According to UNICEF, quality education is one of the integral child-related Sustainable development goals (under SDG target 4.1). It is a one-stop solution for numerous problems in the educational system. Because educational quality has the power to shape several human lives and eliminate numerous disparities in our society.
We all know that India has a series of problems within its education system. And to reach the required quality benchmarks, we must understand the workable areas well.
Let’s pinpoint a few of these:
- 32 million Indian students have never been to a school.
- The nation has a teacher shortage.
- More than 50% of the students in class 5 are incapable of reading basic texts and solving simple arithmetic problems.
With all such problems going on for decades, quality education in India seems to be the only credible solution.
Read on for some interesting facts and sequential information.
What is Quality Education?
Globally, educational quality aims at creating a wholesome learning environment that encompasses aspects like health, resources, facilities, and community at large. In India, we have already made education a ‘RIGHT’ with the RTE 2009 Act. And there has been a stupendous increase in our gross enrollment rates due to these major government initiatives (100.13% in elementary and 79.56% in secondary).
After reaching the desired benchmark of enrollments (at the elementary levels), our policymakers are rightly advancing towards an approach that covers the quality aspects. In fact, the recent education policy (National Policy of Education, 2020) addresses this part in great detail. Part IV of this policy ‘Making it Happen’ covers this aspect under point number 26.
Importance of Quality Education for Indian Students?
Contributing to Growth
In India, there is a direct connection between the quality of students and the opportunities. Because many of our students lag behind due to their family backgrounds, and financial constraints.
In the present times, many Indian students are exploring the possibilities of higher education through options like fundraising. Now that we have realized the quality education importance, it’s time to create the right educational design.
Eliminating Poverty
Research has proved that speeding up the education spectrum can help in eradicating poverty. Today, we are fortunate to live in an age where educational alternatives are readily available to us. ICT-focused schools, online schools, homeschooling, and similar alternatives can fill the gaps in our existing systems.
Skill-Building
Our students need enhanced skill sets to explore the best opportunities in the global workforce. And quality education in India is the only way to build skillsets for the future.
Despite a number of efforts, the current state of employability is not very promising for our students. Because only 45% of the Indian graduates were aligned with the demands of the workforce.
Today, skills like digital fluency, collaboration, communication, and creativity are crucial to improving the overall skills and quality of students in India.
Ways to Promote Quality Education
Use of Innovative Mechanisms
This boon of digitalization has the potential to make the best quality education accessible in every nook and corner of India. In addition, digital resources can also serve as great sources to create engaging learning opportunities.
Individualized Learning Models
Virtual resources, online repositories, and digital learning content are highly effective for all types of learners.
Educational Alternatives
Educational alternatives can accelerate the process of transformation and promote quality education in India. And the best part is that these options are available in the form of online schools that are much more affordable than the top-rated traditional schools.
What are the Key Sources of Quality Education?
Learning Environment
A positive learning environment allows all students to thrive conveniently. We can improve the educational quality by strengthening this pillar of our education system.
Educator Support
To achieve quality education, we need the support of trained teachers. Good teacher support is certainly the most reliable source for the best education for students in India.
EdTech-
During the challenging times of the global pandemic, the world witnessed the real scope of Edtech and collaboration. This duration united the world’s academicians and for the first time ever, we realized the importance of sharing our resources. In this post-pandemic era, India is all set to harness the power of technology.
With this revolution, choices like supplementary online resources and fully accredited online schools are now a part of our mainstream system.
What are the Challenges of Quality Education?
A country as populous as India has a number of challenges to face. Some of these are as follows:
Pedagogies and approaches
Our traditional educational system struggles to design unique approaches for all students at all times.
Accessibility
With a huge disparity in society, the best quality education is often a privilege for students who belong to well-off families. These accessibility issues are also quite serious in remote areas in our country.
Learning poverty
During the pandemic, India’s learning poverty shot from 54% to 70%. This means that our students lacked basic proficiencies, such as reading, arithmetic, or writing skills, etc.
Final Thoughts
In recent times, quality is certainly the cornerstone of our educational planning and processes. However, India still has a long way to go before it reaches the target. Now that we have acknowledged the quality education importance, a roadmap, and strong implementation is all we need. Let’s play our part in this revolution, and wait for the face of young India to unleash and shine as leaders in this globalized world!
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is quality education?
Quality education is an integrated approach towards creating wholesome educational opportunities for students. And focuses on holistic development through a positive learning environment.
- What are the key sources of quality education?
To improve our educational quality, we must focus on teacher training, and create alternatives like online learning. And support our students with a positive learning environment. Other than all this, we also need to focus on individualized learning that can help all types of students make the most of their educational journey.
- What are the challenges of quality education?
Some of the challenges of quality education are:- Poor student enrollment rates especially at the secondary levels
- Drop-out rates
- Gender and other forms of discrimination
- Accessibility problems in rural areas
- Lack of knowledge
- Inadequate teacher training and professional development opportunities etc.
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