Education today is more than MOTS becoming HOTS

The newest buzzword in the CBSE school system is HOTS - Higher Order Thinking Skills. There is a clear recognition among policymakers that the biggest threat to the school learning system is the lack of creativity in the classroom. The mark based system of examination that led to rote learning is being blamed for completely doing away with inculcating creativity among students. And unless the creativity instinct is nurtured in the early years of learning, this skill may lie dormant or get killed altogether. Therefore, the awareness for HOTS to replace MOTS - 'more of the same'.

The education sector is generating a lot of interest in today's times. It is heralded as the sunrise industry that is recession friendly. Foreign players and private equity funds are aggressively looking at education sector for investment opportunities. Education is at an inflection point in any country of the world. The advantage that India has is tremendous opportunities to grow. Compare that to the American education sector which is currently being revamped, to regain its previous glory. In that sense while America is looking backwards, India is looking forward.

The other areas of improvement include changing the perception of the industry, which is that you are only as good as your marks. It is the board exam results of the students that determine the quality of any school. The concepts of 3Rs (Reading, Writing & Arithmetic), which is very prevalent in the Indian schooling system is leaning towards inculcating the 4C Mantra of the West.  3Rs is well on its way to be replaced by the 4Cs (Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking & Communication).

Technology is another buzzword for this sector. The use of technology in the classroom is simply going through the roof.  Digital content providers are swamping the place. From creating content database using a wide range of topics to assist the teachers or tailor making each and every lesson plan, this is a fast growing area. Besides active teaching, additional skills such as personality development and value based teaching are also being packaged by companies to be outsourced by schools. Use of e-readers and laptops by students is become more common, as the educational institutions get more computerised and automated with the use of ERP systems.

Blended learning as a concept is on a sharp increase. It gets its name from constructing and blending learning with the active use of technology in different learning environments. Blended learning uses the interface of computer, cellular technology like smart phones, satellite televisions and video conferencing for  enhancing learning.

Skill enhancement is another area that is receiving a lot of attention. Being predicted as the next big area of growth in education, there is widespread recognition of the fact that current education is delinked from the needs of industry. Vocational skills are, therefore, finding an entry into mainstream education as CBSE announces a vocational stream of studies in Grade XI.
All these changes being simultaneously introduced will no doubt take sometime to trickle down to the last stakeholder. Meanwhile, all these buzzwords, concepts, jargons, outsourcing vendors and investors queuing up for the education sector only herald that things are moving at a rapid pace and it won't be  long before the Indian education system shall be talked about with the same level of respect as is the system of the surprising and unexpected winner, Finland. Touche.

The writer is  an entrepreneur and educationist