Rethinking Education: Vishal Vasanthakumar’s book unveils the truth of India’s education system

The state of education in India remains far from satisfactory. (Representational image)

The transformative power of education is often pitched to make a strong case for formal education. Education is projected as the most important catalyst for the empowerment of individuals and the progress of society. However, beyond this utilitarian prism education is seen as more than a means to a specific end. Philosophically, it is seen as an end in itself. Its importance lies not merely as a ‘utility vehicle’ but as an innate imperative for the progress of mankind in the right direction.

In the iconic American film ‘Dead Poets Society’ Robin Williams portrayal of a nonconformist English teacher tells his students something that can be taken as a profound commentary on pedagogy and the formal education system. He says, “We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And, medicine, law, business, engineering…these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for”.

Multifariouss Role of Education

The role of education is also multifarious. While, on the one hand, it is meant to prepare young minds for ‘noble pursuits’ at the same time it has to cater to the needs of individuals—as members of the human race.

But, in times when the ‘knowledge economy’ dictates the terms of education and pedagogy, can education play a role that goes beyond the requirements of the job market?

Apart from the dictates of the knowledge economy, the Indian education system suffers from the barriers of caste, class and economic status, manifesting in unequal access to education. Adding to the problem is the quality of education which results from the complacency of the state and the relentless expansion of the ‘knowledge economy’.

A thorough assessment of India’s education system requires an understanding of the country’s socioeconomic milieu, a good amount of data crunching and an empathetic and neutral lens to understand the problems. And, a very serious attempt in this direction has been made by Vishal Vasanthakumar in his new book titled ‘Smart and The Dumb: The Politics of Education in India'.

Insightful Analysis on Education System

Vasanthakumar is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar and has done a Master in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has previously worked with the Department of School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu. His academic and professional experience in the field of education becomes more evident when the reader navigates through the labyrinthine narrative of caste, class, gender and economic status that determines the education opportunities in India.

Over the years, through various policy measures like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the Right to Education Act (RTE), reservation of seats in educational institutions for marginalised sections of society, and the establishment of schools like Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), the Indian state has tried to ensure equality in educational opportunities. However, even after seven decades of independence, the state of education in India remains far from satisfactory. How does one react when one learns—as highlighted by Vasanthakumar in his book—that only 42.8 percent of all children in Class 5 in government and private schools in India could read a Class 2-level text?

The author also highlights the disturbing fact that there has been a steady decline in these reading levels over the years.

Real Stories, Real Challenges

Apart from these disturbing facts, the author, through field reporting, put forward a nuanced explanation of the socioeconomic barriers that young boys and girls face—especially those coming from underprivileged families, in accessing educational opportunities. Reading the story of Nisha, a young girl from rural Rajasthan who had to choose between “family honour” and education and getting to know about children of Manipur where “a site of education had become a site of violence” it becomes evident that the playing field is far from level.

The author dives deep into the lives of Palmyra tree climbers in Tamil Nadu. He shows how their aspirational quest for making their children “engineers” so that they can escape the indignity of their caste and work identities, came crashing down when they failed to fetch a good job to attain social mobility.

Further, touching upon the obsession with Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the author raises an important question. Is it right to categorise young minds into the smart and the dumb based on a few marks?

Highlighting how a difference of just a few marks can determine entry into IIT, he writes, “Through such microscopic ranking, the JEE claims to measure merit as if saying that the person who got 288 marks and the person who got 275 were vastly different and deserved wholly different fates.”

But then in places like Kota, famous for creating “rankers” the stratification begins at home, quite literally. When the students are classified into “Star” and “Normal” batches and the living quarter for high-ranking students is named “Achievers Abode’ can anyone escape this classification?

The Business of Education

The author successfully unravels the many strands of the Indian education system. Despite himself being from a “privileged” background, he does not shy away from critiquing the “narrative of meritocracy” which discounts the role of “privileges” that contribute to the success of a lot of people. He performs this task unapologetically. Also, the book makes valuable observations regarding pedagogy and teaching that focus primarily on “completing syllabus” rather than educating young minds.

From critiquing the “business model” to the politics of textbooks, Vasanthkumar touches upon all the important issues related to education in India. He does that in an extremely empathetic tone, with prose that reads like a literary novel.

He concludes the book with a quote from American philosopher Thomas Nagel: “When racial and sexual injustice have been reduced, we shall still be left with the grave injustice of the smart and the dumb.” This quote lingers, much like the stories of Nisha and M from Manipur narrated in the book.