We need to focus on promoting Humanities

On the website of the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, it is clearly stated, “The future belongs to India, the largest vibrant democracy in the world, teeming with opportunities. With hope in their eyes and a yearning to learn, the youth of this great nation awaits a new paradigm of education that fosters knowledge with analytical skills, logical reasoning and the ability to imagine beyond the given.”

The HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, promises Indian students of being able to imagine beyond the given. But how does one imagine beyond, when the first question an Indian student, is asked, “Beta, engineering or medical?”

Society has forced us to believe that Science is the only course that provides us with ‘certainties’ for our careers and is a prerequisite for our secondary, as well as higher education.

As an IGCSE student, who has always been immersed with the subjects in Humanities, like Business and Economics, the way Indian society has portrayed these courses, is of great misfortune. In today’s world which is increasingly digitised, methodical and automated, the science courses, especially Engineering has been glorified, idolised and highly overrated.

Students with interest in Mathematics, and the three Sciences have been applauded, while those who are interested in far more creative courses like Arts or Humanities, are provided with examples of Science students to mimic. Anything other than Science isn’t the right career choice. Such social opinions have grown even more and more, defining non-Science students as those that may end up with less or no employment/job opportunities at all, whilst assuring that Science students will be future pioneers.

Another popular system in India, ‘tuitions’, that most students are aware of, irrespective of the education board they are in, plays a major role in this fiasco. I believe that the system of tuitions has been so ingrained in the minds of Indian parents that they would want their children to pursue Science. Whereas Humanities is an area of study that requires one’s own creativity, expression and thought. It isn’t something that can be forced upon, or memorised or as we famously know, ‘rote learnt’.

Subjects like Economics, Political Science, Philosophy or even International Relations, require a lot of research and reading. And, there is no tuition for ‘reading’ or ‘creatively enhancing our minds’, at least not yet in India. Possessing a gift or talent in singing, dancing or even painting is looked down upon, in comparison to academic achievements.

In fact, in most subject rankings, top ranks are held by Engineering or Medical subjects whilst, the bottom ranking is given to Arts or Humanities.

There must be a change in our education system, wherein all subjects are equally promoted. There shouldn’t be any disregard for the non-Science subjects. There should be equal appreciation for all sorts of achievement.

Painting, dancing, singing, debating, playing musical instruments, etc, aren’t just hobbies. They can be lucrative career options as well and should be regarded as respectable and secure avenues. In the current circumstances in India, we require the youth to be future politicians, activists, and singers.

(The writer is a Class 10 student of Garodia International Centre for Learning, Mumbai).