It feels like yesterday when I was a kid and questioned my teacher about why we were studying these tough mathematical theorems. He sarcastically replied to me, “Whatever happens, happens for a reason.” I wonder why he replied this way to my question. After all, those theorems have no role in building my life from that kid to where I am now.
From that day onward, I started reading articles published in newspapers about the current status of our education system. The deeper I went, the dirtier the answers got. I began with articles in the editorial section whenever there was news about education, but no such editorials were written to express or expose the current state of our education system.
I shifted to the Indian Express newspaper, where I found somewhat better results. Just today, as I was reading the newspaper, the headline on the front page read: “Most rural kids 14-18 can’t do Class 3 math, over 25% can’t read.” Can you now imagine the status of our education system? How ridiculous it is to see our country, where prominent leaders like Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Swami Vivekanand were born and died educating others about their rights and standard of living.
According to the article in The Indian Express, more than half of 14- to 18-year-old children in rural India cannot solve a simple three-digit division problem usually taught in Class 3-4. They struggle with everyday skills, including determining time and doing basic calculations. This information is from the latest edition of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released on Wednesday. The findings point to a significant skill deficit among adolescents, many of them only a few years away from entering the job market.
It is heartening to see reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in our country, reflecting the reality of our education system. As the youth of our country, we should strive to restore the honor of our education system, as there are no limitations or restrictions for us to gather knowledge or access education. I have the quality of education we can get now without any hesitation or struggle, but unfortunately, we have failed to fulfill our duty.
Our country comprises a majority of the land with a rural population, where basic mathematics remains a significant challenge. More than half of the surveyed students (56.7%) could not solve a simple 3-digit by 1-digit division problem, considered a proxy for the ability to perform basic arithmetic operations. ASER 2023 assessed the ability of those surveyed to apply basic arithmetic and reading skills to everyday calculations, understanding written instructions, and financial calculations.
Worryingly, less than half of them (around 45%) could calculate the number of hours a child had slept based on the time remaining in school, which is longer than ever before. ASER 2023 found that 86.8 per cent of children between 14 and 18 are enrolled in an educational institution, contradicting a major worry during the pandemic that children would drop out with livelihoods threatened.
Hence, our country is considered a land of illiterates with a lack of common sense and humor. As a responsible youth of my country, it is my duty to change this label upon her. I want to change the status of our education system by removing unwanted elements with social education and manners. This is not an alien solution to the problem; there was a great visionary in our country who gave an ideation of a better education system, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the Missile Man of India, gave his vision to the students as well as the teachers of studying with “Skill-Based Education.”
According to him, our education system requires certain reforms, both in terms of the spirit and practicality of the knowledge imparted. In his speech at the Delhi Secretariat, he emphasized the inclusion of skill-based education at the school level. I think this is the only way to improve the quality of our education system and provide meaning to the lives of people living in rural India.