Learning: is it a pain or joy?

From June it is tension again in all households over preparation for the academic session. With final school exams results coming out with clockwork precision through SMS and on the net, the thrill of going through the newspaper or rushing to the Directorate of Public Instruction on College Road to check the list of successful students with bated breath, is no longer there!

However, thanks to the thoughtful order of the government to hold the supplementary examination, we should salute former chief minister J Jayalalithaa for this munificent gesture, so that those who failed due to so many reasons, would get a chance to crack the exam and join college without loss of a year. This was the worst nightmare for students earlier. Failure in exams means loss of one year and an indelible stigma. Whether it is continuation of fresh academic session in school, college or first admission in school or college, each has its own challenge.

Choosing the right course to pursue in college is seldom decided on the basis of what the student wants and what he is good at. There is a distinct herd mentality of just following what is most popular or sought after. There was a time when students lined up for an engineering college seat but that is passé now. Students who opt for a group with Maths, Science and Biology combination are really stressed. Medical college admissions are Neet-based not need based.

Though a common entrance exam which ensures meritorious students take up medical course is welcome, it has caused enormous heartburn among aspirants selfishly fuelled by politicians of all hues.

Now, the High court has rightly stepped in to direct compensatory marks for 46 students who had taken the exam in Tamil due to faulty questions. So the last word has not yet been uttered in this controversial selection process. Many of those who had taken Maths, Physics, Chemistry, pre-requisite for enrolling for engineering studies, are having second thoughts due to slowdown in industries.

On the other hand, demand for engineers is coming down as we have multiple engineering colleges dishing out engineering graduates with low skill sets. There was a time when computer courses and IT studies were in demand but again, both sectors have reached saturation point.

In Tamil Nadu alone, there are over 500 engineering colleges and except for a few top ranking colleges, most of those graduating from other colleges are jobless, wondering what to do with the degree which is not helping them to pursue a career.

In arts and science colleges, Commerce is all-time favourite. Colleges are flooded with requests for Commerce stream with cut-off for consideration reaching dizzy heights. More than the unsuccessful students, their parents are disappointed who having pulled every possible influential string they could lay hands on, feel thoroughly let down. Colleges also have a cap in such courses which they cannot increase without justification and sanction from the University. New sub branches of Commerce like Banking, Marketing, International trade are hardly enough to absorb the demand. Business administration was once a hot commodity but no longer so.

Thanks to media hype on court cases, litigation seems to have caught the attention of the people and there is demand for integrated legal studies. National law colleges are there across the country except in Tamil Nadu as we follow a policy of 69% reservation while the national norm is 49% and we have lost a national law college. Instead we have our own second best, School of Excellence in Law, where initially entrance marks was fixed at 70 % which had been diluted to 60%.

The way quality has been diluted in our examination process is unimaginable .We have hundreds of students who have scored centum in many subjects, including arts subjects. Hundred percent in Maths is understandable, but how one score centum in History and Social Studies belies one’s imagination. When marking is so liberal, it is very difficult to distinguish meritorious students just on the basis of marksheet alone. But what is most gratifying is the growing demand for higher education which is a good sign.

Thanks to the drive in enhancing higher education, GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) in Tamil Nadu has gone up to 44%, highest in the country, while national average is only 23%.

Gone are those days, when children went to school to play and sing. Now they are loaded from day one. Some elite schools have started to give away admission even before the child is born. The waiting time for these schools admission is nearly 2-3 years before joining. Simultaneously, there are lots of nursery schools offering fancy facilities. With growth of nuclear families and working parents, play schools offer convenient facility for children. Some schools charge close to over Rs 1 lakh annually and above for a year when compared to professional college fees. To attract parents, schools even bring in foreign faculty.

Government schools have comparatively better infrastructure in terms of location and playground. Fourteen different schemes from supply of geometry boxes to laptops is a great boon to poor students. However, parents from lower income groups want their children to go to private schools. Most of the mothers from lesser income families, work in middle class homes where they see children conversing in English and they want their children also to have similar opportunity.

They are ready to borrow, exhaust their savings just to see their children go to some English medium schools. Right to Education Act provides for 25% of reservations for poor students in private schools, a welcome measure towards equality.

Rabindranath Tagore said, “The world is full of sound scholars but not sound men.” Empty pursuit of wealth without values leads only to emptiness and misery. It is therefore essential that we impart value based education, values of charity, compassion, concern for poor, ability to face situation, courage, standing up for principles, communication skills, ability to work in a team, perseverance and the will to achieve and excel in any field. We see such qualities in men who are successful. Our education system should ensure this.