Apni jo paathshala

It affects me how education across the world is being driven by competition these days. Exams and marks are the ultimate depiction of a student’s performance. This is also because of the commercialisation of education. I believe collaboration is a better way of learning. While many might argue that this approach is communist in nature, the roots of similar education can be found in Indian scriptures as well. The shloka that defines it is-

Aacharyaat paadamekamsyaat
Paadam sahabrahmacharibhihi
Paadam tu medhaya
Seshaam kaalena pachyate

If education is divided into four equal parts, only one part is imparted by the teacher. Of course, that is mentioned in the beginning and given prime importance by implication. Another part is imparted by the peers, class-mates, friends and contemporaries. Yet another part is imbibed by the pupil himself on the merit of his own intellect. Then, the rest is imparted by time. By the maturity one gains education through the passage of time.

When I look at the way education is imparted in our colleges, a strange sense of depression clouds me. Peer interaction is minimalistic in modern education system. Students are hardly given an opportunity to use their intellect. All the answers in the answer books must match the text in books. Or else students tend to loose marks. Quest for marks has clouded quest for knowledge.