Science Education in India: Will it ever improve?

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Science Education in India: Will it ever improve?

CJ: DrVjy

Tue, Nov 24, 2009 16:02:06 IST

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SOME WEEKS ago many of us woke up excited to learn that an Indian scientist, V. Ramakrishnan, had shared a Nobel prize for his work on ribosomes. His achievement is without doubt, largely attributable to the right working conditions and scientific facilities at the MRC lab of Cambridge University, where he works. Had he been in India, he would have been just another of those nameless scientists struggling with career politics, awful working conditions, etc., nowhere on the path to a Nobel.

The Indian scientist's ills are only the tip of the iceberg in India. The fundamental problem is a poor general academic framework for learning science. Readers have to just ask what they remember from all that they learnt in their own school and college days. Hardly anything at all - right? Why? Simple - our books were only for our examinations, and for nothing else. Much the same holds true today!

If we profile a typical Indian school child's academic years, we would see that a large part of them is spent on learning what she/he may never need and often what she/he may not relish. Compare that with the natural curiosity every child has in the vast boundless world of science. Our academic framework is a hopeless answer to that. For instance, a large number of chemical reactions are to be memorized without being witnessed, or their application understood.

The same holds for the numerous botanical and zoological classifications that children are forced to memorize. Well, all children know what the 'consequences' are if do not learn by rote these and nothing else. Coaching centers, study guides, and mock exams, what have you, all have one purpose - get it somehow into your heads and hold it until the final exams are over! Check this:- in an interview after winning the Nobel, V. Ramakrishnan admitted that he would have likely failed a chemistry exam now if he had to take one!

In the decades to come, India's new generations will surely face tough challenges on scientific, technological, and economic fronts. With hardly any confidence culminating from a poor academic framework, the typical Indian science or engineering graduate is in no way equipped for these challenges. Why else would we be importing mobiles, LCD televisions, storage media, and such things we can't survive without, all amounting to thousands of crores? It is the total lack of scientific and technological confidence that should have been there had the framework been right.

Science is best taught and learnt in a natural framework, that is, a child must delve into science for reasons of curiosity rather than exams. While this is easier said than done, it is surely time to attempt doing something about it. Given our good skills with computer programming for instance, we could initiate a large project for building virtual laboratories with multimedia/ flash for millions of children in schools and colleges. Likewise, ample real- world project opportunities will help children understand the technology that science can create.

Is someone in our education ministry listening?

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Posted comments (5)

	unfortunatly, i don't think anyone iin the education ministry is even bothering to listen.
	\| 06 February 2010 Reply to Comment \| New Comment \| Report Abuse

	wonderful introspection, but I have to remind those who share similar thoughts about one thing. The Nehruvian Socialist Societey like ours intends to put merit in forefront. It was intended that individuals with passion of science and engineering would eventually take charge and lead our society, but it never happened. The non political leaders like Dr. Sarabhai and Dr. Homi Baba don't seem to reappear again. It is ridiculous to think they didnt't suffer shrewd politics around, yet they rose to lead. Our great engineers have found that the only way an indvidual is recognized as engineer is by the hefty pay package he would get. And grants-on-demand for his scientific endeavor, only to reiterate the stateman JFK's saying : Ask not what your country can give you ask what you can do for your country. This logic simply don't apply to the practical sense of us Indian Engineers and Scientists. Yes American Society gives better financial reward for those scientist and engineers and hence the system is tuned for performance from basic schooling to the industries that "performance pays". But should one forget that companies like GE, BAE, Siemens (the latter two under external fraud investigation in Us for kickbacks) all would lobby the government to introduce large scale engineering projects for their personal growth. But just see what happens to Reliance in India, it is branded as a sinister deal already. Yes our system is rotten, it forces young students to improper learning. My suggestion - Start your own school with a difference, if not just get along.
	\| 27 November 2009 Reply to Comment \| New Comment \| Report Abuse

I agree with you in much of what you say, but we are essentially talking about children and no one else here. There are always C.V. Raman's and Sarabhai's who make it to the top, but one swallow does not make a summer. If India is serious about its own future, it cannot expect all her children to be Sarabhai's who can overcome hurdles. There is certainly the large responsibility for our education ministry to bring in sweeping changes that will let children gain from science. Flexibility is the way out.

Dr.Vijay | 29 November 2009

	as vijay sir said, government has to initiate to give more preference to research and skill based learning rather than just exams
	\| 26 November 2009 Reply to Comment \| New Comment \| Report Abuse