Throughout history, India has been a land of divine teachings. From discovery of atom to introduction of '0', our teachers and philosophers continued to supply bundles of knowledge and ethics to our students. Then came the Industrial Revolution. A new world order came into place and in the process, man himself got transformed into a technological hypocrite. Well, midst all, no one realized and another industry manifested itself - " The Teaching Industry".
Its a thought to contemplate upon. We were brought up in the times where 'guru' was the supreme. A teacher and the taught had a unique relationship. The objective was to impart a learning and transform a child into a 'Complete Man'. Completion of syllabus was one perspective and imparting ethical values another. We never looked upto a teacher as a 'vendor', supplying us what we want in exchange of a remuneration. And that's how it is today. I guess commercialization came as a boon to the Indian Economy, since education sector now, is one of the most promising investment opportunities. Because it has good returns. In terms "ROI". In terms of quality students, well, who cares ? :P
Its sad to know that there's been a complete transformation of The Teacher and The Taught. You pay, I deliver. The advent of Coaching Institutions, who have done nothing else but counted upon building the components of The Great Indian Rat Race. They know that if provided with an opportunity and a dream (the majority counts it as a dream) to get through major institutions of India, Indian parents can spend a million ! And for those who can't afford big amounts, we have small tuition centers, providing with THE BEST EDUCATION IN TOWN. C'mon. Considering the number of coaching institutions we have, and the promises they make, if their contentions came out to be true, each Indian student would have been a genius - We wouldn't need the world then.
The above mentioned smog of The Great Indian Rate Race damages the connection between real teachers and students. Recently, I got to know, that on getting slapped by a teacher, the student threatened to file a court case for physical abuse. Parents came rushing to the school - Not to reprimand their child for the wrong he had done but to challenge the teacher with court case. (Now that's called 'Cherry on the Cake'.) Finally, teacher quit the job, and was so hurt that she quit teaching itself !
There's still time to get hold of this emerging India. There's a lot of difference between earning a good amount of money and getting educated. Hope the current generation of parents, students & teachers realize the same - soon enough !
