The Indian Education sector is amongst the largest in the world, with an extensive network of more than 1.4 million schools and more than 850 universities and 40,000 higher education institutes.
The Indian education system is extensively evaluation-based. India is home to some of the finest colleges in the world, but its contribution to the world of innovation is close to none. Our education system should, therefore, focus on churning out not just engineers and doctors, but also entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, writers etc. all of whom are influential in the development of the economy.
APJ Abdul Kalam once said, “In a decade’s time, India will need 300 to 500 million employable skilled youth and there's a need to completely change the university education syllabus and secondary school education syllabus.”
Thus, as the world is evolving with emerging technologies and innovations, there is a need for skill-based learning or maker-centred Learning.
What is Maker-centred Learning?
Maker-centred Pedagogy is an important extension of our Experiential Learning Curriculum, which emphasises on design thinking where students get to apply conceptual knowledge they absorb in classrooms, by solving real-world problems. This leads to a holistic experience that is related to the world around them.
As it is said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for one day; teach him how to catch fishes and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Why Maker-centred Learning in Schools
Schools play a pivotal role in shaping a child’s future. Most of the Indian schools follow the rote-learning route and ascribe more intelligence or value to a student who gets more marks in an exam. A typical Indian classroom is characterized by long hours of lectures by the teacher with very little focus on the students’ ability to comprehend. According to a survey conducted, nearly 70% of people felt that the curriculum followed in India today did not give sufficient scope for creative thinking.
In today’s competitive world, it is necessary to have innovative learning practices that push its students to solve real-world problems, using the skills they have learnt. It is also far easier for students to understand and absorb things through application.
Embedding this innovative learning practice in students is necessary from the grass root level. Thus, schools should revamp their curriculum from examination based to skill-based.
