The basic reason for education has been to develop basic learning skills as well as life skills of students. At present, the literacy rate in India stands at 71 per cent. However, this has got nothing to do with functional literacy. We do need to look at literacy in multiple ways, thereby giving different dimension to functional literacy.

In India, unlike most of the western countries, students are not used to the idea of working while studying. There is this mental block against the very idea of doing something else while still a student. It’s as though studying is a very serious and sacred business and anything that diverts the student in doing so, should be put away. Many parents too take offence if their child puts forward the idea. They take it in a way that they are not able to fulfill their child’s needs and desires. The whole idea has a negative concoction to it.
 

On the other hand, it’s an altogether different scenario abroad. Students there take up jobs almost as soon as they get into high school. No job is considered to be demeaning. From restaurants to petrol pumps to garages to advertising agencies, one can see young students giving a helping hand almost everywhere. The concept is ingrained in the very roots of the educational system there.

The trend, however, is fast catching up here too. Gone are the days when apart from attending classes in schools and colleges, a student would just laze around at home and meet friends. These days more and more students are actively seeking for jobs. Be it for experience or pocket money, they are ready to balance both work as well as study. The young minds are ready to sacrifice parties for doing these jobs.
 

It has very significant meanings, in context of a student wanting to do something extra.
 

Working gives them a kind of exposure that is otherwise not provided to them by their teachers or the classrooms. In a classroom, it’s all about theories and lectures. A human being’s attention span is just about half an hour. Most of the things one say in class just pass away through a student’s mind. Most of the time, a student cannot relate a theory to its practicalities in life. They don’t understand the importance of a certain topic. Only a firsthand work would make them realise what all these mean.
 

Secondly, working makes a student decide what later in life he would want to do. It opens up the opportunities for him to dig upon. It lets him have an experience by himself and decide if that is what the true calling of her life is. There are a plethora of new job avenues coming up. It is not possible to understand a particular sector of employment inside out until we ourselves are a part of that framework. Those opting for jobs in restaurants, for instance, may be looking forward to a career in the hospitality industry. Or those who write articles and send them to media houses would be gearing up for a profession in print journalism.
 

Thirdly, there’s nothing better than actually ‘going out and doing it’. At the end of the day, it’s not the marks on the report card that counts but experience. A person with any kind of work experience will always be preferred by any organisation over a person with none. In today’s competitive world, it pays to have that edge over others.
 

Fourthly and more importantly, it never hurts to earn some money. It’s a great way to be financially independent and to not depend on your parents for everything.
 

However, people sometimes perceive it as a deterrent to studies. A student might get too involved in his work, giving little attention to study. Studies should top in the priority list but it takes time to learn how to handle two things at a time. And that is why, most of the students think twice before stepping onto it.

Given the fact that in the current education system in India, the necessary skills development is missing as a result of which it is not promoting employability, it has become extremely important that the student has some kind of extra knowledge to make the most of the situation.

Educational framework needs to incorporate skill development too. Skills are directly proportional to improved productivity and economic well being.

The citizens of a country are the raw material for the development of any nation. Therefore building people is the key to building India. We should become a scale provider of value based learner centric education, skills development and professional education.
 

Education becomes truly relevant only when the knowledge acquired is applied and absorbed in the mainstream.