Education for Tomorrow: Recommendations for a revamped Social Syllabus

The modern trends in education centre on individual development. Today, education is commonly viewed as a tool for individual growth, welfare and prosperity. Educational institutions are generally seen as stables wherein well-groomed students, market ready, are produced. These students, on their advent into job market labor hard focusing purely on their individual dreams, such as, lavish lifestyle, sophisticated living and amazement of wealth. Thus, Education has mostly lost its right of being the end and is rather perceived as a means to the end called ‘Luxurious Living’.

It can never be denied that the current global market is extremely competitive and ‘Survival of the Fittest’ is the only ground reality. But at the same time, it is indeed important that one needs to bear in mind the adage ‘No man is an island’. An individual on his race towards personal progress runs on the field called ‘Society’. Life of one necessarily impacts the life of the other. Despite the differences that prevail in social, economic, cultural and religious spheres, every many is dependent. One man’s rise and fall essentially affects the rise and fall of the other. This inter dependency is an inevitable aspect of human living.

It is easy to argue, I am responsible for my individual life and those of my friends and relatives. Why should I shoulder the responsibility of some others’ life? The answer is simple. For instance, if a man insists on violating the traffic rules, does it prove detrimental only to his safety or to all around him? If the answer is the latter then it is proven that one man’s weirdness has a sure impact on the peace of all around him. Such scenes are very common in morning wee hours on our roads. We may quote various such instances from our day to day living. Being educated, if a man purposely chooses to violate rules, despite knowing its consequences, does it not trigger a question regarding the aims and purposes of education?

A closer survey of modern educational practices causes an alarm. The modern day students are born of one same mould, i.e., ‘Mark Machine’. Incessant coaching, slip tests, revision exams, remedial teaching, etc., completely drain the individuality of students. Students are forced to master Math and Science, regardless of their individual preferences and interests. Excessive emphasis on Math and Science makes students as things on conveyor belt moving towards a cause unknown and non-preferred. The ultimate end in the process becomes mark accumulation and not knowledge accumulation.

Similarly, there is an exaggerated nationwide emphasis on language efficiency. Craze for language, especially English, has resulted in the mushrooming of Language Institutes that cater English on the platter as instantly as fast food. Students frequent these institutes with an aerial aim of mastering a language, a few centuries old, in a few days. Thus, the entire course of education for the modern day students becomes a routine activity, remote to personal interests and intercession.

After all such fuss and race, the modern education system produces products that are completely wielded from the ground reality. It is a common scene that parents often complaint of their children’s inability to rise up to an occasion and respond intuitively. Decision making is a nightmare to most of these mark machines. They are not confident enough even to desire and dream of a future but are completely reliant on their parents to decide for them.

The result of such forced and self-centered education has its reflection in the perils that surround us, such as, Global Warming, Pollution of various forms and intensity, worsening civic awareness, dispersion of anti-social trends and tendencies, etc. Treading the bottom line of Lord Buddha, “Desire is the root cause of all evil’, “Individualist tendency is the root cause of all perils that threaten the peaceful social structure”.

It is high time that we critically analyzed and evaluated the pros and cons of our educational system. Students cannot be blamed at any cause for they move with the current. Hence, we need to channelize the current in the constructive direction. Education definitely requires giving its takers something more than rote facts and figures. Inculcation of ‘Social Consciousness’ in Education is the compelling need of the era. It is high time that we stopped making mark machines and focus on making ‘Thinking, Social Beings’.

A society based curriculum can alone be the rightful step towards the required educational innovation. Any addition to curriculum, we are aware, would bring about mixed responses. The teaching fraternity might think of it an extension of their existing work load; the student community would consider it an additional burden and the parents might consider it an added strain in monitoring their children.

But here the emphasis is not on adding to the existing curriculum rather reconfiguring the existing curriculum. Students do have a subject called Social Science up to secondary education. But it is unfortunate that this subject is historically limited to rote memorizing of facts and figures related to history; soil types, climate changes and topographical features in geography. Though there is a part called ‘Civics’, it is not intense enough to trigger the social humaneness in students. The vision needs to be calibrating this syllabus to make it encompass the rudiments of the art of social living.

The syllabus can include in linear progression from the lower level smaller units of the following Human Sciences:

·         Anthropology

·         Demography

·         Criminology

·         Human Geography

·         Philosophy

·         Political Science

·         Psychology

·         Sociology

Subjects like Criminology and psychology would come handy in handling adolescents, an area the modern teachers find it extremely nerve wrecking. An introduction to psychology at the school level would definitely help the students to have a closer look at his individual self, to meditate on the varying physical and psychological phases that one traverse through and to seek help and guidance at times of emotional turbulence.

Anthropology, Demography and Human Geography will get the students acquainted with the race that they are part of. A wider understanding of human evolution that spans to millions of years will make the students realize how insignificant and meager his/her role in the entire human history. This knowledge would trigger in them achievement motivation, a fire to stamp their presence during their short span of stay on this earth.

Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology will present the students with a panoramic view of the wider social spectrum that encompasses them. Politics Science here indicates giving the students knowledge of the human governance and the existing hierarchical structure in the societies across the world. Sociology can be the efficient tool in making the students aware of the complex social evolution that the human race has been subjected to. Sociology can help students perceive the similarities and differences in the social structures that exist in the world. It is mandatory that the students get familiar with the numerous trials that have moulded the human race to its current sophisticated form.

The recommendation here is not to incorporate these sciences in volumes and extend the burden of school going children. These sciences need not be preached to the students in their theoretical, complex structured form. But the essence of these sciences needs to seep into the lessons that are prescribed for the syllabi that the children study in the tenure of their school education. Just as a drop of milk changes the texture of the black tea, knowledge of these human sciences when blended with the curriculum of the students would surely result in the emergence of a generation that is purely social friendly.

If one of the primary goals of education is to create mature social beings, it is not possible without the inculcation of these sciences in the syllabi. The ultimate intention of education is to create a society; devoid of disparities, free from war, clear of anti-social tendencies, relieved from poverty, devoid of corrupt bureaucracy, etc,. It can become a reality only when education enables man to understand, appreciate, admire and acknowledge the rightful presence of every fellow human being. A curriculum that promotes such a social cordiality can alone meet the social challenges of tomorrow.