Is our graduation syllabus useless?

Is our graduation syllabus useless?

"I was born intelligent, but education ruined me." One can see this quote everywhere nowadays. What is the reason for such a negative attitude towards the education and education system? Education is considered as an important part of human life that helps one to lead a happy and content life. Education helps in growth of an individual. How come education which was considered sacrosanct has come to be such a state? Has our education system, especially graduation syllabus become so useless?

Yes it has become less useful –

1. The syllabus has no relevance to the work we would be doing after graduation.

2. It is not up to industry standards. The modernization that industries have undergone has not reached up to the curriculum.

3. It’s just plain rote learning and spoon feeding. There is no learning involved. E.M. Forster rightly said that "Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."

4. The curriculum is not focusing on critical thinking and creativity.

5. Education is supposed help in making a living. However, nowadays there is dilution of syllabus and non conformity with industry standards which in no way helps in bettering our chances of earning a livelihood.

6. Syllabus and teaching is not keeping pace with fast changing world.

7. Hardly few things are learnt which are useful in making a living. Even Albert Einstein had said that "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

8. Only marks and scores are important which can be obtained by studying the topics in syllabus only. Extra knowledge or expertise in some field will not help increasing overall grades.

9. There is no variety in syllabus.

10. There are also no options of specializations in curriculum. One cannot choose subjects of one's choice. Some subjects are obsolete yet they are taught.

11. Industry related softwares, techniques, skills, etc. are not taught at all. This shifts entire burden of training on the industry where there is cut throat competition. Had the students been mentally prepared at graduation level, it would be easy to survive in the tough environment of industry.

It has not become less useful –

1. There are many professional courses which help in making a living. However it’s our mindset which does not allow us to go towards those courses. E.g. we always prefer engineering degree instead of the ITI degree even if the ITI degree provides skills to earn a living.

2. Our graduation syllabus concentrates on clearing our basics.

3. Industry standards keep on changing continuously and it is difficult to always dance to their tune.

4. In graduation a middle path is taken where basics and such things are taught which will help one adapt to changes in industry.

5. Graduation syllabus takes care of the theoretical aspects whose application is to be done in the industry.

6. Graduation syllabus is well adjusted so as to include knowledge from variety of fields. This helps to think from many perspectives and facilitates interdisciplinary viewpoints and research opportunities.

7. Some subjects seem obsolete, however they are taught so as to understand the evolution of subjects developed from them. This knowledge of obsolete subjects and evolution helps in basic research which is important for further development in that field.

Conclusion:

One can deduce from above that drastic changes are needed in the curriculum to bring it in consonance with the current times. Also, the pattern of study and assessment should be improved. The current curriculum with more focus on practical study can be a first step in direction of improvement. Though graduation syllabus cannot change as swiftly as the industry standards change, it is far from useless. It forms the foundation on which the industry is based. Better application of the knowledge received at the undergraduate and graduate level is what is needed to survive in the industry.