Wise people say “Youth is the backbone of a nation.” But don’t be fooled
it is not about all of the young men and women around. It is about those who
are educated; thus the education system is the real backbone of every nation.
If one looks around the world to see the most developed countries or the
fastest developing nations one will find one thing common in them, a
well-structured education system. It is a well-developed ad well-structured
education system that produces youth who are ready to take the nation forward
in this competitive world.
No one will disagree to this fact that Kashmiri youths have got fertile
minds. If you will ask psychologists or anthropologists they will say Kashmiris
are quick learners and most intelligent people around. Yes this is what we all
believe, but then what is wrong with the youth of this land, why are we not
notching up at least 50 odd seats in UPSC exams every year? If your mind is
fooling you by communicating that it is we who topped in the same exam a year
ago, then my dear don’t let your mind fool you. Nations need young people who
show constant performance not like Bangladeshi Cricket team which on one day
will beat Australia with ten wickets and two days later will lose to Kenya by
100 odd runs. Why are Kashmiris not seen at top corporate positions? Why can’t
we name a few scientists this land has produced? Why there are no good
engineers? Why are the people reluctant to consult the new generation of
doctors? Why our IT students fail to secure good jobs? Why our arts students
either end up as M.Rs? Why our science graduates end up teaching A,B,C in
primary schools? Why our “a few” mathematics students don’t know how to
use mathematics in practice? Why our business students fail in business? Why
our law students join MBA later? Why is this all happening, something somewhere
is wrong and we have never paid attention to it. To me it is because of
our messed up education system. But don’t haste to conclusions when I talk of
the system, as it doesn’t only consist of the policy makers or the educational
institutes it rather involves all i.e;
- · Students
- · Parents
- · Educational
Institutes
- · Policy
makers.
Now all those parents and students who are reading this might be saying
Mr Author has gone crazy “How come we are responsible?” But dear parents and
students I warned you before, don’t haste to conclusions.
To me if not everyone but most of the
parents in Kashmir are like Viru-Sahstrabhude of 3-Idiots.
They decide the fate of their children before their birth. Yet another class of
parents flow with the river, "if neighbours son is doing MBBS, my son
should go for the same". Yes from past couple of years the degree has been
replaced by MBA. Now take a look in any mohala you are bound to see MBAs
around. Mr Faisal started a new trend now; every parent wants his son or
daughter to be an IAS or KAS. I am not against it nor am I saying that it is
bad. But there is no fun of having doctors who don’t know what ECG stands for,
or an MBA who doesn’t know the spelling of business itself, an engineer who thinks
of soil testing as some complex chemistry term or an administrator who is
incapable of taking decisions. But I won’t blame the students here, how is one
supposed to be good in batting if he loves to bowl, how can you ask Tendulkar
to sing or Rashid Hafiz to play soccer, no you can`t. And even if you will you
will get the same results as mentioned above.
Dear student don’t be felicitous that I have not put the blame
game onto you in above case, you are equally responsible. You either spent most
of time Face-booking , Cricketing or talking on phone, if still there is time
then sleeping is an option and if yet there is an hour left then your mirror is
your best friend, “keep on setting your style.” The classes of 11th and
12th which are considered most important in student’s life to
shape concepts vanish in the streets of Parraypora or corridors or poaching
centres, oops sorry coaching centres. Then half of college life is spent at
home and the rest half in the parks, playgrounds and canteens. When finally
some lucky ones enter the University gate they find themselves lost in the
racks of Allama Iqbal Library, they suddenly feel if they have entered a
hostile environment. As a result they are more conscious to leave the gate than
to stay longer in the hub of knowledge.
Now talking about policy makers and educational institutes, yes of
course they have played major role to debacle this system. In Kashmir we have
this problem that we all tend to be all-rounders, a graduate of history will
teach geography, a chemistry teacher teaches mathematics and the one with
science background will be giving lessons on business. Thus the real essence of
knowledge sharing dies within the class room itself. The second thing that has
damaged our educational setup is that in our class rooms there is only one way
traffic of communication. From the front wall towards the desks, students act
like if they are born dumb and if they don't act like that then their
report cards will show a negative growth. The policy makers have never bothered
to breathe a new life in the curriculum of the students or strengthening this
system. Have you ever wondered why all universities in Bangalore, Punjab,
NOIDA, Delhi and Hyderabad have more students from Kashmir than from any other
state? My dear friends if you are producing an army of graduates from your
colleges and then declaring that only chosen 40 odd can enter the sanctified
gates of the two or odd universities what is the option left to them. And when
these students come with flying colours from other universities they are left
embezzled when told “we don’t recognise your institute.” What is the fate of
these thousands of students, either decrease the intake capacity of colleges or
increase intake capacity of universities or start a fresh ones. But dear policy
makers are still sleeping in the warmth of their cozy beds. It is because of
these policy makers that a Kashmiri student never thinks of attaining 80% or
above once he passes 12th class. They show dreams to students
by giving 500 out of 500 in the school days but later make them feel that no
matter what they do 80% is the mark they can`t cross. They will make you feel
like you are an adopted child if you are doing a course through distance mode.
They will make you wait for a year before declaring your results and issuing a
qualification certificate. Dear students please never mind the language or
don’t be fumed if you happen to enter their administrative sections. Dear
students again don’t be disheartened if you are not allowed in a seminar on
education because of security reasons. And above all my dear readers please
don’t interpret that our education system is totally a rotten one we have best
of the best teachers and best of the students, even if their number is just a
few. It is just a matter of time when our education system is going to be
overhauled and renewed because this is Kashmir, here things happen pretty
fast!!!
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