"One size fits all". This is the manthra of the corporate style of governance or running a organization. There will a huge number of systems in place, where in ever activity is digitalized(conversion into numbers). The digits are then run through complex algorithms to detect relations between the input and the out. Bottle necks and wastages are reduced to improve the system.
In the remade movie "Tron", the Creator of the digital world says that, after he has created a image of himself for improving the efficiency and speeding the creation of digital world with high efficiency. The Creator then finds that the Iso, the original inhabitants of the digital world are destroyed to improve and confirm to the new system that has been created.
When industries strive for very high efficiencies to cut down costs and to improve the bottom lines, there will be huge layoffs. As the technology adoption takes place at a very fast rate, the need for humans reduces and there will be cycles of huge job opportunities to huge layoffs creating tension among communities. The people at the top of the food chain will always stay alive and be safe because they have made themselves safe from the turmoil.
The need for a safety is what drives many to get to the topmost position as possible and be safe from the anxiety cycles or ordinary mortals. We often hear the talks/speeches of the people at the top, who would have destroyed and cannibalized the lives of several of their colleagues to reach certain position. A Mr.Perfectly Nice Guy finds it very difficult to reach to the top, and those who are at the top are not gentle but cruel and brutal competitors whose sole aim to take the profits of the organization higher.
But when the system of education also becomes digitalized, then there should have been huge debates about the direction and the purpose of the education itself. The vicious cycle is now in full swing. The students enter a course to enrich themselves with basic knowledge and skill sets to perform tasks in real world by application. The employers would evaluate the students based on their academic credentials and conduct some simple tests to evaluate the real calibre of the students.
The less capable students don't get jobs and it shows poorly on the institute. The students donot like the institute as it couldnot provide the required skill sets. Meetings take place blaming the teacher for not imparting the skill sets. The teachers put more pressure by way of assignments/tasks to improve the skills of students. The students then complain of overload/torture to management and teachers are forced to find more innovative methods of imparting skill sets.
More marks are given to students who donot have the calibre and students get the jobs. Industry conducts simple tests to select students for jobs only to find on a later date that the students donot know basics. The employers come up with own set of tests for evaluation. Colleges train the students to clear the employer's tests so as to make the students to get jobs. The cycle branches into unknown territories and the blame game starts. The students, management blame the poor quality of teachers and teachers come with more innovative methods of teaching with each passing year.
The only sufferers are the students who donot find jobs for the degrees they possess. It is the responsibility of the teacher to have the knowledge about the subject as to impart the basic knowledge. The responsibility and ability of the student is to learn the subject and understand. When the focus shifts from understanding the subject to scoring marks the meaning of education is lost and the students are busy preparing for the test to clear the campus exams and go on to take special trainings.
The technical and managerial skills cannot be imparted to all the sutdents at an equal level and unless the education systems imparts this basic knowledge that not all students are equal. The equality of students come in the skill sets that they have and can work hard to improve upon. Some students are good in management, some may be good in art, some may be excellent communicator, etc. The job the education system is to evaluate and give the student, the path that he has to lead to achieve in the improvement of his skills.
The evaluation schemes and education system is completely rotten with more stress on innovation then inventions. The concept of patents, papers published etc are all taking the education system into a digital realm which can never match the accuracy and quality of analogue systems where there can be good manual interventions. Either you are in zero level or one level the only possibilities of digital system.
So long the digital system continues in education, the rot is only going to get worse and industries will come up with courses that will suit their demands. The meaning of the education and the method we know are going to fade faster then expected. The days of the present system of education and evaluation are numbered.
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