An Idiot's Guide

An Idiot's Guide' is a series of books targeted at the non-idiots. The books are sometime used at universities, alongside the main texts, as a subject matter is introduced. I use these books when students struggle at the initial stage of an advanced course. These books are ladders that help one climb up, to ease understanding. I feel the same reading newspaper reports at times. I wonder if a ladder as such could help.

Some such reports are about issues having consequences on our lives such as where the country stands in terms of external borrowings. On a comparative basis the United States is perhaps in the worst of all borrowers. But it is the ability to pay back that matters. The USA would have no problem. If all hells break loose, it can print money to pay back the loan in its own currency. Not us! Examples of other countries in a dire situation can be a comfort but not the solution. In a similar manner, consider banks that are now bleeding under default loans. What is the risk attached to the customers? We saw such a situation in the past when the BCCI bank went broke. The effect on customers was minimal as it was one single bank. An Idiot's Guide could help by taking each a bank in turn, itemizing the risks.

There are other sectors of economy that are in an equally bad shape. Consider education, tertiary education in particular, which is good business these days. This can be seen from the rising number of private universities and the profile of sponsors. Students have now the option of seeking higher education easily than in the past. There have been many changes in the design of programmes to make students comfortable as they learn. The teaching year is now divided into three parts, called trimesters, as a student takes test and advances to the next stage. It was previously by semester, twice a year. Before then the system was yearly. Consequently, students today graduate faster. That is good money sense for all concerned. But there is a grievous side effect. This reduction in time uses some short cuts. Moderation of questions is gone. There is no provision for second examination of scripts. The teacher who lectures sets exam questions and then evaluates the scripts. Most such teachers are young faculty members who have just graduated, many from weaker universities, and have little experience. This can be a reason why the quality of education in the country is on the decline. This is easily seen from the outcome in various competitive tests where their performance is at best weak, more so with the newer universities. The situation requires attention. Another weakness is the reduction in time period. The students just memorise and spit out. Better comprehension requires space. A year provides this space. Use of external examiners does help, more so if they are not any acquaintance, preferably from universities outside the country. Education requires global exchange of ideas. These are some of the shortcomings as students pursue tertiary education today.

The backbone of an education system is the Bachelor's programme. This has more or less remained unchanged in the developed world while much experimentation has gone on at the later level programmes. Harvard University is a pioneer in this respect. Improvisations, from duration of a programme to pedagogy, abound. But the focus on the Bachelor's programme is different i.e. providing basic education. Oxford and Cambridge universities go to the extent of awarding Master's degree certification after the Bachelor's, without any further academic engagement, but a lapse of time. This can be a reason for the Bachelor's programme to have remained relatively unscathed unlike the graduation programmes, that are need-based. This perspective is missing in our academic curriculum.

How do we know the system has gone haywire? There are several indicators to tell us how we are failing. One is our weakness to compete, more so with the ability in English language. Consider the book fairs held regularly with much fanfare. Hardly there is a book in any other language. Again, most books are pulp fictions and the like. We need more than that to help the nation look forward. An Idiot's Guide can be of help, pointing out the lacking. Even our diaspora in the outside world is very silent. Hardly there is any noise. This is unfortunate compared to what we see in the neighbouring countries. Two top universities in the region, for example, are LUMS at Lahore and Jindal in Delhi. Both have reached enviable positions through faculty excellence and unwavering sponsor support. We are nowhere in sight.

What has gone wrong? One could be the failure to create a culture of learning within the country. This requires promotion beginning with popular events akin to music festivals. Consider the Booker Prize in the UK that has done wonders in promoting this culture. Our Pathak Samabesh is a lone effort in this regard. The effort needs strengthening. India has benefitted much from the Booker Prize as authors such as Salman Rushdie have risen. Monica Ali with her book Brick Lane is a lone star from our diaspora. We need more Alis. Better, if the event as such could be indigenised but without interference. Failure of any such effort in the past cannot be a reason to shy away. Could an Idiot's Guide open up this fissure, to help us see better?

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