Last weekend, I was on Unmyth with the Mithun podcast. We discussed recent model guidelines for coaching centres released by the Ministry of Education. In India, we try to cure the symptoms rather than the disease. The demand for coaching sectors was created due to the fewer premier higher education institutes and the lack of quality school education. Here, regulating the coaching sector is akin to trying to cure the symptoms. Amartya Sen once argued that the absence of the state in education after liberalisation has made quality education inaccessible and unaffordable to many sections.
Though the RTI Act has made almost universal enrollment in schools possible, the quality of education has become a concern. A recent ASER 2023 report notes that today, more children in India have more years of schooling than ever before. Pranay Kotasthane at Takshashila once said that it is good that the discourse on education has moved on from outcome to output. He feels a lot needs to be done to improve the learning standards of school-going children.
I read this fantastic article written by Ameeta Mulla Wattal, where she says Children are not machines — they need communities that are nurturing, supportive, sometimes challenging, but always caring.
Last week, I played the Ticket to the Ride board game for the first time. It was quite enjoyable, though we lost it pretty severely.
See you next week.