British left us almost 60 years ago.They gave us a lot of things, some good, some bad.The red tape culture of bureaucracy was bad,using meritocracy to select a bureaucrates was good.Giving us a judicial system which will take years to punish the guilty was bad but which will make sure that an innocent is never punished was good.It might be queTheir intentions of giving it to us might be questionable but the benefits that we Indians have reaped out of it are undeniable.
If an organization is an auotomobile, communication is the neccessary lubricant to make the ride smooth.Because of a significant English-speaking population, India has this lubricant in plenty and hence proved as an ideal answer for big organization's ever increasing human resources needs.Here the Macauley's system of education gave Indians a crucial edge over any other developing country.Macauley wanted Indians to learn english so that they can be employed effectively in Indian affairs of British administration.He understood that communication will be a crucial factor in governing India.He never speculated about how this will affect India--after independence, for the simple reason that 'Independent India' was to him an impossibility.
Education is instrumental for an individual to gain wealth and respect in Indian society.This reason made our parents to give education of their children utmost priority(here i am counting only those parents who had the means and enough sense to think about their child's welfare).When most of the world was busy producing managers, artists, fashion designers, musicians etc.Indian were busy teaching their kids Maths, Science and English as they believed it is the only way to get a prosperous and stable future.Getting into an IIT is like a dream coming true to any Indian student even today.
We invested a lot in having many institutes with particular stress on science and engineering colleges .Now every year we see lakhs of engineers coming out in the market.Their quality is not so consistent but what matters is that they all have dreams in their eyes and will do almost anything to make them come true.And what may seem to the world an underpaid job, in India, it still is somebody's dream coming true.
And finally all this investment and plans are paying off in India becoming World Brain mine.Indians are now considered a talent pool that is as smart as their western counterpart, if not better and at the same times, is ridiculously cheap and speaks the language of the world. So if i am business man, it makes a lot of sense to hire and train Indians if it is feasible.
So.. where do go from here ? where lies the future ? My best guess would be to say 'some place nice' but ONLY IF we plan today and face the challenges that need our immediate attention.The picture is still not as rosy as we all would like to believe.The fact that 3/4 th of the professionals we produce every year are coming from only 1/4 of the total population indicates that there is still lot to be desired from the present situation.Until ,unless we work for a better educational infrastructure ,making education accessible to every section of the society, the dream of India Shining will remain only a mirage to us.The good news is that, if we stick to the fundamentals we can do it.They may vary a little here and a little there but following points broadly sums them up( i hope so ) :
1.Invest more in primary and secondary education , providing compulsory education to underprivileged classes should be priority.More participation will only increase quality and quantity of the human reasource.It will also provide the social equality that provides any economy the political stability it requires to bloom.
2.Start paying your teachers more, make teaching a lucrative profession as a teacher may decide finally the fate of hundreds of our children.
3.India's core strength lies in teaching their kids Science and Maths ,stick to it .This world will require far more engineers than we will be able to produce.Quality higher education and enough infrastructure to meet industry demands needs to be the call of the time.
4.Increase the focus and funding for the R&D projects going in industry and educational institutions.It won't be reaping immediate benefits but research projects of today becomes outrageously successful product or technology of tommorow ,so essential for any stable and booming economy.
5.Increase the industry-academia participation, it will be a symbiotic relationship beneficial for both.
I admit it is always easier said than done, but a blog can only help you in putting forth your opinion.Rest is upto the people who read it and who wrote it in the first place.If we want to do something we will always find a way.But BEING AWARE is the first step for any worthy cause and I feel elated to say that we have taken that one CRUCIAL step.
Aufwiedersehen!! ( Until we meet again in german)
If an organization is an auotomobile, communication is the neccessary lubricant to make the ride smooth.Because of a significant English-speaking population, India has this lubricant in plenty and hence proved as an ideal answer for big organization's ever increasing human resources needs.Here the Macauley's system of education gave Indians a crucial edge over any other developing country.Macauley wanted Indians to learn english so that they can be employed effectively in Indian affairs of British administration.He understood that communication will be a crucial factor in governing India.He never speculated about how this will affect India--after independence, for the simple reason that 'Independent India' was to him an impossibility.
Education is instrumental for an individual to gain wealth and respect in Indian society.This reason made our parents to give education of their children utmost priority(here i am counting only those parents who had the means and enough sense to think about their child's welfare).When most of the world was busy producing managers, artists, fashion designers, musicians etc.Indian were busy teaching their kids Maths, Science and English as they believed it is the only way to get a prosperous and stable future.Getting into an IIT is like a dream coming true to any Indian student even today.
We invested a lot in having many institutes with particular stress on science and engineering colleges .Now every year we see lakhs of engineers coming out in the market.Their quality is not so consistent but what matters is that they all have dreams in their eyes and will do almost anything to make them come true.And what may seem to the world an underpaid job, in India, it still is somebody's dream coming true.
And finally all this investment and plans are paying off in India becoming World Brain mine.Indians are now considered a talent pool that is as smart as their western counterpart, if not better and at the same times, is ridiculously cheap and speaks the language of the world. So if i am business man, it makes a lot of sense to hire and train Indians if it is feasible.
So.. where do go from here ? where lies the future ? My best guess would be to say 'some place nice' but ONLY IF we plan today and face the challenges that need our immediate attention.The picture is still not as rosy as we all would like to believe.The fact that 3/4 th of the professionals we produce every year are coming from only 1/4 of the total population indicates that there is still lot to be desired from the present situation.Until ,unless we work for a better educational infrastructure ,making education accessible to every section of the society, the dream of India Shining will remain only a mirage to us.The good news is that, if we stick to the fundamentals we can do it.They may vary a little here and a little there but following points broadly sums them up( i hope so ) :
1.Invest more in primary and secondary education , providing compulsory education to underprivileged classes should be priority.More participation will only increase quality and quantity of the human reasource.It will also provide the social equality that provides any economy the political stability it requires to bloom.
2.Start paying your teachers more, make teaching a lucrative profession as a teacher may decide finally the fate of hundreds of our children.
3.India's core strength lies in teaching their kids Science and Maths ,stick to it .This world will require far more engineers than we will be able to produce.Quality higher education and enough infrastructure to meet industry demands needs to be the call of the time.
4.Increase the focus and funding for the R&D projects going in industry and educational institutions.It won't be reaping immediate benefits but research projects of today becomes outrageously successful product or technology of tommorow ,so essential for any stable and booming economy.
5.Increase the industry-academia participation, it will be a symbiotic relationship beneficial for both.
I admit it is always easier said than done, but a blog can only help you in putting forth your opinion.Rest is upto the people who read it and who wrote it in the first place.If we want to do something we will always find a way.But BEING AWARE is the first step for any worthy cause and I feel elated to say that we have taken that one CRUCIAL step.
Aufwiedersehen!! ( Until we meet again in german)
