Three civil service aspirants – two women and a man in their twenties -- drowned at the basement of a building which served as a library of a coaching centre in the Old Rajendra Nagar area of Delhi after heavy rain on July 27.
This unfortunate incident has brought our focus back on coaching classes and how unscrupulously, unprofessionally and precariously they operate all over India. But before that, it’s imperative to state as to what makes scores of youngsters opt for these dubious coaching classes which aptly call themselves “factories”! What are the reasons for this?
Today, education mainly hinges on mere information and a student’s ability to memorise. Often a student’s strong memory is mistaken for his/her intelligence or brilliance. No wonder students who participated in Kaun Banega Crorepati since its inception more than two decades ago, and managed to get a few lakhs for answering correctly, were hailed by their colleges and institutes as “bright” and “brilliant” students and felicitated by the eminent people of the cities and towns they belonged to. Over a period of time, memory, not understanding, became a rallying point for all the owners of coaching centres. All coaching classes started teaching how to memorise and write answers. Comprehension of the subject matter is completely ignored at these factories which are active in Kota, Sikar, Delhi and Ernakulam, to name but a few. There is a nexus between education institutes and coaching centres because most of the time, those who teach at coaching centres also teach at schools and colleges and they teach the same students at schools and colleges who come to their coaching classes for “tips”. Isn’t it ironic?
To thwart the menace of coaching centres, we all need to change our perceptions regarding the very purpose of education and knowledge. Students as well as their parents will have to realise that memory is not everything. Marks are not the lifelines and UPSC is not the alpha and omega. Remember, the students who excel in subjects that need good and retentive memory, often fail when it comes to applying their brains in a holistic manner. It must be noted that such students are often the products of a system that fosters spoon-feeding and rote learning, and discourages lateral thinking. In these competitive times, your goody-goody, glorified marksheet is no guarantee to get you a fabulous job. Creativity and innovation are the only engines that assure lasting success. Lateral thinking is essential. Instead of linear or vertical thinking, which relies solely on logic; lateral thinking is a deliberate, systematic process of using your ability to think in a different way. Academically brilliant students are often trained to think in a linear or vertical manner from the immediate perspective of performance in exams. They often fail to develop their lateral faculties and all-directional thought process. You have examples of such fiascos before you in the forms of the completely failed Latur Pattern and Kota Coaching factor. Both had been churning out academic zombies who lacked critical thinking to crack exams that need application of mind.
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The routine pattern of education, based on exam performance, has lost its relevance. It has been a nemesis for many youngsters for many years. Every year, so many youngsters die by suicide following their ’not-so-good’ performance in exams. It needs a complete jolt. We must introduce the European model of education in which a student is judged on the basis of three options: Conventional exams, year-long or overall performance, and assignment-based evaluation. Students can opt for any one of the three options given to them. This helps tide over the performance anxiety and brings out the true mettle of a student and his/her metier in a specific field.
Remember, there’s never a hell-and-heaven difference in intelligence in two individuals. It all depends upon how one applies one’s mind. That’s the key to success — in all exams of life that are much more important. Students must never forget that exams are formidable even to the best prepared, for even the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer. Einstein, Edison and Tagore didn’t complete their education. Steve Jobs, a dropout of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and Steve Wozniak, a dropout of the University of California, Berkeley, joined forces and founded Apple Computer in 1976. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to found Microsoft. The point is, though academic excellence is indeed praiseworthy, it shouldn’t be the alpha and omega of one’s life. Didn’t Allama Iqbal say, “Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain/ Abhi zindagi ke imtihaan aur bhi hain”? (There are worlds beyond the stars/There’s still many exams in life to excel in). Once we all understand the dynamics of education and knowledge, our fascination for coaching centres will fade away. Our schools, colleges and universities should also introduce innovative and modern ways of learning and teaching so that students can imbibe knowledge and not remain dependent on coaching centres.
Sumit Paul is a regular contributor to the world’s premier publications and portals in several languages
