India is one of the most exciting countries to be in if you are in the education segment. The sector has witnessed a remarkable growth in the past few years and looks set for a progressive journey in the years to come. This is also a sector that can shape the future of a country and, hence, is a crucial space to be in. Constant efforts and initiatives undertaken by key stakeholders comprising of public and private schools, corporations, educational institutions and the government, have been the driving force pushing the betterment of the education sector. While speaking of education imparted to the beneficiaries, the outreach is definitely good but there is still a lot of improvement we need to make as a country.

Last week, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) published by the non-profit Pratham Education Foundation reported some major concerns and drawbacks of the Indian education system. The report has identified some of the crucial gaps that need immediate attention if we want to drive forward the performance of the education sector. The report, essentially, has a lot of key observations which are a mix of positives as well as negatives.

One of the most attention-grabbing observations is the students’ understanding of subjects such as arithmetic and English.

The all-India (rural) figures for basic arithmetic have remained virtually unchanged over the last few years. For example, only 44.1% of Class 8 students in rural India managed to do a division in 2014, as against 46% in 2013. In 2012, 26.3% of Class 3 children could do a two-digit subtraction. This number is at 25.3% in 2014. And for Class 5 children, the ability to do division has increased slightly from 24.8% in 2012 to 26.1% in 2014.

Coming to English—perhaps the most widely used (spoken and written) language in our country after our national language—the overall scenario in the ability of school children to comprehend English too is seeing a drop. In 2014, about 25% of children enrolled in Class 5 could read simple English sentences. This number has remained virtually unchanged since 2009. The situation is not so good even in middle schools.

As many as 60.2% of children in Class 8 of 2009 were able to read simple sentences in English. The figure in 2014 has reduced significantly and now stands at 46.8%.

Ad hoc teaching methodologies, lack of defined curriculum and absence in diligence and training of teachers can be viewed as few major reasons for this scenario. Acknowledging these critical issues, the Indian education system needs to change its routine techniques and invest into a much effective and interactive pedagogy that is fun, creative and, at the same time, gives the child a potential to think, learn and grow.

Children need to be honed in a way that can edify their minds to think instead of just learning the facts. And to achieve this vision, a single start could be made using a well-designed curriculum which is interactive, weaving in key essentials of subjects such as arithmetic and English.

Some schools are already implementing interactive methodologies where students are taught the fundamentals in a way that instigates their mind to a higher level and nurtures it holistically. These methodologies concentrate more on practical tasks rather than the theoretical ones. It is a dedicated scheme of structured learning, combined with a regular, frequent, systematic regime of workshops, seminars and knowledge-sharing sessions by subject-matter experts and field specialists. All this along with a training mechanism that is designed to arm teachers with practical and effective techniques, which are easy to incorporate with children.

The biggest challenge that educators face is ensuring that the students retain the core concept being taught while having fun learning and schools can start including basic activities in their curriculum to create around a fundamentally plain and boring subject. Experiential learning spaces, sensorial learning equipment and spaces, too, are a must-have.

India has shown a progressive growth on the educational front and has the third-largest reservoir of science and technology manpower; with one of the largest education networks in the world. The Annual Status of Education Report also states some of the positive points. One, the percentage of Class 5 children who can at least read a Class 2 level text has risen from 46.8% in 2012 to 47% in 2013 and further to 48.1% in 2014. Then, 38.7% of Class 3 children could read at least a Class 1 level text in 2012, which is slightly higher at 40.2% in 2014. Further, the ability to do division has increased slightly from 24.8% in 2012 to 26.1% in 2014. Therefore, there is still a ray of hope and room for some optimistic changes. The Indian education system, thus, needs to take a firm step to augment and improve the literacy rate with a unique curriculum. All schools and even preschools should embark on this vision to make India’s children the global leaders of tomorrow.

By KVS Seshasai
The author is CEO, Zee Learn Ltd (Kidzee, Mount Litera Zee School, Mount Litera School International)