Questions were raised in the last few webinars
on how the schools will cope with the emerging scenario after Covid pandemic is
laid to rest. Underlying all these questions was a dormant fear about managing
their next academic year, ‘finishing’ the syllabus on time and issues related
to inadequate time schedules they will have later. Unfortunately, the existing
mindset seeks to reposition the schools back to their pre-covid systems,
thereby acknowledging their unwillingness to learn the lessons this pandemic
has taught us. Carefully examined, the Covid experience has given us some ‘alarm
signals”. One could see a number of vital inputs that are needed to redesign
our life systems, by eliminating several of the mistakes we had been doing over
the decades consciously. If we are unwilling to learn and change, it will be
suicidal to the future of the human race in this planet.
I feel, that the following are some important
elements that need to be incorporated as fundamentals to our curricular design.
To the advocates who argue that the current curriculum contains these elements
already, my suggestion would be to re-examine the content and pedagogy whether
these are really addressed in their true sense or are we trying to just paint a
picture that ‘all is well’.
1.
Developing Social consciousness
The current
pandemic has proved beyond doubt the need for “social consciousness” among the
humans in all nations. Demonstrating its neutralizing effect, the pandemic has
brought the rich and the poor, the valiant and the meek, the intellectual and
the stupid, the philosopher and the pragmatist to the same platform. It has
proved that love and service are the powerful pain-killers for a socially
evolved civilization. Reaching out to the needy, saving the lives, sharing the
resources, drawing limits to growth and living with minimal needs, have emerged
as the essence of a happy life. It has also proved beyond doubt that health,
safety, survival and togetherness are the basics on which the society needs to
weave its texture rather than intellectual supremacy, technological arrogance
and pride arising out of the conquest over nature. curriculum has to be
articulated to meet these needs with purpose and focus.
2.
Developing Health consciousness
The Covid
threat has exposed the need for focused activities in health education so that
health emergencies arising from time to time can be prevented through
thoughtful practices which are preventive rather than curative. It indeed calls
for a total paradigm shift in our perceptions to health, hygiene, personal
space and care, and social distancing. Further, it has put on show our
inadequacies in existing practices with regard to pollution free environment-
clean water, clean energy and clean air. The existing approach to these issues is
very casual and just good enough to meet some basic legal requirements rather
than as engaging inputs to create skills, competencies and comfort.
3.
Developing skills of Relationship
management
Over a few
decades, the value of our learning engagements has become largely ephemeral.
The focus was laid on generating attitudes towards monetary growth and for
improving standards of life. In this process, institutional structures like
family, marriage, neighbourhood concepts got marginalized, rather sacrificed,
to satisfy personal gratification needs. Relationships were built to suit
contexts and to meet immediate needs, and thus became utilitarian in nature.
Working in service sector was looked down by the white collars, thus creating
divisive social relationship designs. Covid-19 has brought to light how the
inequity in relationships need re-fabrication; it reveals how the society has
to be sensitized to a sense of gratitude and gratefulness to fellow beings who
risk their own lives for the welfare of the society. . .
4.
Developing emotional intelligence
Emotional
intelligence has assumed priority over cognitive intelligence. Compassion,
empathy, love, care, sharing and reaching out to others has become the need for
a society suffocating in an emotional lockdown. The sense of philanthropy
giving itself to selfish needs, indifference to people who are sick and
suffering, non-participation in redeeming the fate of the downtrodden from
poverty lines, self-branding through vulgar display of money power,
non-recognition of the social and emotional needs of the senior citizens,
inability to recognize the insecurity of the unorganized sector of labour,
negation of equity to differentially abled persons and the like, are some
fundamentals that need to be examined with greater depth and intensity. Lack of
educating adequately on the emotional intelligence and relevant competencies,
through educational platforms has resulted in developing a generation of people
and a society, who appear to be highly self-centred. The situation needs to
reversed. Educational inputs have to be resourced to meet these requirements.
5.
Developing a sense of inclusivity
The planet
houses several lakhs of organisms that breathe like us and has a life system similar
to us. The organisms living in water, land, forests and everywhere else have a
right to live; live with comfort and peace. They have a right to live with
dignity in their sphere of life system. They need freedom to live according to
their own will, genetic culture characteristic of their own species and their
co-habitants. Denying their right by sustained attempts to eliminate them from
the planet, is an injustice to the purpose and beauty of the creation. As the
entire eco-system is interdependent, it will have its fallouts even in human
existence also. Education should focus on inclusive systems embracing species
which fly, which crawl, which swim, which gallop and which have their own
multi-dimensional life styles. Education has failed to take note of their
existential needs and eliminated their habitats worldwide, by converting forests
to deserts. The current scenario has brought to light our lack of appreciation
and judgement about the needs of other species.
6.
Developing skills of Resource
Management
The Covid-19
management requirements have taught us a number of new managerial skills
required for mass management. We had to focus on managing several types of
resources – food, shelter, transport, sanitation, health care, safety, law and
order, mobility, finances and organized business practices and the like. All
types of resources required specific skills relating to – identification of
resources, accessing of resources, mobilization of resources, warehousing of
resources, their delivery systems, their accounting systems and ensuring their
reach on time. For a country like India, these skills are contextual to
geography, culture, social backends. We would need human resources to plan and
execute. All these do not necessarily
require certified qualifications or experience through institutions of higher learning,
but call for practical wisdom and insights. These could be incorporated into
the curriculum, and facilitation of selective acquisition of these skills could
be addressed among the learners.
7.
Developing servicing skills
The spirit of
service is vital to cohabitation. This is an expression of the concern and
compassion for the community. Service, in essence, is an expression of our
belongingness to every microcosm of this universe. Service to the
underprivileged, service to the senior citizens, service to people with
different abilities, service to all during disasters are a few areas, which
need essential engagement. Each require different set of abilities to deal
with. It may be important and prudent if these abilities and skills are incorporated
at the formative stage, so that the learners can grow with a frame work of mind
which has deep roots in such sensitivities. It will also open opportunities for
the learners to be integral part of service organizations with a sense of
purpose and as their signature for effective engagement with life.
8.
Developing crisis management skills
In a highly
volatile world, which has opened to newer technologies, industries and
uncertainties, crises have become order of the day. Lerbinger classifies the
crises in the following categories: Natural
disaster, Technological crisis, Confrontation, Malevolence, Organizational Misdeeds,
Workplace Violence, Rumours, Terrorist attacks/man-made disasters. All these
and more could put any community under avoidable risk. Hence the current
generation of learners should acquire necessary basic skills of crisis
management so that they could handle the crisis with requisite alertness,
prudence, pragmatism and planning. Leadership skills in crisis management, at
different levels, is the need of the day.
9.
Developing Wealth Management skills
Wealth needs to
be understood in its right perspective. Land, Water, air, bio-sphere, living
organisms Plants and a number of other non-living things become a part of the
shared wealth of the human race. Beyond that at the individual level, health,
knowledge, relationships, values, life skills, order and stability in life and
a host of other things are integral to our concept of wealth. Unfortunately, in
the last few decades we have identified ‘money’ and possessions as symbols of
wealth. The corona impact has enlightened us of this faulty approach to life.
It is time our educational systems focus on the real inputs to wealth and help
in real time wealth generation.
10 Developing a
sense of enterprise
Recovery from a
disaster, resilience from an upheaval are essential in a vibrant society. To
convert challenges into opportunities, people need to have entrepreneurial
mindset and skills. The sense of enterprise is required for every individual
for growth and scale up achievements in life. It brings to light all the latent
talents in us. It helps us to seek resources, address innovation, plan
strategies, find markets and discover our passion. It helps in understanding
risk management, customer needs and satisfaction, budgeting finances and
address issues related to quality management. These skills are required
immaterial of any profession a learner would seek in later life. Education in entrepreneurship
is the need of the day in a competitive and consumerist world.
The question is
not how much and how far can we go. These are essential for a futuristic
society. This would indeed mean refocusing our curricula from data and
information to essential life skills. Indeed, this calls for a change in the
mindset of educational administrators and policy makers. Better sooner, than
later!!
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