Improving the Indian Education System Using Germany as a ...
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Improving the Indian Education System
Using Germany as a Benchmark
Abhinava Mishra Ankit Gupta
Arpit Narechania Ashish Kumar
Chamundeswar Nadh
In conjunction with Dr. Anil Kishan and Dr.Venkata Krishnan
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Chapter 1. Introduction
This project is about unravelling the mystery behind the above quote which is not only
humorous but alarming at the same time for the progress of a developing country like India.
Taking Germany (a pioneer in the field of Education especially Mechanical Engineering) as a
benchmark we plan to find the reasons behind the probable under development of Indian
education system.
The project is chiefly focused on improving the Indian education system. For the past
25 years there has been no revolutionary change in the Indian education system. In this project
we will identify the problems faced by Indian education system and we will propose the
solution based on our survey and feedback from people associated with this system taking
Germany as a benchmark. Indian education system influences nearly every Indian citizen and
thus we can say that development of India is proportional to developments in its education
system.
Given these circumstances, this project will examine solutions as small as “What books/
authors to follow?” to “What is the role of government policies in aiding development in the
educational field right from a primary school to the university graduation level?” Our GOAL is
to evaluate the educational system in India right from the quality of education, i.e. to see what
improvements can be made if focus is made on understanding and not on rote learning,
teaching standards, the role of administration (private/ government). We will also assess the
mindset and perceptions of the rural population regarding higher education, and see if they
hold the idea that education is not a must for earning money or getting a nice bride, and so
forth.
In order to successfully meet our goals, we will have to understand:
1. The perceptions of a sample of the population (rich, non-rich, rural, urban) regarding
education for themselves and their offspring - will be achieved by surveying participants:
In India: Rural - towns like Mandi, Kullu, Sundernagar
Urban - cities like Chandigarh, New Delhi
In Germany: Aachen, Cologne, Munich, Berlin
2. Perceptions of the students - how do they feel about education or how do they want
to be taught? What is their opinion on the format of home assignments; examination styles,
etc. (Focus on the root learning other than imagination)
3. Perceptions of the teachers, professors in educational institutions in the above
mentioned places - what is their outlook on imparting education - is it just for ‘money’ or a
typical Indian ‘safe government job’ or for the sake of ‘humanity’
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4. Perceptions of local Non-Government Organizations who are walking on similar
paths trying to modify the way people learn. (Why there are so many NGOs related to
education but there effects are unnoticed??)
5. Perceptions of the respective administration (private/government) is playing - “is it
here to make millions or help its students also make millions?”, “is the education centralized?”
OR “are there stark differences in the quality and course contents in different states within
the same country” (for example - the 28 State Boards, ICSE, CBSE, ISC, etc. in India)
The problem faced by Indian education system is not so explicit. The high number of
backdrops, lack of motivation among the poor students constitutes few of the problems faced
by the Indian education system. An ideal person will argue that there are no such problems in
the education system, but we should look at the facts:
Quoting Shiraz Naval Minwalla, a professor of theoretical physics at the Tata Institute
of Fundamental Research (TIFR) - Mumbai, who had won the New Horizons in Physics Prize for
2013 on 5th November.
“Institutions like TIFR, IIS, HRI and the National Centre for the Biological Sciences give
good support and scientists should recognize this. There are few comparable places in the
Third World. What we’re missing however is the depth. The U.S. research community has got
so good because of its depth. Genuine, exciting research is not done just in the Ivy League
institutions. Even small places have a Nobel Laureate teaching there. So, India may have lots
of universities but they are somehow not able to produce good work.”
In spite of having numerous educational institutions, the amount of research work
done is minimal. In spite of having lakhs of engineers per year, India has to import technology
from other nations for its own development. In spite of investing loads of rupees in education,
the government is unable to reap the benefits from the students in its due state. All these tell
us that there exists a problem which has to be identified and solved. We cannot proclaim that
Indian people are not that stimulated as others. It observed that most of the Indian achievers
are educated in a foreign country which unfortunately raises direct fingers at the education
system.
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Chapter 2. Literature Review
In this chapter, we present our key findings from a review of recently published articles
and commentary on this problem. We begin with a brief description of the two sites, and
follow with the background information discussion. Finally, we present case studies from
which we can learn about educational strategies and curricula which will be helpful in solving
our problem.
2.1 Site Description
In this project, we are going to focus on a thorough study between the education
system in India and Germany. Our first site will be the present educational institutions in India
which comprise of various college and schools across the country. We will analyze the
educational structure of a country which today is the second largest higher education network
in the world. Our second team will be analyzing the current scenario of educational system in
Germany.
India officially the Republic of India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest
country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most
populous democracy in the world. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and a region
of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its
commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history (A History of India, Stein.B). Four
world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here. Gradually
annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the
early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th
century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence. The
Indian economy is the world's eleventh-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by
Purchasing Power Parity (Gross domestic product, current prices in US dollars, Oct 2013).
Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing
major economies; it is considered a newly industrialized country. However, it continues to face
the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, inadequate public healthcare, and
terrorism. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army
in the world and ranks eighth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal
constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7
union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society.
Germany (Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal
parliamentary republic in western-central Europe. The country consists of 16 states and its
capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 sq.km and has a largely
temperate seasonal climate. With 80.6 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member
state in the European Union. Germany is the major economic and political power of the
European continent and a historic leader in many cultural, theoretical and technical fields
(Wikipedia). It is one of the earliest developed civilizations being part of the great Roman
Empire. It was a major force during World Wars and hosted the great Nazi Revolution. After
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crisis from World War I & II, in 1945 Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved
into two states, East Germany and West Germany and reunified again in 1990.
Germany has a social market economy with a highly skilled labor force, a large capital
stock, a low level of corruption (CPI, 2009), and a high level of innovation. It has the largest
and most powerful national economy in Europe, the fourth largest by nominal GDP in the
world, the fifth largest by PPP (GDP 2009, World Bank), and was the biggest net contributor to
the EU budget in 2011. As a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors, it is
the second-largest exporter and third-largest importer of goods (Wikipedia). It is a developed
country with a very high standard of living, featuring comprehensive social security that
includes the world's oldest universal health care system. Germany was a founding member of
the European Community in 1957, which became the EU in 1993. Germany is a great power,
and a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, the OECD and the Council
of Europe. Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in
2010, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany. 30 Germany-based
companies are included in the DAX, the German stock market index. Well-known global brands
are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, SAP, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, Audi, Allianz, Porsche, Bayer,
Bosch, and Nivea.
2.2 Background
In order to understand the problem, we need to understand the background of the
educational systems that are in place in each locale:
India Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the State
Governments, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy
for others. India has made progress in terms of increasing the primary education attendance
rate and expanding literacy to approximately three quarters of the population. As per the
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, 96.5% of all rural children between the ages
of 6-14 were enrolled in school. 83% of all rural 15-16 year olds were enrolled in school. As per
the latest (2013) report issued by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), there
are more than 3524 diploma and post-diploma offering institutions in the country with an
annual intake capacity of over 1.2 million. The AICTE also reported 3495 degree-granting
engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake capacity of over 1.76 million with
actual enrollment crossing 1.2 million. According to the University Grants Commission (UGC)
total enrollment in Science, Medicine, Agriculture and Engineering crossed 6.5 million in 2010.
All these numbers make India’s higher education system the third largest in the world, after
China and the United States (India Country Summary on Education, World Bank).
In the India education system, a significant number of seats are reserved under
affirmative action policies for the historically disadvantaged Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes and Other Backward Classes. In universities/colleges/institutions affiliated to the
federal government there is a minimum 50% of reservations applicable to these disadvantaged
groups, at the state level it can vary. In India the central and most state boards uniformly
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follows the "10+2+3" pattern of education. In this pattern the first 10 years are spent in school
then 2 years in a college and then 3 or more years in a graduate college or University for a
bachelor’s degree. This pattern originated from the recommendation the Education
Commission of 1964–66.
The education system in India is provided by both public and private sector and can be
divided into two parts mainly:
1. Primary Education and Secondary Education (covers school, high school and junior college)
2. Undergraduate and Postgraduate level (Higher Education)
Primary and Secondary educations comprise school education wherein children study
for 12 years (class 1 to 12) and are governed independently by various curriculum bodies like
CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education),
ISC (Indian School Certificate) and several state boards. Higher education includes colleges and
universities like IITs, NITs, IIMs, AIIMS, DU (University of Delhi), JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru
University) etc. All universities in India needed to be recognized by University Grants
Commission (UGC) which is the statutory organization for coordinating and maintaining the
standards of university education in India. As per the Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Government of India, in 2011, the higher education sector in India consisted of
42 central universities, 296 state universities (both public and private) and more than 30,000
colleges (MHRD 2011).
Even with such a huge numbers India face a big problem with the quality of education.
One study found out that 25% of public sector teachers and 40% of public sector medical
workers were absent during the survey. Among teachers who were paid to teach, absence
rates ranged from 15% in Maharashtra to 30% in Bihar. Only 1 in nearly 3000 public school
head teachers had ever dismissed a teacher for repeated absence. A study on teachers by
Kremer etc. found that 'only about half were teaching, during unannounced visits to a
nationally representative sample of government primary schools in India (Kremer etc. (2004),
"Teacher Absence in India: A Snapshot", Journal of the European Economic Association).
Higher Education network of India which is considered as the third largest in the world
fail badly to make a mark in worldwide educational surveys done by reputed magazines. Top
Indian institutes like the IIT Bombay and IISc couldn't make space in the top 100 list. IIT-Delhi
had 212 rank in QS World University Ranking 2012 and IIT-Kharagpur is the only Indian institute
listed in top 250 universities by Times Higher Education ranking and is placed in 226-250
category (Times higher education ranking, 2013). Surprisingly, the Government budget for
higher education has increased substantially in past decade. In 2007-08, Govt. of India
allocated Rs.2024 crore for implementing an Oversight Committee for recommendations and
in 2013-14, it allocated Rs.3348 crore to UGC (MHRD budget outcome 2007, 2013). But on the
other hand students in India who are well off prefer foreign universities for higher education
over their Indian counterparts. As per the Institute of International Education, Indians are
second in number of international students studying in US (100,270 in 2013) (i.e. 2013) and
according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 14% of Student Visa applications come from
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India which is second largest after China (20%)(abs,2011). As per the Global Education Digest,
UNESCO, 400000 Indian students apply annually to overseas pursuing higher education
(UNESCO 2010). These statistics are a ringing alarm for education system in India and are
indicative of a much needed modification.
Germany The responsibility for the German education system lies primarily with the states while
the federal government plays only a minor role. Optional Kindergarten (nursery school)
education is provided for all children between two and six years of age, after which school
attendance is compulsory (EACEA). The system varies throughout Germany because each state
(Land) decides its own educational policies. Most children, however, first attend Grundschule
from the age of six to ten. German secondary education includes five types of school. The
Gymnasium is designed to prepare pupils for university education and finishes with the final
examination Abitur, after grade 12 or 13. The Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for
intermediate pupils and finishes with the final examination Mittlere Reife, after grade 10; the
Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education and finishes with the final examination
Hauptschulabschluss, after grade 9 or 10 and the Realschulabschluss after grade 10. There are
two types of grade 10: one is the higher level called type 10b and the lower level is called type
10a; only the higher-level type 10b can lead to the Realschule and this finishes with the final
examination Mittlere Reife after grade 10b. This new path of achieving the Realschulabschluss
at a vocationally oriented secondary school was changed by the statutory school regulations
in 1981.
Many of Germany's hundred or so institutions of higher learning charge little or no
tuition by international comparison (“Germany Backtracks on Tuition", The New York Times,
13 September 2013). Students usually must prove through examinations that they are
qualified. If an educator/teacher is absent, students are allowed free time during that period.
If an educator/teacher is absent for three days, she has a chance of being removed from
his/her role of teacher at that school. With 10 German universities in the top QS World ranking,
Germany is one of the more popular destinations for higher education. It is a leader in fields
of technical education like Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture, etc.
According to World education services in 2006, 20% of world's foreign students are found
studying in Germany and France (WES, 2009). All the stats make Germany strong in foundation
of Education.
One country is considered as one of the best source of international students for higher
education and the other is considered as one of the best destination for the same. The
comparison between these two will not be meaningful due to various reasons but a
comparative study may help to find flaws in our system which will help us solve the problem
to some extent
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2.3 Stakeholders
In this project, our primary aim is to suggest the methodology and provide
guidelines that help the institutions around us to improve in quality. Hence our stake owners
comprise of all the students who are studying in India in various schools, colleges and other
educational institutes. This directly affects the roles of teachers and parents and their way of
interaction with the student. Industries may also come under this as they are directly linked
with the education system which provides them professionals for various tasks. Indian
universities are unable to produce quality technocrats which readily affect the industry as they
have to spend a large amount in training sessions. But there are some existing institutions
within the country which face negative impact after this change. They are the highly over-
motivated coaching industry which may or may not able to deliver promised quality of
education but in all the case parents have to spend a huge amount of money for buying such
costly education in addition to paying school fees.
2.4 Case Studies
A survey by International Forum for Indian Heritage (IFIH)
In 2005 IFIH prepared a survey on Indian education system which was partly sponsored
by NCERT. The survey consisted of two parts, a questionnaire related to Indian culture and
values and a questionnaire related to aspects of Indian educational system. The survey
covered 11000 students from each corner of India (IFIH 2005).
Major findings of this survey were as follows:
50% students believed Indian education system is deficient in some aspects
62% students believed loads of textbooks to be carried to school is not only excessive
but also unnecessary.
35% students reported to be under pressure from parents to get better grades
Survey by HotHouseMedia
This survey was conducted in 2013 by 9 agencies in which 1750 Indian students
participated (hothousemedia 2013).
Key points of this survey were as follows:
63% of these students go abroad for under/post-graduation
38% of these students cite 'future work' as the reason for going abroad
39.5% prefer to go to the United States of America for a postgraduate/master’s degree
These surveys indicate that students are unhappy with the Indian education system and
are biased towards foreign education due to an unjustified disbelief in this system. During
preparation of our questionnaire we have to take care of these mindsets and set our
questionnaire accordingly.
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2.5 Summary
There are various reasons we have pointed out that are responsible for this. Some of the
hypotheses we have brainstormed during our meetings and from the literature review are
listed below:-
Lack of money: By far one of the most pressing problems is the unavailability of money or
inadequate funding of Indian education programs or systems. The demand far exceeds the
supply, and available money are only for the most basic educational needs of the students.
"The traditional curriculum" like theoretical science and languages. Very small amount, if any,
is available for innovative programs and ideas. While German administration spends a lot on
developing skills apart from providing traditional education.
Lack of qualified Indians in Indian education: By far the most glaring problem is the acute
shortage of qualified Indians in Indian education. Materialistic gains, incentives and
opportunities entice the qualified Indian educator away from this challenging field. Brain drain
may be the possible reason. We can easily conclude on this point by collecting the various
statistics across the colleges and schools.
Insensitive school personnel: It is tragic that this exists in the 20th Century. Most
administrators and teachers are not knowledgeable. Whether it is attributable to apathy,
indifference or design does not lessen the problem. We will include questions relating to how
much teachers know about the student’s willingness towards the curriculum they have been
offered.
Lack of involvement in and control of educational matters: Indians have been unable to
express their ideas on school programming or educational decision-making. When they have
been expressed, his participation has been limited and restricted.
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Chapter 3. Methodology
The main aim of the project is to identify the problems faced by the Indian education
system and propose real solutions for the same. The main objectives which we intend to fulfil
are as follows:
1. Assess the educational institution in rural as well as urban areas and analyze the
methodology followed in India and Germany. Identifying flaws in the system
2. Investigate the perception of multiple stakeholders regarding the education system
3. Identity the positive methodologies being implemented and in act in Germany which
can help us in inspiration
4. Design real solutions to the disparities faced by the community and try to implement
the solutions & check for their feasibility
For achieving these objective we will be following a planned procedure. One of our
teams will take surveys of top educational institutes in Germany while the other team will
meet technical, medical and school students in India. We will also hold talks with our
colleagues who are also stakeholders in this study. We are also looking forward to the NGO’s
model which has presented a good example in this field. We are planning to have an informal
talk with any of the employees of creative organizations like MAD or Educomp. We keep in
touch with officials of NCERT, CBSE, ICSE or IITs that helps us in understanding how they are
developing the guidelines. What are the constraints they have to face? We will also be
highlighting the coaching industry in India and how it is affecting the life of Indian students.
Kota model is ideal for our research, which will be done with help of our in IIT Mandi who had
been a part of Kota in their technical exam preparation.
Similarly, in Germany we look forward towards the government and private structure
that helps in boosting the student’s enthusiasm towards studies at various levels. Our target
is RWTH Aachen University. We will conduct various sessions with students and faculties. We
also include NGO’s that are working in Germany and their contribution towards the
educational system. In Germany, unlike India we don’t have a rigorous coaching system.
Schools are self-sufficient for providing quality education. We will also draw conclusions by
taking various sites of coaching institutes whether the coaching model is really helping India
or not.
3.1 Objective 1
In order to meet our first objective (Identify the problem faced by Indian education) we
will interview our main benefactor i.e. students and the teachers. They are aware of their
requirements and also the steps which should be taken to improve their situation. Thus, we
will be visiting schools and colleges, conducting interviews with both students and teacher to
know their perception of the education system and the changes what they are craving for. We
will be visiting institutes in Himachal Pradesh which are relatively rural and then we will visit
institutes in the urban region mainly based in Delhi and Chandigarh. We will have a survey
among the students of all age groups for we expect the diversity in the problems faced by
them. We will be visiting institutes at each level from primary to higher education. We will be
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documenting the system followed by video recording and observe the differences with the
German system. We will also be meeting government officials working on various
governments’ initiatives in improving education system in India. We can get required data
from these sources which will help us in further analysis. We will also try to contact officials
who are working on developing the curriculum at various levels across the country.
3.2 Objective 2
To fulfil our second objective we will survey the general public belonging to each area
and to know their perception of the education system whether education is the mean of
knowledge or just a source of employment. Similar procedures will be followed for both India
and Germany. Why do poor people not want to send their child for education and why do the
rich prefer foreign education? There are so many problems in the society’s viewpoint because
it is the single main motivation among the people for education. It is commonly observed that
children whose parents encourage for education perform better than the others even though
many are pressurized for the same.
3.3 Objective 3
By this time we will be having all the data we need to propose the solution. For this we
will take the help of our mentors and have a meeting among ourselves. We will consider the
feedback from the students and the teacher and we will try to propose the solution which will
try to reduce their suffering. For these people have a better understanding about their needs
and desire and maybe they know the method that suits them. Keeping all these views in mind
we will propose the solution.
We all know that just proposing the solution is not enough and we have to prove the
efficiency of our solution by implementing it. For this we will be collaborating with the schools
and colleges and try to implement the teaching methodology proposed by us and we will be
taking feedback from the students and teachers, observe its effect and making amendments
to our solution accordingly. If successful these methods can be implemented in each and every
education institute in India and thus we will be able to make a small contribution to India’s
development.
Project plan
The tentative schedule for our project is as follows, in first stage we will be preparing
the document and survey questionnaire. In second stage we will be visiting different
educational institutes and collecting data. In third and final stage we will be proposing the
solution and implement it before the final open house.
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Chapter 4: Results and Discussion
Survey in Schools, India:
Survey Date: 11th April, 2014
Site 1: DAV Centenary Public School, Mandi
Site 2: SVM Senior Secondary School, Mandi
Sample: Stakeholders including Students, teachers and other administrative staff surveyed;
close to 150 people
Link to an interview with a teacher at SVM Secondary School, Mandi (click the text)
As part of a problem-check (if any) the team from India visited 2 nearby Senior
Secondary schools to evaluate the basic mindset of students about education. We also
conducted were direct interviews with the teachers and other administrative staff regarding
their views on academic curriculum, extracurricular activities and importance of education in
life to name some of the questions.
Q 1: Do you enjoy attending your school? Please rate on a scale of 10.
(Figure.1)
Analysis:
49.64% Students enjoy studying (range 8-10)
18.70% Students do not enjoy their studies at all (range 1-3)
Remaining ~32% students were neutral about their enjoyment towards studies.
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Comments:
For a small town like Mandi where the education system is still flourishing (evident
from the fact that there are very few graduation universities in the vicinity), it was good to
know that only 18.7% students do not enjoy studying. The reasons may vary from wanting to
pursue an altogether different occupation (this does not mean one does not take basic
education but this is unfortunately the most probable reason) or to join father’s business – a
typical example in Indian villages/ small towns or just not do nothing.
Q 2: Why do you come to school?
(Figure.2)
Analysis and Comments:
With 74% students attending school for knowledge, the education system seems to be
on the right track. Making friends also includes students who are interested in both knowledge
as well as friends.
A highly debatable part is Attendance and the unfortunate case of Parental Pressure. Students
were of the opinion that Attendance CAN be made mandatory but it should be motivated and
NOT enforced. It can be motivated by interactive teaching, for example, the subject of history
being taught by enactment in small plays actually playing the characters, thinking like them,
etc.
Out of the 6% students there may be students who need that extra push (that is, who
are lazy or not self-motivated) to come to school. Excluding them we can predict 3-4 %
students who complain of parental pressure which is an unfortunate but an unavoidable
statistic.
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Q 3: How would you rate the facilities provided by the school authorities?
(Figure.3)
Analysis:
Better than Average results.
Comments:
As visible from the below attached photographic proofs, the facilities like classrooms,
desks, seating seem adequately comfortable and student friendly. However, there is a
possibility that the students here are not aware of the facilities provided in their urban
counterparts hence are content with what they have been offered. For example: e-Learning,
using power point presentations for saving time, showing video/ audio clips over projectors,
etc. are some of the high end facilities in some urban schools.
Q 4: Do the teachers indulge in interactive form of teaching or the traditional monotonous form?
(Figure.4)
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Analysis:
Good to know that the Grey sector is negligible, but the Orange sector must get
transformed into the blue sector with reforms.
Comments:
The reason for some teachers not being interactive could be many: personal choice
(traditional way of teaching), negligence or inexperience. They have been taught in a way and
they wish to follow the same procedure without thinking of a pleasant change which requires
putting of extra effort.
Q 5: What is your opinion over examinations? Should they be scrapped?
(Figure.5)
Analysis and Comments:
A student’s nightmare is the night before examination. Though all goes well for most
of them but there are some with “Examination phobia”. Exams are a must but the way they
are conducted s to be evaluated. Rote learning and puking the mugged definitions onto paper
will help no one. So, emphasis needs to be on understanding and application. Once
examinations become student-friendly, the blue sector will definitely engulf the green sector.
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Q 6: What language of instruction would you prefer to learn in - English OR in your Mother tongue?
(Figure.6)
Analysis and Comments:
The 30% students who feel education must be in their mother tongue must understand
that if in future, they wish to pursue higher education OR interact with other individuals even
while doing business for example they will need a common medium of communication. English
must be the primary language of instruction with the mother tongue/ local languages as
secondary languages.
Q 7: What is the attitude of your parents towards extra-curricular activities?
(Figure.7)
Analysis and Comments:
The 14% parents with negative viewpoint and 50% out of the 53% neutral parents
(assumption) must understand that “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”.
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Apart from academics, a child must have a hobby not only for refreshment but also for
his overall development. Be it in the field of sports, music, cooking, art etc. The schools must
plant these seeds right from primary section with compulsory yoga, sports, music participation.
Q 8: Why did you choose a particular course, subject in school?
(Figure.8)
*Sharmaji – this is a famous term from the Bollywood blockbuster movie 3 Idiots starring
Aamir Khan. The protagonist is made to pursue Engineering because his father’s (Mr. Sharma)
friend’s son had pursued the same and is leading a very well off life. The protagonist is not
excited over money and lifestyle but only his craze wildlife photography.
Analysis and Comments:
The percentage of Parental pressure over choice of stream is not that high but
definitely can be reduced.
Q 9: Do you attend coaching classes for additional practice or so?
(Figure.9)
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Analysis and Comments:
Coaching today has become more of a commercial business. Students are sent to
coaching classes so that they forcefully spend a predefined period studying and give their
parents some mental relief.
Technically, education imparted in schools must be more than sufficient for the student to
explore the subject on its own and excel in the same. The government must examine the
coaching trend in the country and try to find a suitable solution for the same.
Glimpse of the survey experience at the SVM Senior Secondary School in Mandi
The filled in survey
questionnaire papers from the Survey
Sites
(Figure.10)
Team member is volunteering for the survey at
SVM Senior Secondary School. Class 10 and 11
students are attempting to answer the survey
questionnaire.
( (Figure.11)
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(Figure.12)
A teacher at the school happily volunteered and took part in the survey process from
our side. He also took part in the teacher’s survey
(Figure.13)
Students are very seriously filling up the questionnaire given to them with our
colleague supervising the proceedings.
Survey in Colleges, India:
Survey Date: 12th May, 2014
Site 1: Institute of management studies, Himachal Pradesh University
Site 2: Institute of IT, Himachal Pradesh University
Site 3: Department of physical science, Himachal Pradesh University
We also conducted an online survey in which we got feeds from student of different
colleges including other IITs and private institution
Sample: Stakeholders are mostly Students of which around 100 students are of HPU and
around 80 responses from our online survey
As part of a problem-check (if any) the team from India visited Himachal Pradesh
University, Shimla to evaluate the basic mindset of students about education. We also
conducted an online survey and took responses from various engineering colleges in India
including IIT’s and NIT’s.
22
Q 1: What is the motivation behind selecting your college
Analysis and Comments:
The above analysis shows that 76 % of the students attend college for the quality of
education in India which is obvious as seen by the million aspirant who prepares in their senior
secondary stage for getting admission into the premier institute like IITs. This is an optimistic
indication as it shows that student want good education and thus more focus should be on
quality rather than quantity of education. Also, 15 % opted that they choose college due to its
proximity from home, this indicate that student favor colleges near to the home primarily
because of cosines and economical reason and so instead of having colleges hub like Bangalore
and Noida the government should also focus on opening colleges at other places so that
student of those places also benefit from this.
Q 2: Was your school life effective in gaining basic knowledge and soft skills?
3%
15%
76%
6%
because friends are in samecollege
close proximity from home
education here is good
fee structure is good
24%
76%
no yes
23
Analysis and Comments:
This question was a continuation of our school survey, we want to know the feed from
the school pass out about their school experience, and the graph do show a positive response.
Thus it displays the importance of school life in the future of the individual and thus additional
focus should be there on the personality development in the school rather than just basic
subjects. We can conclude that the courses related to soft skills should be incorporated in the
school’s curriculum so that we would be able to decrease the dissatisfaction of the above 24 %
students which is certainly a significant amount.
Q 3: Which one of these methods are more effective; chalk and board method or audio-visual method?
Analysis and Comments:
Now this shows a variation and the opinion was different for people of different
streams while students of it and management preferred audio visual over chalk and board
whereas student of basic science preferred chalk and board method. the reason we got that
Audio and visual method are really effective in conveying your ideas and also saves a lot of
time than the other conventional method but there were reaction from the student that
usually instructors are misusing the technology and the increased speed and bad usage of this
method makes the content difficult to understand . So there should be audio visual method
but the instructor should be trained for the proper usage of this technology.
59%
41%
audio-visual methods chalk and board method
24
Q 4: Is your college Education effective or you are doing it just for the sake of the degree.
Analysis and Comments:
Now the above depiction is alarming for the nearly 48 % student are studying just for
the sake of degree , while the last graph showed that student join college for the knowledge
and interest but as they move forward in their college life , there perception changes regarding
the college education . It’s due to the lack of facilities and the quality in the education they are
receiving which result in the decrease in interest among the student. Thus we are indeed
creating million graduates per year but if you compare them with foreign graduate they are of
pitiful quality. It can also be due to the parental or other pressure toward some specific fields
in which person has no interest in but still continues for the sake of degree. Indeed it’s said
that in India, a student choose his profession after doing his B.Tech.
Q 5: WAS YOUR SCHOOL LIFE EFFECTIVE IN TERMS OF BASIC KNOWLEDGE AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT?
effective52%
just for the sake of degree
48%
effective
just for the sake of degree
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Analysis: 76% of the students surveyed show a positive attitude towards their school life
expectance in terms of education and personality development. Comments:
Seventy-six percent of responses are positive, suggesting an outlook in favour of school education. Students find themselves comfortable with the present school methodology in terms of imparting education and personality development skills. In this question, we have made an assumption that students have a rational understanding of the terms quality education and personality development.
Q 6: Does your stream match with the career you intend to pursue?
Analysis: 80% of the students show a positive attitude towards this question; the light blue area
covers a significant area of the pie chart, indicating an overwhelming response in the affirmative. Comment:
The significant number of positive responses suggests that students have not
reluctantly chosen their field of study, but they have a proper vision of what they intend to do
in their near future. But how the university is helping them in this regard will remain a critical
question. The above statistics show a negative trend of the satisfaction level they are receiving
from their institute. Hence, it can be concluded here that somehow institutions are unable to
meet the expectations of students and fall short of fulfilling their future expectations.
Q 7: What is your main reason for choosing your Education?
26
Analysis:
A little lesser than three – fourths of the pie chart area which represents
“knowledge/interest orientated” option suggests a high favourability of one option over the
rest.
Comment: Students are not blindly following their field of study. They are doing so out of their
interest and for gaining knowledge. They are convinced that knowledge certainly helps them with their first job, but it’s not good to study merely for the sake of landing a job. This is a positive indication as students are aware and they know what is essential for them.
27
Q 8: Should the system focus more on R&D?
Analysis: Again a huge positive response as almost 87.5% of the students surveyed say that there
should be strong backing for R&D within the institution. Comment:
Good research is essential as it gives an institution recognition and the students a chance to fulfil their curiosity and lots of real life challenges. Students know well that these are essential parts of their student life, and hence voted high for R&D. Hence, it can be concluded that awareness is not the problem among Indian students; they have a broad idea of what is essential and what needs to be introduced in order to improve the present condition.
If any uncertainty exists among the students, then it could be due to the lack of enthusiasm among the institutes or the lack of motivation among the students.
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Q 9: Your satisfaction level in university
No. of Students vs Rating on a scale of 10
Analysis: Higher peaks can be observed for the average values when compared with the higher
values. Overall response is below the mid value, and hence shows a sense of slight dissatisfaction among students towards their institution. Comment:
Students have lots of hope and genuine aspirations, and it’s now become the responsibility of their institute to help them in fulfilling their aspirations, but the result is somewhat discouraging. Students are not satisfied with the present condition, some find that their college doesn’t have adequate facilities while others believe that their institute is not focusing on developing their skills. On the other hand, while some institutes focus on skills, they are unable to maintain appropriate standards.
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Q 10: Should there be a provision of Compulsory Attendance
Analysis and Comments: Approximately half of the students want attendance to be compulsory , and most of
the same believe there should be some discipline needs to be maintained to get success in life and attendance criteria forces students to maintain that discipline
However other half believes opposite of it. According to them at the age of doing masters and bachelors, students are well grown up and this discipline should come by their own, without any external reasons. And they believe if attending classes are not fruitful then why to waste their time, instead they can do other useful activities or self-study. If the class is worth attending, students will gladly attend the classes there is no reason to force them
Q 11: Rate the facilities available for developing soft skills
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
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Soft Skills: Communication Skills, Personality, Critical Thinking, Optimism, Team Work, Creative
Thinking etc. Analysis and Comments:
These are the graph for rating given by the student for developing soft skills among the
students. The median rating given is 5 which is really low. As per Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) in 2010 found a majority of graduates lacked adequate "soft
skills" to be employed in the industry .Also according to the wall street journal Engineering
colleges in India now have seats for 1.5 million students, nearly four times the 39,000 available
in 2000. But 75 per cent of technical graduates and more than 85 per cent of general students
are unemployable." Thus it shows that out system is lacking in term of soft skills and even they
are admitting this problem, so equal importance should be given to soft skills as that to regular
courses
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Visit to Kindergarten, Germany:
To study education system in Germany we have visited a Kindergarten and interacted
with the tutors over there and noted down so key points of the system
Date: Tuesday, 13th May, 2014.
Site: Kindergarten, Aachen
Some key points about the system of Kindergarten in Germany
Eligible Age Group: 3-6 years
Duration: Minimum 1 year, can be extended
In-house facilities: Bathroom, Play Area, Eating Area, Indoor play house, Classrooms,
outdoor garden, pool, etc. There is facility for overnight stay in case of parental emergencies
or so.
Examinations: Certificate awarded for successful completion. No competitive grades are
awarded so that admission into the primary school is not like a rat race or so.
Ownership Status: There are both private as well as government Kindergartens in Germany.
It is essential that both have to follow some basic norms as set by the Educational Board.
Extra-curricular Activities: Frequent excursions to nearby Park, Kirche, Schools, Tierpark,
Theaters for fun as well as some socio-religious-cultural enhancement.
Teacher - Student Ratio: 2:20 (pretty good)
Medium of Language: German
Technical Knowledge: They are taught basic reading, writing, listening, observation skills with
an optimum and efficient usage of audio as well as video resources. When asked for the reason,
their point of view was – a child’s growth is in a primitive stage and all the senses must equally
develop. Use of audio and video devices reduces the monotonic (boring) nature of the class (It
is a KG, after all). Social interaction (manners and habits) and communication with people,
each other is also high on their agenda for all round development of the child.
Conclusion: Overall, the kindergarten system is pretty well established with overall
development of child as a sole priority. Because of strict norms by the board, there is no
commercialization and hence quality is maintained. The rules are actually implemented too –
For example- We were not granted permission to capture the photos of the students in the
classroom for security reasons.
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33
34
35
System in German Schools (Primary, Secondary, Higher
Secondary):
Primary education is from Class 1 to Class 4 followed by Secondary School and Higher
Secondary from Class 5 to Class 12.
Medium of language is German. However, there are English medium schools too but limited.
Like India, they too have the system of 2nd and 3rd Language. For example – English is the 2nd
language and Spanish or French as 3rd language.
The classrooms are semi-automated with projector, marker-pen board, chalk board, paper
support which so ever is to be used. Audio and video resources are considered as more than
30% of the “classroom TRP” improvers. Unfortunately, not many field trips are organized by
the school administration. This is astonishing as Germans are supposed to be the “practical
guys”. They are indeed, but in a different way. They are so highly self-motivated that they grow
themselves into practical people. Be it bikes, motorcycles or a car, many of them are well
aware of their working/ repairing, etc. In the semester breaks, no summer camp or something
is organized by school facilities for co-curricular activities. Private institutions who specialize
only in these fields take the initiative to organize extracurricular activities, camps, personality
development workshops, etc.
Examination structure is also similar to that in India with an end Semester examination
and small examinations every month or so. Students are offered extra-curricular/ hobbies
during the school for example sports, yoga (fitness), learning to play a musical instrument,
dancing, sketching, etc. But, the school authorities will not help you focus to build it as your
secondary career or so. A more detailed description can be found in the below interview of a
German student who had his schooling in Bremen.
Arpit: What is the structure of schooling after kindergarten?
Interviewee 1: The primary school is from Class 1 to Class 4. It is followed by Secondary
School from Class 5 to Class 12 (higher secondary).
Arpit: What is the medium of language used in teaching? Are foreign languages are also
offered?
Interviewee 1: Deutsch is the primary language with English as a mandatory secondary
language. Other languages like French, Spanish and Latin are also offered and can be opted
for.
Arpit: What is a common duration (start and end) of an academic year in School?
Interviewee 1: Classes begin in August-September with 2 weeks of Christmas and Easter
Break. The term ends in July followed by around 6 weeks of summer break.
Arpit: Does the school administration organize any special summer camps or workshops for
example in sports, or other hobbies? How does a German student spend the breaks?
Interviewee 1: The families either go on a vacation, or send their children to such summer
camps/ workshops organized by private institutions.
Arpit: How does the government support the education sector? Fee structure, Private/
government run schools, etc?
36
Interviewee 1: The schools run by government from Class 1 to Class 12 have no tuition fees
unlike their private counterparts (they provide scholarships, though). The private schools are
slightly better in terms of facilities provided.
Arpit: What are the common facilities/ equipment used in teaching?
Interviewee 1: Projectors, beamers even in Government schools.
Arpit: Is the education system centralized in Germany?
Interviewee 1: Quite centralized. The examination level, teaching standards differ across
states. For example in Bavaria, the examinations are really tough and in Bremen, they are the
worst. So, for transparency in the admission to University, the universities screen the
applications based on both - their marks and the state from where they come from. Quite
weird and untrustworthy, but looking at the population and number of applications, it is
manageable.
Arpit: Does the school authorities offer extracurricular courses or training in sports, musical
instruments, yoga, etc.?
Interviewee 1: No, the school just organizes maybe a football game, some special sessions on
other sports or hobbies like yoga or so. The school authorities do not motivate to develop a
student’s skills into a potential career. The student has to go to a private training center to
hone his skills.
Arpit: Are teaching oriented workshops and seminars conducted for the teachers in
Germany?
Interviewee 1: Yes, but most of them don’t see the need to actually change themselves.
Arpit: How is the child guided through his college life? Do the college authorities help in
through guidance counseling, etc.?
Interviewee 1: The child must learn to be self-motivated to tackle the system. Registration for
an examination for example has to be approved by a professor, or a specific date has to be
negotiated with. The college administration will not individually email everyone about
deadlines, etc.
Note: More detailed answers can be found in the audio clip of the conversation from the
below link
Interview of German Student Audio Recording
37
Universities in Germany:
Admission to any Bachelor Programs in German Universities is done directly through
applications based on the marks secured in High School. There is no separate admission test
conducted for the normalization of students across the country. Admissions to Master degree
programs also follow similar procedures and GRE, IELTS is sometimes used as a selection
criteria element. For courses instructed in German, a minimum B2 or C1 European framework
German language specification is mandatory.
The typical duration for a Bachelor Program is 3 years with 6 semesters and the Masters
courses take any time between 2-4 years. The Master courses are generally coupled with an
internship and a thesis as requirement. The thesis which is research based is carried out mostly
in Industries exposing the students to the industry environment.
Every typical course is divided into two parts: a Lecture and an Exercise. Concepts and
topics are discussed in the lectures which are generally taught by a Dr. Ing Professor while the
exercises are conducted by the assistants who are generally people who completed their
Masters and pursuing their research & doctorate in the University for more than a year or two.
They are thus given exposure to teaching and are also financially assisted for the job.
Coming to teaching methods, the courses follow specific guidelines set by the
department and follow a script called lecture notes for most of the course content.
Courses are taught interactively using digital slides with videos (e-lectures). The
courses are frequently updated with information of latest technologies to keep track with the
world. The slides also include experimental data and research done by the institute and some
proprietary material which are other. Working models like those in the figures below are used
to explain mechanisms. Also components or machines are mostly brought to class or shown
before teaching about them to give a clear picture to the students.
Every course is generally coupled with at least one lab session to give students
knowledge of applications to theory. Majority of the projects and assignments are conducted
in teams.
Concluding, coupling academics with practical work in each and every course where
possible develops the student’s understanding ability as well as exposes him to the technology
used in industries.
A more detailed description can be found in the below interview of a Indian Student
studying his masters in Germany
Arpit: Which program are you in?
Interviewer 2: I am doing my Masters in Mechanical Engineering
Arpit: How long have you been here?
Interviewer 2: I am here since October 2012.
Arpit: So you must have done your bachelors from India?
Interviewer 2: Yes
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Arpit: How easy was it switching from the Indian Education System to the German Education
System?
Interviewer 2: Almost same like timings of classes, examination etc. but the courses are
better
Arpit: When do the courses generally begin?
Interviewer 2: It begins in October generally
Arpit: How are the classes spread across the week?
Interviewer 2: The classes happen like one or two in day from morning to evening compared
to India where we have classes everyday
Arpit: Why Germany over India and other countries?
Interviewer 2: Actually after my Bachelors I was working for two years then I thought of
masters in Abroad as its common thing that Bachelors in India is better and Masters in
Abroad. I had other options like USA and Singapore but I choose Germany because of
cultural experiences
Arpit: How do you rate your experience here?
Interviewer 2: It was awesome I had taken some time to adjust to exams and all but now I
am comfortable
Arpit: What is with the system of Oral examinations here?
Interviewer 2: They were taken when less no. of students are enrolled and a professor is not
interested in a written exam. Also if a person fails in a written exam he is then allowed to
take an oral exam and complete the course rather than repeating it again
Arpit: If you are hypothetical doing your Masters in India would you rate it better or same as
here or less
Interviewer 2: Ya, this Masters here is a lot better than in India. Here there is no compulsory
attendance so if the course is not good or you are busy or you are working you can skip the
classes and also you can drop your course a week before examination etc. Giving you more
flexibility.
Arpit: How do you rate the teaching methods?
Interviewer 2: It’s almost same but is much more professional and classes use interactive
models etc.
Arpit: How helpful are the professors?
Interviewer 2: Yes they are good they might not know you by name like in India. But if you
approach them they are pretty much helpful and clear your doubts. Generally they are busy
so you need to take appointments but someone either the professor or his assistants will
respond and clear your doubts
Arpit: Would you prefer to work in Germany?
Interviewer 2: Ya, I would like to settle down and work here in Germany. It is a beautiful
place
Arpit: That’s it, thank you for the interview
Interviewer 2: Ok, bye
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Chapter 5. Conclusions
From our literature review, we conclude that poor education system now has been a
problem in our country. Bright minds are going outside and help in developing economies of
other countries. We have established IITs, IIMs, law schools and other institutions of
excellence; but they literally seem no use towards country progress. Students at various school
levels now routinely score 90% marks so that even students with 90+ percentages find it
difficult to get into the colleges of their choice; but we do more of the same old stuff. Lots of
money of government is invested whose outcome is not as predicted by various policy makers.
Something is not right with this system, it need to be studied. We are towards globalization.
Until we won’t improve our institution; this big fish will swallow the whole country’s economy.
Thanks to those who are helping our country by returning from the foreign and bringing
technology and money in country. Our project is also based on this philosophy, it’s now
become urgency that we should start learning from our fellow developed country and
implement those ideologies here.
After the field visit, meeting with teachers and administrative staff (a link has been
added after the conclusion from which the below mentioned conclusion was drawn out), and
our own research, we have developed the following guidelines to help improve overall
education systems in relatively rural places like Mandi. Some of our suggestions include:
From the analysis of Question 1 about enjoyment of studies, with almost 50% outright
interested in studies, there seems to be great scope for development in Mandi as far as
the education sector is concerned. With the IIT leading the way, there is huge potential
for the town to become an educational hub in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
E-Learning with use of technology needs to be emphasized. The infrastructural and
teaching methods are indeed up to the mark (they do meet the basic requirements) but
they can be made better by for example use of – projectors to show power point
presentations, audio/ video clips for better understanding, etc. This can not only make a
teacher’s life easier but also expose the child to better technological gadgets which will
help him adapt to when he steps out of the school pursuing higher education or jobs.
The number of aspiring teachers is not as high as the number of aspiring engineers or
doctors or managers. Some of the reasons being less packages (money, basically), serving
the society is not a big deal for today’s generation. Because of this there is not much
competition and the teachers are not willing to teach for the sake of imparting knowledge
but to earn money.
Teacher Training Workshops: Frequent workshops and trainings can be organized to
motivate the teachers too in their work. Their own way of teaching can be improved and
this should fall positively for both parties.
Role of teacher can be improved: The teacher must examine each and every child during
the class hours for any unwanted symptoms or special talents. For example the teacher
must keep motivating students to not only study academics but also pursue a secondary
40
profession as a hobby (something which one enjoys while not studying). Who knows, in
future, it might just become your primary profession?
There MUST NOT be any pressure for securing the Number 1 position in the class because
out of a class of maybe 50-60, only 1 person can attain it. This does not mean the others
are not up to the mark. There should be no pressure from the parental side too because
all it will lead to is unwanted trauma and stress which can lead to potential suicide.
The teachers must also become part time psychologists or counselors to identify special
talent in a child and inform the parents of the same. This will help the child identify the
correct career graph and avoid going along the wrong path with his other colleagues.
One essential point put forth by the Teacher interviewed was salary. The government can
evaluate the salaries of the teachers over various regions and assess the effort put by
them. Inter teacher competition is to be encouraged so that a so called ‘safe’ government
job is not misused and taken for granted. For example – strict rules over allowances of a
teacher, ensuring quality of teaching based on the class’ performance over a period of
time, keeping a check on factors like punctuality, manners, etc.
The government should evaluate the role played by a school in a child’s career and try to
find a solution to why there is an increasing trend in coaching culture? Coaching classes
are we all know, private based, so the employees are bound to get more salary (general
conception). Does this hurt the teachers in schools and their teaching methods get
affected? This is a genuine question one will ask. If the quality of teaching is not up to the
mark, only then will the child be sent to a coaching class for better understanding.
Use of English language as a primary medium of communication has to be encouraged
with the local/ mother tongue as secondary language. This is because a child’s career
cannot be constricted to the boundaries of his/ her city or the state. He has to cross the
borders and face the world at some stage or the other. Knowledge of an internationally
recognized language is absolutely essential in today’s world in order to effectively put
your point across and communicate.
Development as a complete human being is also very important along with academics.
Hobbies and extra -curricular activities need to be motivated from a very early stage in
life. For example, learning musical instruments, making a career out of sports, singing,
dance, arts, etc. These must be motivated by parents as well as teachers and can become
your source of income in the future. The sole reason being – If everyone becomes
engineers and doctors, then firstly unemployment will only rise, entertainment, serving
the society will perish and poverty will rise. There has to be a balance in the state.
41
Analysis and Conclusions of Interviews conducted in
Germany:
After 2 interviews with students– (one a German National currently in his Bachelor
program and the other – an Indian Masters student and a visit to Kindergarten, we have some
startling conclusions about the system.
Germany is a developed country as we all know. The system implemented in the
education sector is commendable. The German government financially aides all educational
institutions run by it. Which means, as one of our interviewee mentioned, the education from
class 1 to Class 12 is completely free of cost. Also, in the Masters and Bachelors programs at
certain universities, there are grants and funding that removes the concept of tuition fees
altogether.
The system focuses on the comfort zone of the students. It is up to the students to
decide which course to attend and which course to appear the examination for. There is no
compulsory attendance in lectures. A student may attend all lectures but may appear for a
selected number of examinations. One does not register for any courses but for the
examinations he is going to take. For example, a student can appear for a course examination
in the summer semester even though the actual physical lectures had taken place in the
previous semester. This is a feature which can and has to be implemented in the country.
Imparting knowledge must not be constrained but made freely available to all those who crave
for it. A student may use electronic gadgets for his own better understanding or even personal
reasons – the only criteria being to not disturb the professor or the class. Also, it is NOT so
easy to fail in Germany. The reason is that Germany provides students with another
opportunity but unlike that in India which is like an ATKT (Allowed to Keep Term)/ Backlog
which is a black spot in someone’s Resume. The student who fails a written examination is
invited by the professor-in-charge for an ORAL Examination. Only failing in this format of
examination can fail a student. The examination patterns are also innovative – there is no rote
learning and all questions are application and conceptual. One needs to really understand the
theory and learn to apply it. Last minute studies do not come to one’s rescue here.
The e-Portals also have the lecture slides, exercise tasks and their solutions along with
e-Lectures which is the video recording of the lecture for future use by the student. Though it
may prevent a student from attending class, it is a useful revision tool or to fix the final pieces
of the jigsaw puzzle.
The culture here is such that people prefer partying at nights for any reason
whatsoever which means they earn their right to party by efficiently and judiciously utilizing
the time available in the previous day.
As far as technology goes, right from schools, the students are exposed to beamers,
projectors, power point presentations, short movie clips (audio/ video), white boards, chalk
boards, etc. that do not come as a surprise “what is this thing?” when they grow up. A topic in
Mechanical Engineering such as Dynamics of Machines which includes topics like Moments,
crank shaft, rocker, etc. can never be taught be imagining the possible movements and
42
situations in air or own paper. To solve the problems, the professors or their accomplices use
this. It is a portal which contains demonstration models of mechanisms, electronic simulations
of the same. The professor actually gets these models to class and will physically demonstrate
various crank rocker variations. This really opens up a student’s mind to the possibilities or the
real life action.
Another unique aspect is the self-motivation/independence, ability to work on own of a
student. A student will not be informed for example of upcoming events or changes in lecture
venues or such petty issues. He/ she needs to himself keep updated via certain portals meant
for those reasons. For example, it is the student’s responsibility to get him/ she enrolled to a
course, registered for an examination, negotiate any time clashes or so.
Something of a concern here is support for extra-curricular activities. The school/ college
administration does not actively participate in the flourishing of these things. As mentioned
by the German interviewee, it is up to the families to send their child to private institutions
which offer such trainings for example playing musical instruments or if someone wants to
really become a sportsperson.
These were some of the different aspects about the respective education systems between
the East and the West as a matter of fact. No system is perfect. It needs to be made perfect.
There is no harm in accepting someone’s good points and implementing the in ours’ if it is for
our own welfare.
Technical Solution:
The Mechanical Department of RWTH Aachen University uses an open source library
called DMG-lib which is developed by RWTH and various other institutes in the world, for
various interactive videos and mechanism designs which are used in teaching the courses.
The Digital Mechanism and Gear Library (DMG-Lib), headquartered in Ilmenau is a
power center for research information with the aim of collecting, preserving, networking and
multimedia presentation of the extensive knowledge about mechanisms and gears for a wide
public. The structure of this digital library includes books, journal articles and scientific journals,
a functional model, in the form of videos and interactive animations will be presented. The
DMG-Lib is mainly supported by the German Research Foundation.
The library is released under open source license so the contents of it can be used by anyone
in the world. The content also contains details for fabricating of various functional models
which can be used in teaching concepts. There are many such projects made worldwide like
KMODDL (Kinematic Models for Design Digital Library), Taiwan's Antique Mechanism Teaching
Models Digital Museum, The Archimedes Project, National Museum of Science and
Technology, Milano (Italy), etc. which can be used as a great resource of knowledge and to
make teaching experience better.
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Implementation of a proposed Technical Solution in a school
in Kamand
Our team visited a Primary School in Kamand Village. A class of 19 was first taught about the Solar System using the conventional chalk board method. And then a small questionnaire was conducted to check how well the students have understood the concepts. After which the same thing was taught in an interactive way using a video and a similar questionnaire thereafter. The results were as expected and positive. They revealed that the student found it more easy and fun to learn when taught in an interactive way using audio-visuals. The students now have scored well in the test and have a better understanding of the concept. The team met the principal of the school after the class. According to him even though the students perform poorly in academics compare to other corporate schools, they grasp the things easily in the class. Involving such interactive course content in the syllabus will help them a lot to excel in academics. All they lack is proper, well defined syllabus and efficient teaching methods coupled with competitive resources.
The teachers also appreciated our efforts and requested us to visit them more often and teach similarly. We have also developed an app using yapp which make it easier for any teacher in country to improve his the interaction with students. We also made a prototype of the animated books which will greatly help in making education more interactive.
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Conclusion:
Personally, we felt really happy that we helped students BUT it was very sad when the teacher asked us to visit again. This was because even though they liked and endorsed the teaching method using audio-videos, they are helpless as the school authorities do not possess any technological devices to exploit. The HRD Ministry can intervene here by ensuring there is not much gap between an urban or rural educational institute, be it private or public. India has a pool of talent spread across villages, towns and cities. It is the government’s responsibility to identify the talent and nurture it. The very essential requirement here is providing all with equal facilities and opportunities.
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Recommendations:
After 3 grueling months travelling across India as well as in Germany we have lot of suggestions
which if implemented could be the dawn of the rise of India as a superpower.
In Germany, at the university level there are 2 such types – Technischehochschule (TH
– a kind of technical university) and Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences.
University of Applied Sciences (FH) University (eg. TH)
Focus on practical applications
Focus on theoretical principles
Examinations based on the information
given during lectures Examinations often cover far more
material than discussed in the lectures
Research: small projects, variable,
practically-oriented
Basic research! Some projects take a
lifetime
Professors: 5 years experience in industry Professors: often only university
experience
The students must realize if they wish to pursue a career towards a job, business or research
and accordingly choose a university. This is a really good initiative as it will have people with
common interests come together.
Review of teachers’ performance: The teachers in India are underpaid (from a feedback
of a teacher from a school in Mandi). There is stark difference in the salaries and
treatment of teachers in private and government institutions. There should be a strict
check on a teacher’s performance by organization of frequent teacher oriented
workshops their own development. In Germany, if a teacher fails to show up for 3 days,
then he/she is handed over with the suspension letter the very next day.
Attendance: We strongly agree that if someone pays 100% concentration in class, then
half of his exam is done. But, not all students have this ability to learn during class. He/
she may not feel comfortable with the teaching methods or qualities of students. There
is no point wasting that student’s 1 hour just because the professor’s ego gets hurt if
the class is empty. Rather, they must try and find the reason behind less attendance
and improve themselves! Here in Germany, students can eat, drink whatever they
want but they must not disturb the instructor.
Examination: The examinations here are conducted very differently from those in India.
We strongly recommend examinations which test a child’s reasoning, critical thinking
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and analytic skills AND NOT rote learning, memory skills. For example, case studies,
hypothetical situations. Basically, a professor must take pains and set a question paper
and not just copy paste definitions, etc from text books.
There should be well defined and separate classes and tutorials (exercises). These must
be taken seriously taken.
Interactive teaching using physical demonstrative tools. Be it an IC Engine, a small
turbine model, a jet or even a small mechanism in a Dynamics of Machines Class. DMG
is a special project developed here in Germany which has links as well as physical
demonstrative models which will help the student better visualize the question for
example. Using videos, mobile/ tablet applications integrated into the Aakash Tablet
for example can lead to better learning especially in schools.
Choosing a specialization quite early in one’s career.
“In India, one gets an Engineer’s degree and then chooses what he wishes to pursue as a
career.” – This was a statement made in the first chapter of the report. Here in Germany they
do not have junior college like we do. They have but continuous schooling from Class 1 to Class
XII. Based on the interview with one of the German students, one gets to choose his/ her
courses after class 8 or 9 which are more oriented to what he wishes to do in future.
Union Human Resources Development Ministry in India can take bold and difficult
steps to streamline the education system.
There is gross difference between the quality of education, mindset of teachers
and facilities provided by private and government institutions.
Education in Germany is completely free till Class XII with the institutions aided
by government grants. Even universities in Germany are completely funded so
that the students need not pay any tuition fees. This is difficult in India primarily
due to population but something can definitely be changed here.
Centralization of boards: ICSE, CBSE, ISC, IGCSE, and various state boards- all
these examination boards are out of phase with each other and it takes
examinations like IITJEE, AIEEE, BITSAT to unite and normalize them which is
not only a complex but an unjust procedure in itself. In Germany, there are no
national level entrance examinations for admission into universities for
bachelor program. The Class XII or ABITUR result coupled with the application
form does the job.
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References:
Times higher education ranking 2013 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013 -14/subject-ranking/subject/engineering-and-IT
Ministry of Human Resource Development 2011 http://mhrd.gov.in/over_test11
Andrew White “Indian Students Flock To The U.S.” article in Forbes, Aug 2007 http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-america-students-oped-cz_aa w_0813students.html
MHRD outcome budget higher education 2007-08 http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/OutcomeBudget07-08-HE_0_0.pdf
MHRD outcome budget higher education 2013-14 http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/OutcomeBgt_2013-14-HE-E.pdf
IEE : Institute of International Education 2013 http://www.iie.org/Services/Project-Atlas/United-States/International-Students-In-US
ABS : Australian Bureau of Statistics Dec 2011 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features20Dec+2011#WHEREAPPLICATION
UNESCO Global education digest 2010 http://www.uis.unesco.org/Library/Pages/DocumentMorePage.aspx?docIdValue=210&docIdFld=ID
Education System in India, Wikipedia page 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India
Education System in Germany, Wikipedia page 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Germany
WES, World Education Services, Oct 2009 http://www.wes.org/educators/pdf/StudentMobility.pdf
IFIH survey on Indian education, 2005 http://ifih.org/surveybackground.htm
Hothousemedia, Survey by hothouse media, Feb 2013 http://www.hothousemedia.com/ltm/ltmbackissues/feb13web/feb13agencysurvey.html
“Journal of American Indian Education system”, Vol. 10 No.1 by AlonzoSpang. “Problems in Educational System”, by Rakshak Foundation,
http://www.rakshakfoundation.org/research/educational-reforms/problems-in-educational-system
“Right to education Act and stakeholder perception in School system”, by Teacher plus http://www.teacherplus.org/2010/july-2010/right-to-education-act-andstakeholder-perception-in-school-systems
“The school system in India”, by Angloinfo http://india.angloinfo.com/family/schooling-education/school-system/
Education in Germany, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Germany World Bank, India Overview, http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/india/overview
FH-Aachen,http://www.fh-aachen.de/en/university/ios/faqs-and-general-
information/
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Appendix: Questionnaire 1
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50
Questionnaire 2
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52
Questionnaire 3
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