Lord Thomas Babington Mc Caulay created the present higher education system as early as 1850's , to produce slave clones, which though literate would lack the individual thinking, reasoning and questioning capabilities. He realized that the country could be ruled only if the culture and the education system are attacked, for they are the backbone for her prosperity. Unfortunately, we have been nurturing that very same education system since independence. All the applause that few of our students have got abroad is inspite of such an education system and not because of it.

We put our children into a system that hammers them into assembly-line products. It creates mould of "one-size fits all" . The basic aim of true education is to help the child develop his intellectual, aesthetic, emotional, moral and spiritual being as well as bring out a child's hidden talent, innovativeness, questioning mind and the sprit of discovery. education without human values, care and concern for societal needs is no education- its bookish knowledge

The irony however remains that the reforms needed in education revolve only around the modernization of textbooks, broadening the sphere of what students are tested on and how they are taught. Instead of being confident and creative young people our teenagers are made to believe that their entire future and success in the world depends on their scorecard. Consequently, their complete attention focuses on competing for percentages and ranks on the mark sheet. Who then takes care of the essential areas of the personality such as creativity, leadership qualities, collaborative working, learning attitude, patience, appreciation, efficiency, time management etc?

Going back to history again, we can recall how the five Pandavas were given education by the Guru Dronacharya. But I really do not recall looking at Arjun's marksheet. Had he been taught all the methods of fighting (archery, sword fighting, mace etc.) and then evaluated on it, I wonder whether he would have till been called the a great warrior. The point that is being made here is that true education should be able to allow the child to explore his interests and provide the channels to hone his skills and pursue his interest area, rather than stamping him as pass or fail. What the practical world is looking is much more than mere marksheets.

Talk to the honchos of the corporate world and they would say that of Life Skills, something that is rarely seen today. The entrepreneurial ability to instill life in the projects the person takes up, ability to implement a collaborative style of working, willingness to work right form the grass root level, initiative taking capability, leadership qualities, ability to motivate people, ability to work in cross culture environment set up, and more than anything else, the ability to translate the theory into practical work. All this again, is just one part of the life that an individual lives. Education has to cover all the aspects of his entire life.

The true quality education cannot be actually measured in tangibles such as marks or scorecard. The classroom education focuses on memory instead of understanding, thinking capability and the ability to question the existence of a concept or a thing. True education should manifest itself in something more than the rubber stamp for getting jobs and high pay packages. It should inspire children to become proactive leaders of thought, widen their consciousness, release capacities, develop analytical abilities, confidence in oneself, will power and goal setting competencies and instill the vision that enables one to become self-motivated.