There are various problems with our education system, which need to be rectified. The government is trying to reform the system, but inspite of all efforts, the real stakeholders like students, parents and educators are not happy with the education system.
This is because the voice of stakeholders is not being heard. Experiencing such issues during her school and college education where there is need to have students, teachers and parents participate, Vijayeta Singh from Patna who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship from Tata Institute of Social Science (Tiss) has envisioned a platform where children will be able to send their doubts, queries, suggestions and opinions to improve the educational system.
Singh has named the platform: My Education My Voice. “Education is the process of communicating the art and science of living a holistic life by way of physical, mental and spiritual growth. This communication is incomplete without a proper feedback mechanism which ensures that the message conveyed and was received properly. Our current education system doesn’t provide for this feedback mechanism leaving the process incomplete,” Vijayeta said.
For open discussions with students, she goes to schools with some volunteers to encourage pupils to participate in their own education process and reflect upon the loopholes in the system and how it can be improved.
The feedback is collected through postcards, audio and video recordings and then these are sent to the Human Resources Development Ministry, National Council of Education Research and Training, Maharashtra state education minister, the Prime Minister’s Office. She started ‘My Education My Voice’ in the month of February 2009 with the support of Ashoka’s Youth Venture Programme, which support young innovators all over the world. Since then she has visited many schools and come across with critical issues which students have raised.
“Most students in municipal schools expressed that they had developed an inferiority complex since they were not fluent in English. Even young students understand that without knowing English well, they cannot excel in their career or get a decent job,” added Vijayeta.
She came across various problems like lack of awareness of the Arts stream and parents pushing their children towards the Science and Commerce stream. “Students confided that teachers and parents constantly pressurise them to take up science or commerce. Students appealed that the education system should promote the arts stream, provide career opportunities in the same, while acknowledging its importance in an individual’s development,” informed Vijayeta.
Other suggestions raised by students included a one-on-one regular assessment instead of end-semester rote-learning based exam. Students also expressed their interest in participating in their own assessment process, a sense of ownership in education.
Taking a step forward Vijayeta has set up a site (http://www.myeducationmyvoice.co.nr), where students, parents and teachers can post their suggestions and comments on the issue. In this way students have the opportunity to be proactive and play a part in the future of the Indian educational system.
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