29 April, 2018
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22 April, 2018
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19 April, 2018
17 April, 2018
16 April, 2018
15 April, 2018
Schools Must Start Looking at Solving the Employability Issue in India
For long, the NASSCOM has been reporting that about 80% of the graduates coming out of our colleges are unemployable. The recent report issued by NITI AAYOG, “INDIA 3 YEAR ACTION AGENDA, 2017-18 TO 2019-20”, mentions that out of an assessment of 1,50,000 engineering graduates, only 18% were found to be employable in the software sector. The statistics are somewhat similar in the field of commerce and humanities & arts.
We must take this issue very seriously and question it. The fact is that our education system is producing 80% unemployable workforce. This would imply that any competitive advantage that India and Indians love to boast about, “Demographic Dividend” does not exist, instead, it has the potential to become a “Demographic Disaster”. If we continue on this path, we will put tens of millions of educated people on the streets with no job, that will not be a pleasant situation.
Let’s trace the education of our unemployable graduate. We know that these kids have studied either in the CBSE, ICSE or the state education board, after which they enrolled in some college, following either the curriculum of the affiliated university or their own approved curriculum, in the case of being a UGC approved private university. These kids are unemployable even after 14 years of schooling and another 4 years of college. Something’s amiss. It’s the lives of tens of millions of our youth. It needs us to stand up and pay attention.
The curriculum of our school education boards have always focused on attainment of marks, on our ability to retain and reproduce information. The school curriculum does not focus on creating skills or creating knowledge, neither does it motivate our kids to focus on sports, or on their physical development, which is critical for their life long health issues. Our school system is geared towards exam preparation, either the school boards or the entrance exams. We have totally sacrificed on confidence building, innovation, creativity, handling and managing failure, managing conflict and chaos, ability to be different and survive and thrive. Although we all fail, we don’t accept failure, we classify it as the end of the world, and that’s why some kids commit suicide, when they fail, or can’t cope up. Is our School system failing us?
After school, we encourage our kids to enroll in a good college, (which is a rare commodity in India), for which they actually start preparing while in school. We all know that the students go through a very tough time preparing for these competitive exams. The question to ask is why do our colleges fail our students? Why do these colleges create 80% unemployable candidates? Again, it may point to the curriculum being taught in our colleges, which is archaic and outdated, not commensurate to the current demands of the market.
A number of students take on to the add on courses offered outside the colleges, by training institutes, to try to build some employable skills, in a short time. It’s an expensive approach with a slim chance of employment.
By this time, our unemployable youth is about 22 years, with nowhere to go and not much to look forward to.
The world is changing at the speed of light. Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, space science, etc. Education will have to radically change across the nations, not only in India. A paradigm shift is required when we think about education. We must also keep in mind, that the three IT global leaders, Bill Gates (Microsoft), Michael Dell (Dell Corporation) and Steve Jobs (Apple) were all college dropouts, and they all went to some of the good colleges.
Education being imparted in India is merely limited to information, and reproduction of this information in examinations, with an objective to attain high marks and prepare for the competitive examinations. Better would be if these kids had some marketable “Skills”, or “Skills in demand”, which would have made them employable. Better even, would be, if these kids were to become “knowledge creators”, where they innovate or discover new things that positively impact our lives.
Schools should now think about how they can shift their roles as “information dispensers and assessors” to “skills developers” and “knowledge creators”.
Our Schools are highly regulated, where they are restricted and constricted by the many unnecessary rules set by the center and the state, such as defining who can teach, what age should they be, what to teach, how to teach, what to assess, how to assess, what to do with the failures, our system has defined what a failure is and is designed to reject the failures. This remains true till the time the school is in session, say till 1:30 PM everyday, but, as soon as our child comes out of the school, they come into the “free world”, they are able to breathe freely and are able to learn any content, in any language, from anyone, anytime – at their will, without the fear of begin assessed and classified as a failure. These two worlds exist in parallel today, and in the near future the “free world” will survive, and the restrictions will cease to exist, or become irrelevant, the schools will be able to deliver, and not fail our children.
Schools must begin trying to innovate and reinvest themselves, for the sake of our children. They must try to solve the employment issues that we face. Focusing on skills, at a very early age, would be one such innovation. Schools can create “dedicated skill centers” within their campus, in partnership with the industry and the sector skills councils, and deliver the curriculum over the years that the student is enrolled in the school, such that at the time of graduation the students are well equipped with the necessary skills as demanded by the industry and can be gainfully employed at the age of 18 years.
Education is all about experimentation and innovation. This innovation can get an early start for our children, save a few years of their life, and a lot of money for their parents, save them from the stress of trying to find a college for their children, (most students do not get into their colleges of choice, most students compromise) and more importantly, create a skilled, productive human resource.
Written by
Anshul Pathak
Vice Chairman & Treasurer Delhi Public School
We must take this issue very seriously and question it. The fact is that our education system is producing 80% unemployable workforce. This would imply that any competitive advantage that India and Indians love to boast about, “Demographic Dividend” does not exist, instead, it has the potential to become a “Demographic Disaster”. If we continue on this path, we will put tens of millions of educated people on the streets with no job, that will not be a pleasant situation.
Let’s trace the education of our unemployable graduate. We know that these kids have studied either in the CBSE, ICSE or the state education board, after which they enrolled in some college, following either the curriculum of the affiliated university or their own approved curriculum, in the case of being a UGC approved private university. These kids are unemployable even after 14 years of schooling and another 4 years of college. Something’s amiss. It’s the lives of tens of millions of our youth. It needs us to stand up and pay attention.
The curriculum of our school education boards have always focused on attainment of marks, on our ability to retain and reproduce information. The school curriculum does not focus on creating skills or creating knowledge, neither does it motivate our kids to focus on sports, or on their physical development, which is critical for their life long health issues. Our school system is geared towards exam preparation, either the school boards or the entrance exams. We have totally sacrificed on confidence building, innovation, creativity, handling and managing failure, managing conflict and chaos, ability to be different and survive and thrive. Although we all fail, we don’t accept failure, we classify it as the end of the world, and that’s why some kids commit suicide, when they fail, or can’t cope up. Is our School system failing us?
After school, we encourage our kids to enroll in a good college, (which is a rare commodity in India), for which they actually start preparing while in school. We all know that the students go through a very tough time preparing for these competitive exams. The question to ask is why do our colleges fail our students? Why do these colleges create 80% unemployable candidates? Again, it may point to the curriculum being taught in our colleges, which is archaic and outdated, not commensurate to the current demands of the market.
A number of students take on to the add on courses offered outside the colleges, by training institutes, to try to build some employable skills, in a short time. It’s an expensive approach with a slim chance of employment.
By this time, our unemployable youth is about 22 years, with nowhere to go and not much to look forward to.
The world is changing at the speed of light. Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, space science, etc. Education will have to radically change across the nations, not only in India. A paradigm shift is required when we think about education. We must also keep in mind, that the three IT global leaders, Bill Gates (Microsoft), Michael Dell (Dell Corporation) and Steve Jobs (Apple) were all college dropouts, and they all went to some of the good colleges.
Education being imparted in India is merely limited to information, and reproduction of this information in examinations, with an objective to attain high marks and prepare for the competitive examinations. Better would be if these kids had some marketable “Skills”, or “Skills in demand”, which would have made them employable. Better even, would be, if these kids were to become “knowledge creators”, where they innovate or discover new things that positively impact our lives.
Schools should now think about how they can shift their roles as “information dispensers and assessors” to “skills developers” and “knowledge creators”.
Our Schools are highly regulated, where they are restricted and constricted by the many unnecessary rules set by the center and the state, such as defining who can teach, what age should they be, what to teach, how to teach, what to assess, how to assess, what to do with the failures, our system has defined what a failure is and is designed to reject the failures. This remains true till the time the school is in session, say till 1:30 PM everyday, but, as soon as our child comes out of the school, they come into the “free world”, they are able to breathe freely and are able to learn any content, in any language, from anyone, anytime – at their will, without the fear of begin assessed and classified as a failure. These two worlds exist in parallel today, and in the near future the “free world” will survive, and the restrictions will cease to exist, or become irrelevant, the schools will be able to deliver, and not fail our children.
Schools must begin trying to innovate and reinvest themselves, for the sake of our children. They must try to solve the employment issues that we face. Focusing on skills, at a very early age, would be one such innovation. Schools can create “dedicated skill centers” within their campus, in partnership with the industry and the sector skills councils, and deliver the curriculum over the years that the student is enrolled in the school, such that at the time of graduation the students are well equipped with the necessary skills as demanded by the industry and can be gainfully employed at the age of 18 years.
Education is all about experimentation and innovation. This innovation can get an early start for our children, save a few years of their life, and a lot of money for their parents, save them from the stress of trying to find a college for their children, (most students do not get into their colleges of choice, most students compromise) and more importantly, create a skilled, productive human resource.
Written by
Anshul Pathak
Vice Chairman & Treasurer Delhi Public School
14 April, 2018
13 April, 2018
12 April, 2018
11 April, 2018
10 April, 2018
09 April, 2018
07 April, 2018
06 April, 2018
04 April, 2018
02 April, 2018
Easter Message from Pope Francis: Calls for Peace
You can have flaws, be anxious, and ever angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you. Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments.To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness.It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures.It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity.
Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny's author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It's to be able to talk about you.
Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny's author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It's to be able to talk about you.
It is having the courage to hear a "no". It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us. To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It is to have maturity to be able to say: "I made mistakes". It is to have the courage to say "I am sorry". It is to have the sensitivity to say, "I need you". It is to have the ability to say "I love you". May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness ... That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom. And when you make a mistake, start all over again. For only then will you be in love with life. You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your losses to train patience. Use your mistakes to sculpter serenity. Use pain to plaster pleasure. Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. Never give up .... Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.*
(Pope Francis).
01 April, 2018
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