducted various socio-religious movements, among all issues was the issue of education of women. To prove that India doesn’t discriminate or dominate any gender, Education is a key to prove it. Indian society is said to be a patriarchal society dominated by the male gender and women folk are meant to be in the four walls of the house, this scenario is changing and women folk are well aware of the fact that the only way to unfetter themselves and the key to their development is education. The more you are educated, the more you are self-dependent and need no one for money or food. Government from the past decade took a lot of initiatives regarding education and development of skills, among them were digital India and make in India which promotes the skills possessed by the youth of the country. Make in India was a scheme that focused on making the country self-sufficient in the tech field like how we became food sufficient during the food revolution. But the most important factor which is the base of every plan is Education, education helps to turn a human into a resource. Along with generations, our nation has seen the patriarchy of men’s but whenever women fought for their rights, they showed that they also had a caliber of doing all that a man can do in every field. Education serves as the most powerful mechanism for the development of the nation, it shapes the future of the nation and young keen minds to lead a better life, it is with education and education only which can aid in escalating the development of a well-built country with resilient foundation.
CONCLUSION
A beautiful thought was given by Swami Vivekananda that “True guidance is like a small torch in the dark forest, it doesn’t show everything at once but gives enough light for the next step to be safe”. True education is beyond earning degrees it is about gaining moral values, a positive mindset, changing perspective towards others and helping, the attitude of contributing to society and ethical values this kind of student is only able to bring changes in society not only chewing and spitting bookish knowledge. The word Education may seem to be small but very few people only know what power is possessed, it's not always about gaining knowledge but it's also about how education helps us to widen our horizon of thinking. As we know the foundation of the building decides its strength, the same way Education is said to be the foundation of a country and it decides the coming future of the country and only a few people have the vision to see the future of our country. Therefore, it's is a necessary and equivocal right of an individual to extract at least preliminary education and become a responsible citizen of his/her country as no country is perfect but it can be made perfect by preparing the youths of the nation as they are the future of the country and to make to them capable and efficient so that they can contribute their best for the nation. The education system is only successful if it can surpass the borders drawn by man and dismantle the orthodox mentality prevalent in society. This disparity can only vanish if we educate the leaders of tomorrow to stand up for themselves. As Mandela has said that “Education is that the most powerful weapon which may be wont to bring change the planet and make.”