Misfortune of Quantity over Quality Education

Education is like a golden coin representing immense knowledge which can glorify the standard of our lives. The intelligence of students is being judged on the basis of academics in the form of examinations. Students are lacking behind to clinch themselves to connect themselves with knowledge, building vocational skills along with morals and ethics so as to adjust in a society.   

Personality is to a person what perfume is to flower is. Today’s education had isolated a person from the practicality of living a good life. Policy-makers of the country had embedded right to education under Article 45 of the Constitution of India but the promise of quality education has remained unfulfilled even after 65 years of independence.  

In 2009, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act has been enforced to provide free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India but still in many village regions of the country only 40% of girls go to schools and gender biases is also observed in every aspect including education, food, and other opportunities.

Quality and Quantity do not go hand-in-hand: Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

In light of this, the Government of India is coming forward with its policies and plans to improve the quality of our country but implementation is not yet done properly. Like. The government of India launched a scheme named Samagara Shiksha. This scheme is for school going children so as to ensure comprehensive and equitable to the students extending from pre-school to class XII. This scheme binds the three former schemes i.e. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya, Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), and Teacher Education.

This scheme Samagara Shiksha aims at the two T’s to improve the quality of school education. The main highlights of this program are as follows-:

1. To treat school wholly as a continuum from Pre-school to Class 12.
2. The focal point of this scheme is to ensure the quality of education for students.
3. To enhance the use of digital technology in education through smart classrooms, digital boards, and DTH channels.
4. Empowering girls in the school itself and to give them self- defense training from upper primary to the higher secondary stage.
5. Distribution of textbooks under the RTE Act enhanced per child per annum. 
6. Building up vocational education at the secondary level along with the primary as an integral part of the curriculum.
7. Sports Education should be an integral part of the curriculum.
8. Special reference should be given to Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs), LWEs, Special Focus Districts (SFDs), Border areas, and the 115 aspiration districts identified by Niti Aayog.

India is the largest school system in the world with 1.6 million schools and 97% of children aged from 6years to 14years are enrolled in them. The only problem is that these children are not getting the quality of education. Moving towards the higher education, following are the things which are required to be in the criterion of quality-:

• The curriculum should be active and of high quality.
• Quality teaching of faculties.
• Laboratories, libraries, and other online databases should be provided to students for quality research.
• Better control of administrative staff.
• Managerial system for providing quality culture.
• Well established infrastructure.

The two fluctuating factors, quantity, and quality of the educational system are decided at the individual level, and educational quality is captured by the total aggregate spending on education. However, empirical evidence shows that the increasing amount of resources does not always result in better quality of learning among the students. Educational quality is something that is likely to be a factor influencing the distribution of capital which leads to the development of the country.

There are a number of challenges that are really needs of the nation such as sustaining the momentum of growth, consolidating the strengths of the section of the society, the seat of higher education is liberating, and burning need to extend the benefits of higher education. In the context of this country, we need to change our present education system as there should be some change in regards to the area of teacher education. Moreover, primary schooling of a child is emphasized far less than the secondary and higher education which ultimately leads to the weak foundation which later revealed by the poor results.

Suggestions and strategies to enhance the educational system:

1.  Enhancing the use of digital classrooms and technologies and promoting E-learning among students.
2. Awareness among parents for their wards will definitely improve the educational standards of the country.
3. Renowned universities and higher educational institutions operating beyond their own borders could help the developing countries to increase human capital formation and work their way out of poverty.
4. Some people think that the purpose of an international comparison is to see which country is best and then get an idea to adopt that which will be helpful to some extent.

Everyone thinks of changing the world and to make it a better place but no one thinks of changing of one. We need to change from our side individually at least there would be a point contribution to provide the quality of education to the students. We need to accelerate effort in promoting quality education at levels, primary, secondary or higher education.

Quality of education should make the receiver equipped with the capabilities to meet the challenges of obsolescence and change. If education imparted marks the product technically the best, socially relevant and responsible; and endangers values, behavior, and lifestyle towards a sustainable future.

REFERENCES:

[i] The role of educational quality and quantity in the process of economic development,Economics of Education review,Volume 31 Issue 4, August 2012.

[ii] Is a good education a matter of quality versus quantity?, April 14, 2011, by Carlos R. Ruano 

[iii] COVID-19 Pandemic: Impact and strategies for education sector in India, Economics Time India.

[iv] Quality and Quantity of Education in the Process of
Development,Amparo Castelló-Climent,Institute of International Economics, Ana Hidalgo-Cabrillana,University Carlos III, Madrid.

[v] Quality and quantity of education in the process of development, Hidalgo-Cabrillana, Ana, Castelló-Climent, Amparo.