EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS OF THE THIRD WORLD

There are two final yet fundamental reasons why the educational models of Europe and the USA are irrelevant to the needs of the people of the Third world. First, since all the underdeveloped societies have entered, or are entering, a period of profound economic and social transformation and since the contours of the future are as yet vague, the need is for people to turn their hands and their minds to a wide range of occupations. The narrow specialization and increasing characteristics of the affluent societies could be disastrous; the need is for versatility, for people whose qualities are best summarized, secondly in view of the financial realities expensive education systems should have no place in the third world. Education if it is within the reach of the masses, must be so organized as to be cheap, easily disseminated and as far as possible financially self-supporting. While the costs of job training in the developed societies have increasingly been shifted by industry and business on to the shoulders of the taxpayers, these costs in the emerging nations will to a large extent, have to be borne by the enterprise.



If we think deeply in some way schooling is the most wastage of time of our life especially the examination system to induce conformity to grade, the divorce between theory and practice, the shameful wastage of young talents etc. Let’s analyze a small example- from my own experience i m saying during my school days from class VIII

to completion of my graduation i kept reading the same story of Gautam Buddha, Mahavir , the struggle for independence, ancient valley civilization etc. Don’t you think there are many other various topics and issues which could broaden the circumference of a students mind?



I prefer the idea that most people acquire most of their knowledge outside school rather then that of traditional thinking that most learning is the result of teaching. Let us discuss about the “skill centers” which would make possible the transfer to the community of skills already acquired by people who use them. Such centers would in many cases be attached to the work place itself, with employees and staffs supplying instructions as well as jobs to those who choose to use their educational credits this way. We have to rid ourselves of the idea that “manpower qualifications must precede employment, that schooling must precede productive work”. In fact, training and education should be on the job, with industrial plants not only offering after work training but also redesigning the industrial process so that it has education value. As Illich points out, the idea of conventional adult education counsel Which after a form compensatory training to the un privileged for what they have some how missed-over looks the fact that all education is an exercise in adulthood.

My suggestion is – the duration of formal obligatory schooling should be cut to 10 month as an academic year .In service apprenticeship and the like would provide most of what we term ‘Instruction’ and the two month each year would give leisure for the pursuit of insight.

I think this would lead towards a concrete step to achieve a visionary goal.