Towards a Better Education System

The Education system in India, has been widely acclaimed as one of the best in the world. Yet, on taking a closer look, I would say that it is the intelligence of the Indian’s that has given the merit and not the learning system itself.

 

One of my important observations, when I visited Finland as a Rotary GSE Team member in 2006, was the system of education, which has been rated the No.1 in the world by PISA - Programme for International Student Assessment.

 

I had the opportunity of meeting and interacting with the principal of a teacher training school in Rovaniemi. She shared a lot of useful information of which one point caught my attention.  She said that, “the failure of the student is the failure of the teacher”. The child comes with a raw mind to learn and it is the duty of the teacher to teach the child the way, he/ she understands. There is no justice in classifying a child as bright or dull, without the teacher taking enough efforts to bring out the best in the child. The inefficiency of the teacher, surfaces on the results of the student. But the teacher comfortably shifts the cause to the inefficiency of the child.

 

When it comes to education the Parents - Teacher – Student form the 3 vertices of the magic trio. Everyone has to play their fair part. While it is true that the child has to put in its share of effort to study and present well, it is the duty of the teacher to create an interest of the subject in the child by some innovative means and it is the duty of the parents to create a good learning atmosphere.

 

In Finland, teachers have strong methodical autonomy, which means they do not have to fall into a glue of a fixed teaching pattern. They therefore think of new ways of teaching and make the learning process as fun and experiential as possible.

 

Throughout the education students with learning difficulties are paid special attention to. There is a strong favour for individual learning guidance. This is possible because the number of schools as compared to the number of student is high. A classroom has a maximum of 20 students, therefore personal attention is possible.

 

The parents seem to be very co-operative with the teacher and the child in terms of the child’s interest development.  There is no imposing of the parents on the child as to what he or she should become at the end of his education.

 

In Finland, there is a uniform curriculum throughout the country, in alternate to our system of multiple curriculums such as ICSE, CBSE, Matric, State Board etc. This uniform curriculum establishes a national standard and eases student migration, from one part of the country to the other.

 

One noticeable and appreciable part of their education is there is no ranking system in school.  The school is considered as a place of learning and not as place of competing. No child fails in class. Therefore no emotional damage is caused to the students during the learning period. No complexes are developed.  There are no public ranking lists. Entrance to Colleges based only on Entrance Test.  The Entrance test is again, not a place where you get rejected. The entrance test is more or less like a general aptitude test, wherein the student’s subject preference is evaluated. At the end of the entrance test a counselor sits with the student and discusses, the suitable options for the student based on his interest and skill level. The student then chooses the field of study based on this evaluation.

 

In Finland, all education institutions are run by the Government. There are no private schools. While in India, the students studying in Government schools are considered unfortunate, in Finland the Government is able to provide the best of education for its students and also be ranked as No.1, in the world.

 

 

 

 D. Senthil Kannan,

Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com