Science (Knowledge) cannot be restricted to degrees, do u agree to it?

[Dr Munmun Sinha Deshpande]

Current system of education in India starts from the nursery to a full stretch of 12 years (Kindergarden to High School). All of us enjoy the jolly days which bring naustalgia every time we remember the moments. Then comes the time to take a tough decision, Mathematics, Biology, Commerce or Arts? Once the choice is made, based on the degree the career rather the whole life is shaped. You cannot move to another subject in case you don’t have the higher secondary/UG qualifications for the same. And this game of qualification goes on and on....... Undergraduate, post graduate, Masters of philosophy, then Doctorate and even post doctorate, all have the same Saga....... What is your qualification?
The question is, how far is this system correct? Is it really supporting the youth to move forward in life or at some point of time it creates disappointment and feeling of rejection? Is a degree more important to work, or is the enthusiasm more encouraging for proper work? Most of the universities offering higher education restrict people from other disciplines to enter into subjects of their interest. That is why several enthusiastic young people move to other fields leaving the education system.
The age of 18 is not as it was earlier. Probably our great grandfathers became parents at that age, but the youth today is very confused and scared and not focussed. That is because of the pressure to perform. With tensions prevailing in mind, only the strong can make a right decision which may hold around 40% of the total youngsters. What about the leftover 60% students? They take a subject, gradually get bored, frustrated and try to switch over. When not allowed by rules and regulations, they give up.
I feel the concept of Gurukul in ancient India was the best. All the students were given equal education, the Guru was fair to all, and after gaining the powerful vedic (basically Science) knowledge, the student was allowed to make his own choice based on his own interest and caliber.
I would welcome the view of the scientific community over this point “Education system in India: Past or Present, which can be more fruitful?”

[abdul fasi]

Yes mam,

i fully agreed with your thought. as our youth is simply going in the flow of degrees and ultimate goal to get  good flexible life then 25-30 years job profile and life is finished.see the main draw back is in our education system which not suits the practical nature of job. theoritiaclly we are sound but when in ground finished. and more over our govts are not encouraging for innovative thoughts and research.if any body wants to do research in any sector he has to pass the test and many more. this really bothering most of the youth.

yes, previous system is really pentastic we have the freedom in choosing our interest subject .thats what they made miracles.

[GOPI KANTA GHOSH]

Absolutely correct...I think the illiterate artisans like potter and weavers have wisdom of technology and deserve recognition...IGNOU is planning to start this effort...

[keerthi sureshbabu]

your right mam.. science cannot be ristricted...but our education system is narrow... have to focus on two to three topic/subjects.some of them opt for  subject with out willing.i mean to say during selection of core subjects in UG.the combination given by the government are not satisfing the wishesh of the youth.

[Ajay B Dwivedi]

Knowledge cannot be restricted to degrees. Acquiring knowledge and its limitation to degree is modern day Rule. It is something that necessarily quantifies the acceptance of knowledge of an individual. This has been my presentation to EIA accreditation committee. Having more than 22 years post-post-graduation experience I have been minuted to be insufficiently experienced than many seven year experienced people, does this mean I am not sufficiently experienced or I will not be able to carry out an EIA job?

Answer is sadly - yes.

Because, it is like umpiring umpire standing in a cricket match may be having 400 ODI umpiring to his credit but he cannot be expected to hold a bat and play.

Problem is that most people think they are experts and cause a lot of troubles to most.

[Chandra Kishore]

Degrees are standards to judge people on whether they will be able to do a certain assigned task. They are just a tool for recruiters who face mountains of resume everyday for any job. It has nothing to do with knowledge. Anyone can be more knowledgeable then the guy who got the job.

These days recruiters prefer professional certifications more than regular degrees because it immediately tells them whether the candidate got exposure to a particular area or not. The next cut is the experience they have.

Personally, for gaining knowledge I would any day go and take a free course online from MIT OpenCourse ware http://bit.ly/qoRS6h or other such top institutions of learning!

[Ajay B Dwivedi]

Exactly what I put it as, in different words.

Chandra Kishore said:

Degrees are standards to judge people on whether they will be able to do a certain assigned task. They are just a tool for recruiters who face mountains of resume everyday for any job. It has nothing to do with knowledge. Anyone can be more knowledgeable then the guy who got the job.

These days recruiters prefer professional certifications more than regular degrees because it immediately tells them whether the candidate got exposure to a particular area or not. The next cut is the experience they have.

Personally, for gaining knowledge I would any day go and take a free course online from MIT OpenCourse ware http://bit.ly/qoRS6h or other such top institutions of learning!

[Prof Dr V N Sivasankara Pillai]

Fine idea.

Where to find "Gurus". All are trained in the same mill and look forward for a "rewarding" career. Most of the talents migrate to the west. Look at the VCs of universities. They are Rajas and Kalmadis who could not make it to the cabinet (generalization). Do we have "Acharyas" in sufficient numbers to train in technical skills? We generate e-coolies - survival is more important to an average mortal than values!

* Acharya Aachinichathi sastraardhan sishyan sadhayathe sudhi, swayamaacharathe chaiva aacharya....

[Vinodh Valluri]

Dr. Pillai, you bring up a quintessential point. Without delving too deep into epistemology, one does not have to argue that India has in possession a knowledge treasure that is unprecedented and unmatched across the world. The Vedas, Puranas, and thousands of Upanishads, out of which 108 are primary, are the gold mines that clearly articulated the science of living, even beyond a mere paradigm of religion or faith. Ayurveda, Jyotish, and Marma Kala are some remnants of that majestic compendium. If the temple of Ananta Padmanabhan was any clue, Indian history is proved wealthy, not only monetarily but also culturally and scientifically. It is foolish to think that the intricate architecture and metallurgy of these places are merely lost to time. The British had altered the books, to seem as if the country was uncivilized and they bought civilization to the East - Gandhi quipped on the Idea of Western civilization, saying; "That is a good idea, when are they starting?" Today, the West has a lot to offer technologically, but suffers spiritual orphanhood - iPhones to Twitters to Solar panels. All good, but the Western model of education now implemented in India has become a business catering to the socio-economic machinery that runs and therefore corrupts our country. Work is already on the way, to undo the damage, through culturally valuable movements such as the ISKCON. The gurukulas of yore can only be recreated when such acaryas are trained systematically, for instance, read the articles of Gadadhara Pandit Dasa on thehuffingtonpost.com. The key point is that an Acarya today would need to have respectable command over Indian science and also relevance in a time of seeming domination of the Western worldview.

[Pradeep Kumar Pathak]

NICE BLOG BY I AM AGREE WITH YOUR THOUGHT WE CAN NOT BOUND THE KNOWELDGE IN DEGREES,THE SCIENCE EVOLVED FROM THE PERSONS WHO WAD NOT SCHOLAR ALL THE WAY..

[DR. KAWALJEET SINGH]

I personally know of a person who, in his 12th standard could not tell the difference between an aldehyde and a ketone group. He did manage some rank at AIEEE. A new engineering college took him in. He flunked X number of papers - but they pushed him through. Today, on paper, he is an engineer. So much for our system.

I remember I opted maths in 12th cause the teacher said so! there was no non-maths stream available and that was that. I schooled to become a Chemist - and after MSc could not find a Job - so there was this one project in which they wanted some person who could go out in the jungles of doon valley for air quality monitoring. Thats how I became an environmentalist!

So the moral of the story is that unless the education system is linked to a future need that can give job to a person, any long range planning at the individual level may be difficult.