By Grace Pinto, Managing Director, Ryan International Group of Schools
How has the education System in India changed over the years?
India can still boast of tremendous growth and incredible paradigms in the education space. The 21st Century technology- driven society has challenged the present education system in India. Integration of technology into teaching has challenged all educators to be in tune with the latest trends and to establish technology-based standards for students, teachers and administrators in K-12 classrooms.
How has Ryan group brought about some instrumental changes in education through their schools?
Our overarching goal has been to provide quality holistic education. We have been in tune with the changing times and work with leading academicians and specialists to design our curriculum and delivery to maximize its effectiveness. We schools operate under various boards – CBSE, ICSE, ISC, SSC and HSC. We also have schools offering education under the IB (International Baccalaureate) & IGCSE (Cambridge) curricula. Our teaching methods ensure a strong conceptual understanding and academic rigor which enable our children to perform exceedingly well in various exams, including the board exams. Our assessment methodologies stress on individual attention and ensure high performance. We pioneered the concepts of ‘no examination and usage of assessment’, ‘no home work’ and the “grading assessment pattern” which have now gained broad acceptance in India.
What are the future trends which will change the education system in India?
Digitisation has pervaded almost all industries and education is no exception. While technology improves multi-tasking abilities and provides the latest global views and opinions on the subject matter, it is will be important to provide proper guidance to the students or else it can also hamper students’ growth as technology tools can be disruptive in nature.
What is your take on the role of policy makers in shaping up the education space?
Over the decades, the efforts of policy makers have urged various institutions across the country to embrace change and implement policies to make education more engaging and meaningful. However, the policy makers at all levels might consider following a collaborative approach that includes academic rigour combined with strong experiential learning, which the key for future employability and successful careers.
Policy makers and heads of various educational institutions should:
• Create an engaging, motivating, and intellectually stimulating learning experience.
• Provide learning experiences that develops not only employable but who can make a difference as socially and ethically responsible global citizens.
• Enhance student engagement and learning through effective integration of latest developments in education.
• Continuously improve teaching practice/ methodology through professional development and training.
• Emphasise holistic and collaborative education with involvement of teachers, parents, administrators, and community members.
What are the challenges and prospects in the education sector?
Like all segments, education also has its positives and challenges. With privatisation of the education sector, there is much competition. It is becomingly increasingly important to develop in this segment of education and innovate and be progressive in approach, fine-tuned with the changing trends in global education and leadership. The ground realities do indicate the need for more educational institutions to meet the demands of the growing population. Those who are willing to invest in this sector need to provide accessible quality education at K-12 schools, tertiary education, primary education, secondary education, higher education, international studies and so forth. While the Indian education sector offers plenty of opportunities, educators need to be focused on an integral vision and being anchored to the true essence of education in giving access to the right of education to every child is the core value of being in education.
