Education: Its Status in India
Taking into consideration the immense significance of education in enlightening lives and improving standards of living, this talk will focus on and critically assess educational policies of the pre- and post-independent Indian governments, educationists, social reformers, and policy makers. India is known to be home to one of the most ancient civilizations for its rich heritage in almost all sectors of human life including education. However, this legacy could not sustain the re-framing of our societies in the modern era leading it towards its present tag of ‘developing’ rather than ‘developed’ nation from the perspective of global institutions criteria. Interestingly, most people do not seem to be aware of this state of affairs as regards the educational sector. Here the presenter intends to unfold a couple of narratives that speak of the strategies used down the ages to impoverish education’s philosophical depth and keep technical forms of education for the wealthy. Shallow education and a passive attitude vis-à-vis what can be done for their own lives keep many people in a state of ignorance. To contrast with forms of anti-intellectualism reportedly present in the U.S., passivity vis-à-vis education is commonly found in India. The critical investigation of some educational policies may enable present educational thinkers to understand such historical blunders and try to avoid them while finalizing any future educational policy or action plan.
Dr. Shivaji D. Sargar, Professor of English, is currently heading the University Department of English, University of Mumbai, (M.S.) India. He is actively engaged in University administration in the capacity of the Chairperson of Board of Studies in English, Member of Academic Council, Member of Admissions, Finances and Recruitment Boards. He has 26 years of teaching and research experience leading to Under-Graduate, Post-Graduate and Research Degrees. He has successfully guided 15 research scholars to obtain their degrees in MA Honours with Research in English, 5 scholars for M.Phil. and 7 scholars for Ph.D. His areas of research include Comparative Literature, Indian Literature, Education and ELT. There are 53 research papers and 4 Books to his credit besides more than 100 presentations at national and international level including those at Oxford University, St. Andrew’s University, and National Kaohsiung Normal University. He has completed 3 Research Projects and presently working on the fourth funded by the University and UGC. He has organized 20 Workshops / Seminars / Conferences at national and international level. He has worked as the founder Editor-In-Chief of Research Chronicler and Research Innovator, multidisciplinary research journals published from Mumbai, India and as a Section Editor of Social Science Directory, an International Journal Published from U.K. He is a Panel Member of Board of Examiners, Reserve Bank of India, Institute of Banking Personnel Services and Staff Selection Commission of India.