“Access to the Vedas is the greatest privilege this century may claim over all previous centuries.” ---- J. Robert Oppenheimer ('Father of the Atomic Bomb'1904-1967)
“What we shall find in Modern Physics is an exemplification, an encouragement and a refinement of old Hindu wisdom." Julius R. Oppenheimer -- (1904-1967),
“Indian philosophers’ subtleties make most of the great European philosophers look like schoolboys.” ---- T.S. Eliot
The quotations of these two noble laureates have been used at the outset to prove the India that was once upon a time. India, at that time, was not only known for acumen, efficiency but also for innovation (that got depicted at times through science, philosophy and also literature). On the contrary, the present India stands for steady degradation, where the education system emphasizes text- book based knowledge more. What is most striking, Indian technological sector, especially the engineering colleges do also abide by the same principle. Indian engineering colleges still evaluate students' skills based on their ability to repeat the text- book knowledge in the exams, rather than on their aptitude to think 'out-of-box.' Even though this is a painful realization, it is cruel and true.
But never assume this as any mere speculation. Even premier Indian educationalists have started to acknowledge the same and one of them is certainly Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Head of Electrical Engineering Department at IIT Chennai. As per him, "Education system is one cog in the wheel, which affects students to a certain level" and all these proves his bitter experiences in a few words.
Nevertheless, Dr. Jhunjhunwala is not alone, he is joined by none other than Professor K Gopinath, Computer Science & Automation (CSA), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. In accordance with Professor Gopinath, India's education system shoots down the spirit of creation or simply innovation among students by not enabling them to exemplify their skills at university level.
Who is most blameworthy then? Is it the Indian education system or the Indian society in general? What do you think?
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