Convention proves that knowledge has always been esteemed more than its applied usage. However, with growing requirement for talent quality, eligible for enterprises these days, is shooting up the sky. But this is in total contradiction to what the package of higher education has to offer, in our education system.
I understand how important theoretical knowledge is. It will shape your cognizance but can never be enough for shaping skills that reality seeks. Like, theories can introduce you to a strategy; suppose strategies of a war. It will give you all the intricate details and design the map for the war. But what makes you a real deal in the battleground is your practice, the ability to track the map inside your mind and extending your theoretical perspectives into building the tactics. Similarly, practical knowledge is of equal importance to theoretical knowledge. Frequently changing realities demand immediate attention to the fact that students of Indian education system need to be furnished with knowledge that goes beyond books.
Throw some light into the practical knowledge application methods in schools of India and all we can find are laboratories where amazement lies in chemicals changing colours, where computers are only functioning for fiddling, and where teachers are mostly absent because ‘who takes lab classes seriously’, right? And since it is still better than struggling with the textbooks, students do not often challenge such indolence. But application is for undoing the concept that lessons are meant just for exams; it challenges the system of rote learning.
Unfortunately, our definition of knowledge is twisted. We want to do with it as fast as possible because we have to fetch jobs before ‘Sharma Ji’s son’ gets one. Yet we have no idea about how to start with the journey because all our life we have been trying to fit into an unplanned framework for our future, have been mugging up the volume of notes on the last day before the exam, reading about rural development theories but not researching on them, quoting articles on sustainable development yet not having the slightest inclination towards initiatives related to environment.
It is important that students understand the significance of mistakes, rectification and discovery. Practical knowledge will encourage those who are curious enough but doubtful by nature. It will educate those who have been surrounding themselves in their false bubble of pride, thinking they know it all. Application and exposure will definitely make students ready for this job-oriented era. The lack of stress on practical exposure has driven mane talented out of our country and no, not every time it has been out of willingness. Somehow our system has failed in owing them a proper foundation which might motivate them to fly right back. And sometimes, experts have also attributed the failure of start-ups in India to this approach of learning which only few league universities and institutes in India have been able to challenge, like the IITs, NITs and IIMs.
It is high time students think for self, and most importantly, act for self. And this can cease to remain just a dream if our policymakers are paying some attention!
First of all, the way of thinking should change. A intermediate (+1, +2) student, his/her parents and college management only focus on getting good % of marks and scoring good rank for Engineering or Medicine entrance exams. So the entire focus on preparing for that than learning the subject. Science should be learn by doing than reading. Even most of the colleges do not conduct practical classes to students. Some colleges do but have lot of limitations.
This is exactly why we need to push forward our lab game. Children of all ages should be taught with as much hands-on approach as possible. To that end, Labkafe (the leading lab equipment and lab furniture manufacturer in India) is working hard to make affordable school laboratory solutions accessible to all children in school.