P.V. Laxmiprasad
Education throughout the world is regarded as the foundation of culture, civilization and progress. But, people approach it in different ways. In post-Covid days, education has taken new turns with the focus on online classes and exams. The offline mode of education is threatened now with new swings in favor of technology that demands learning of skills. In India, and in many parts of the world, exam-oriented learning has dominated the classrooms for decades. The emphasis is more on memorization, grades, and securing ranks rather than on real understanding of or application of knowledge. More than advantages, the present generation of students use ChatGPT even minutes before they enter the exam hall. This system is rewarding many but at the end it leaves little space for creativity. Naturally, students lose problem-solving abilities or practical exposure.
On the other hand, skill-based learning focuses on equipping learners with the abilities that make them eligible or job market. A skill is the ability to undertake a task. It is more of the successful performance of an activity. An engineering graduate should be technically perfect in skill-based knowledge. An illiterate mechanic looks more technically knowledgeable than a graduate without skills. The 21st-century Gen Z students are expected to develop more skills than merely taking degrees without skills. Critical thinking, digital literacy, teamwork, and adaptability are looked into academic knowledge. In today’s fast-changing world, where technology and industries are evolving rapidly, skill-based education prepares students to encounter world challenges with confidence and morale.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on the importance of moving away from rote learning, thus paving a new platform for paradigm shift in India’s education roadmap. Balancing knowledge with skills is the pressing need of hour. However, the transition is slow due to outdated curriculum at different levels of courses and learners in the country. Even exam-driven boards and meeting parent satisfactions equate marks with success. Marks and ranks don’t provide knowledge in modern era. For example, the days of taking a patient in an ambulance are gone. It is the surgeon or doctor who has to reach out to the patient with his skills in technology. A surgeon sits miles away in Rome and undertakes a surgery to a patient in Beijing with the Robotics technology.
It is time to reimagine education. The examination system may be continued but with minor changes with more focus on skill-based application. “Teachers should talk less and the students should talk more in the classrooms” is the new kind of perception to which a teacher should adapt to a new environment. PPT presentations, lectures and dictation methods no longer serve the purpose of modern education. Examinations must test application rather than memory. All rote learning should be abolished from the examinations. Questions should be based on creativity and critical thinking abilities. A new policy of framing question papers at different levels of courses is the need of hour in the context of global requirements. Our students should be prepared to meet the global challenges. There should be no scope for Wh-questions in the examination paper. Only questions which may be set in with action verbs like justify, discuss, explore, choose, create, construct, select, mention, analyze and punctuate (language) should be followed. Such questions explore student’s actual skills in addressing the real problem thus enabling them to find solutions in the job. A blended model, where knowledge and skills go hand in hand can create not just graduates, but innovators of tomorrow. Exam-based learning should be revamped thoroughly and skill-oriented learning should be initiated even in the syllabi and exam pattern.
The author has 44 books to his credit in English Literature.
Comments are closed.