Dr Uday Salunkhe at NHRDN Conference, Bengaluru.
As the great minds unfolded, poured in some of the very grim facts along with some very feasible and efficacious ideas to unknot the complex of our educational landscape. Dr (Prof.) Uday Salunkhe, Group Director played the perfect host as he anchored the session on ‘Overhauling Our Education System to meet India’s Human Capability Needs’. The 15th national conference, with ‘Live And Breathe The Change’ as its theme was organized by NHRD Network at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru recently.
The guest speakers were all leading luminaries from academia. Dileep Ranjekar – CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, Anand Sudarshan – CEO, Manipal Education and Dr. Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIM – Bangalore. Dr Uday Salunkhe with his characteristic intellectual gravitas welcomed the speakers to the dais, as he introduced them to the audience.
Setting the tone for the session Dr Salunkhe defined, “Education is what you remember after you have forgotten what you have memorized, going away from the rote learning in the classrooms.” Talking of the new emerging economy wherein the focus has shifted to speed, imagination and innovation and design and heterogeneity in the workforce, skipping the statistical details and figures Dr Salunkhe said , “It is what we deliver in our classrooms today that would decide what society we are going to live in, in the days to come. The future has it seeds in the education given today.
Mr Dileep Ranjekar – CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, was the first among the speakers to share his thoughts with the audience. He said that education alone can bring about the much needed social change; it is very effective tool for the same. He listed inequity, injustice and complete lack of care both at human and environmental levels as the three major threats faced by the society. He expressed his concern and dismay over the abysmal state of education in the country along with the unawareness of the government policies among educators. Other bottlenecks, in streamlining the educational policies include lack of accountability for poor performance, instability and inconsistency of governments which sadly change frequently and neglect by politicians that gets reflected in poor budgetary allocations.
In a shocking fact shared by Mr Anand Sudarshan – CEO, Manipal Education he mentioned that on the skill-front, the scenario is far more worrisome. Around 93 percent of workforce in any given organisation is not adequately skilled or trained for their jobs; they need some sort of ‘repair’. There can be socio-economic reasons for taking up jobs at an early stage in life, without being suitably trained in the relevant skills. It is a sorry state but the fact remains.
But he was quick to move onto India’s fair share of strengths, like its huge reservoir of entrepreneurial talent complemented with high aspirational quotient.
Dr. Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIM – Bangalore, described India as the only researchers’ paradise left in the world because of the dynamicity of the Indian society. Outlining the biggest challenge in the context, he pointed out the dwindling number of good academicians. The role of an academic is far bigger than a teacher so as a recruiter, while taking people onboard we should look for individuals who are good thinkers, researchers and in turn good teachers. Unfortunately not many opt for academics as their vocation.
All the speakers unanimously agreed on the fact that the vast pool of human resources which we have, can be turned to our advantage with adequate policy reforms, spreading awareness of government policies and adequate changes in curriculum and evaluation practices. This would not only arrest the decline but also position India as one of the leading suppliers of talented and skilled workforce.