Opportunities for reflection leads to self -efficacy and emotional wellbeing!
November 29, 2024
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Understanding Demographic Dividend
Around one third (33%) of India’s population - (03-16 years of age) is preparing for life in various schools -from nursery to the senior secondary; while around 65% (15-65 years) are working somewhere. By one estimate, the working age population would touch around 69% by 2030. The two landmark figures are important in the context of India’s increasing Labor Force Participation Ratio for the working age (15-59) years of age which was 59%, in 2011 and increased to 63% in 2022. A declining Labor Force Participation Ratio (LFPR) for the youths - 54% in 2000 and 42% in 2021 (ILO, 2024) are equally important. The changes in the LFPR for the working age population and for the youths are significant to understand - there seems to be desperation and stress on the working age population while fewer youngsters seem to be working - either they are unemployed or underemployed! The above scenario, characterizing a considerable proportion of idle youths needs to be understood which impinges upon the 33% undergoing various types and nature of education and training. An attempt would be made, in the subsequent sections, to explain whether those from among the 33% are being adequately prepared at different schools and whether there is a possibility to prepare them for their optimum participation in the production process (LFPR) for the youths.
JBP Sinha (Sinha, 2021) underlined the need for education and skilling as important inputs for the development and well-being of the youths. India has the youngest workforce globally (NSSO, 2014; UIS, 2021). The situation suggests that, through education and skilling, we have a good potential to optimize demographic dividend - an outcome created by the work force through their active and creative participation in the productive process. National Youth Policy (2020) emphasized the consolidation and integration of youth development into the mainstream Government policies, programs and budget followed by appropriate programs including skill development. By one projection India needs to add 7.9 million jobs annually till 2030 (Indian Economic Survey, 2023-24) indicating the opportunity. So where are we and our youths now?
India's Skill Development Report (2019) found only 46.21% of its students being employable. The report analyzed streamwise levels of skill and employability and found that only 46.21% of country’s management students have been able to attract employment. Among the technical graduates and engineers, the situation is more abysmal as the report clearly indicates. Mathias and Sebestian (2024), citing trends and cases, found the employability of the trained and skilled youths being significantly low. This is evidenced by a skill gap between demand and supply in the existing labor market (Agrawal et al 2016; Bist and Patnaik, 2020 and Shrotriya et. al. 2018). More than 60% of all graduates remain unemployed three years after completing their degrees (Bornali, 2021; NCAER, 2018). Unemployment and low employability have social and psychological consequences including stress, social conflict and emotional imbalances that adversely impact the wellbeing of the youths (Majumder and Mukherjee, 2013).
What is wrong with the ‘skilling strategies?
At this point let us consider some questions. What renders our youths unemployable - a situation which robs and deprives them of the opportunity to earn a living and live with dignity and pride? More poignantly, the situation of the educated youths is no better. Is it (unemployment and employability) a reflection on the nature and quality of education/training imparted? Following government policies, to skill the youths, there has been an enormous series of programs and modules. But what neutralizes the impact leading to low level of skill and employment? Do we understand the need for some critical elements in preparing the youths? Are our approaches and pedagogies basically tuned to develop only a minimum level of operational skills ignoring psycho-emotional and cultural connections in what we do in the classrooms? Researches by scholars have underlined several deficiencies in the approach and programs including perception of irrelevance by the youths, lack of timely placement and handholding, and market linkage etc. (Mishra and Rai, 2021). Low employability, even among educated and trained youths, is intriguing and a cause of greater concern - Do we not take a holistic approach in this context? With the Indian economy growing at such a fast pace, are we missing the larger picture of the opportunities and concerns that might follow? Are we taking age-appropriate actions to create a conducive environment for skilling and capacity building which can orient the youths to take skilling efforts in stride and motivates them to prepare themselves seriously, value and celebrate their skills and emerge stronger in negotiating a dignified space in which their skills and capacities are valued and adequately compensated for?
In India, planned institutional initiatives for functional skilling begin after a certain level of education - say senior secondary school. One may argue that a certain level of conceptual/theoretical preparedness is essential before one goes for technical training. What makes the situation complex is the consideration of hierarchy among different types and levels of skills and institutions which impact preference for such skills. In reality every parent aspires for dignified skill sets earned by his/her wards in an equally dignified institution. Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics are considered inferior and everybody would like to go engineering colleges - preferably IITs and Medical Colleges in case of medical education. A degree from these institutions becomes more important than relevance and quality of education - it is socio-culturally more valued and acceptable. One begins, professionally, with deficient knowledge and skill endowment. There is no vocational education at the school level and wherever they are, they serve cosmetic value. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) within the schools, as promoted by Government of India is a useful addition but hankering for marks/grades, in competitive examinations, render them optional. Undergoing various skill training under skill development programs of the government, is the last option for which there is neither seriousness on the part of the training agencies nor the youths. ‘There is nothing else to do so why not this’, sentiment works within the youths who join the program stoically. The agencies understand this missing enthusiasm and fulfill the formal responsibility of training and placement indifferently as well. The skill development, in essence, begins and ends up with indifference and low quality (Mishra and Ray, 2021). It turns out to be a dilemma of hope! With low percentage youths having opportunity to attend ‘high and dignified’ centers of education, low quality of education at the mushrooming next level institutions, missing aptitude and preference for entrepreneurship along with a preference for secured jobs, it seems hard for the Indian economy to cope up with its growing demand for skilled and capable workforce. Demographic dividend seems to be illusive.
Understanding the skilling ecosystem
Skilling is often considered in terms of developing skills and capabilities to perform certain production functions like producing pitchers or earthen lamps, weaving and designing clothes, cooking food, acting in plays and dramas, diving and playing various sports, designing and producing a machine ranging from a simple nail to a motor car or power stations and designing digital programs, etc. Skills and competencies for performing such acts attract appreciation and economic value to the person concerned. Aggregate values of such products and services are determined by their demand and supply and accordingly the values of such skilled and capable person(s) creating and contributing to them. The number and competency level of such (skilled) persons, within a society or a nation, determine the wealth of the society and the nation. We can therefore say that skills and competencies, within a society, determines aggregate societal good and prosperity. But what helps in developing skills and competencies? In terms of creating/producing tangible and intangible goods and services, development of skills and competencies are influenced and developed through existing knowledge, traditions and practices, culture, and specially designed and designated institutions and groups of institutions working in tandem. Government policies and institutions influence the development of various skills, their priorities and absorption as per the existing demand supply.
The government and market are responding to the emerging skills and competencies demands. There is however, an apparent mismatch between the demand and supply especially with regard to the quality of the skill sets. Our existing strategies and methods do not seem to prepare skilled persons. Those trained carry an unemployable tag which render them under/unemployed. This adversely influences their self-image which, more than depriving them of their market value, gives birth to a deepening sense of indignity and futility. This is proving suicidal and in the long run and may render us incapable of meeting our demands and our share of economic growth and national wealth.
Let us go to the earlier question of whether schooling prepares or can prepare the background for development of appropriate quality skills and their quality? Skills and competencies do not develop in a vacuum, following a mechanical process. Socio-cultural and institutional ecosystems determine choice and preference for a skill. Quality of skill and strength of competencies would depend upon whether a given skill is the liking of the concerned person(s) or it has been doled out and suggested. In the Indian context career aspirations are determined by a number of factors and are not arrived at independently and rationally. In fact, several of the choices are influenced by the in-group or its members (the family members, peers, teachers, neighbors), contemporary career trends, success stories and careers adopted in desperation caused by personal circumstances. Career roles, adopted under such complex circumstances, are just accepted without serious rational thoughts and planned preparation. A casual preparation does not help in developing the commensurate competencies. As a consequence, quality and employability may suffer. Provisions for and availability of trained professionals, getting the opportunity to be exposed to and decide on career options, opportunity to assess oneself for several available options (BCAR, 2024) may help in making considered choices. Vocational educational and training (VET) could be useful (Peiltz and Sebastian, 2024) in the right selection of career accompanied by training and capacity building which can contribute to a considered career role with serious preparation and professional grooming. Needless to say, the quality of the skill and competency would be ensured with an employable and competent workforce. The Indian skilling landscape seems to be ad hoc, casual and perfunctory which needs to be replaced by systematic assessment of potential workforce for their orientation, aptitude, preference and potential for capacity development. Having organized appropriate capacity building and skilling strategies and programs could help build an employable workforce.
Does schooling offer answers?
JBP Sinha (Sinha, 2021) underlined education and skill development as basic to human well-being. Parth Shah, as quoted by Koen De (2024), suggests that everyone should receive, what he calls, ‘a solid education’ at primary levels to be able to contribute to the Demographic Dividend. Koen De Leus (2024) argues against substandard education versus Demographic Dividend. Morrie Oosthuizen (Oosthuizen, 2024), links missing emphasis on education with waning demographic dividend in South Africa. How does education and schooling help in preparing an employable workforce? One may argue that schooling may be an opportunity to acquire basic understanding of different subjects to be used in later life. Adding functional skill development to their already crowded agenda would be overwhelming and too much!
Let us try to consider the skilling process differently. Developing various skills and competency for performing certain production functions, at an appropriate age/level, can be well understood. One may need a certain level of physical and cognitive maturity to acquire different skills and competencies to perform production functions. But as we have seen earlier, choice of career roles are often socio-culturally determined. In India, children are pushed to career choices which are perceived to bring social prestige and dignity to the family and the children themselves, but they may not be prepared for the same or may not find them to their liking. This may lead to incongruencies in preparing for that career and skills. Inappropriate choices may impinge upon the quality of skill and performance on the job and may result in the lack of interest in acquiring and performing the role. Schooling can set a conducive background for skilling.
Children, at the schools, may be exposed to various possibilities in life as a career and the needed skills to be successful in those careers. This exposure may be through counseling sessions facilitated by trained professionals or visits to some real functioning organizations where people are engaged in different activities. These visits may be planned to a hospital, a service providing organization or to a telecommunication center, etc. If there is a military center, exposure and interaction may be organized with the officials and functionaries. This would just alert them for a potential role in real life. The students may also have role plays facilitated by the teachers. Mainstream pedagogical strategies may modify their orientation to be participatory, collaborative and reflective to develop such attributes and capacities for performing various career roles. Such pedagogical diversity may help prepare a background for a future career role. Selection of career roles might become natural, evolving and realistic. Life skill development inputs may precede all formal learning inputs which would help them deal with the psycho-emotional imbalances and consequently, making and preparing for right choices.
Schooling for developing ‘agencies’: Basic to skilling
Considered strictly against the human development formulations, as proposed by Erikson and others (Erikson, 1959; Birch 1997) the period of schooling coincides best with the period important existential questions surround the children which are best responded by the peers, society, role models and the like. The way existential questions are responded to and support provided the children would learn to develop competencies to cope with them and emerge as successful in the life ahead. The agentic perspective of human development considers people as self-organizing, pro-active, self-regulating and self-reflecting (Bandura, 1986, 2001). Developing these competencies, which Bandura terms as agency, should be the agenda of the schools rather than pushing knowledge in a designated area/stream. Human agencies have four properties which include –intentionality which are strategies and action plans that individuals set and would like to realize. An important aspect of this property suggests that human beings do not visualize goals and future plans which are achievable by the individuals alone. There are others who contribute to the achievement. Therefore, there is no absolute agency that an individual can achieve and exercise on its own - there has to be collaborative efforts. This encourages collectivization, team building and realizing goals together. Then there is forethought which is the ability to anticipate the outcome of one’s actions. The third property is the element of self-reactiveness which is the capacity to construct appropriate courses of action and to motivate and regulate their execution (Bandura, 1991a). The fourth property is self-reflectiveness. People are not only agents of actions but they are self-examiners of their own functioning. Through functional self-awareness, they reflect on their personal efficacy, the soundness of their thoughts and actions and the meaning of their pursuits, and make corrective adjustments wherever necessary. Optimizing ‘Demographic Dividend’, within a society, would need people with such attributes which cannot be developed after they graduate to adulthood as they evolve at different stages of human development and the role of relevant institutions - family, schools, training centers - becomes crucial. As has been indicated earlier in this section, the period of schooling coincides with the period of existential questions that surround children, which may bother them if not appropriately responded to. If they are strategically answered, the children may start learning and preparing themselves to respond to those questions. Selecting the right career choices, preparing for them and determination to prove their best becomes natural and easier.
Indian schooling ecosystem
We seem to suggest a different and perhaps larger role for the schools which sync well with our aspiration to reap rich ‘Demographic Dividend’. This would call for looking at the schooling system anew, including its vision, agenda, content and pedagogy. Are we not trying to set an achievable and undoable goal and agenda for the schools in India? Before we answer this let us glance through schooling as a system and how it functions. India’s schooling is largely a state responsibility which is centralized and bureaucratic in nature without much restrictions to the individual schools, to try innovations according to the contextual imperatives and possibilities. The outlay for school education, in India, according to the recent budget (2023) is meager 2.9% of the GDP which is consistently low over the years. Also, budgetary allocations are not fully spent as per plan (Educational Lands cape of India,2022). The ultimate analysis of educational outcomes in Government schools are revealed by the Indian NGO PRATHAM’s annual reports which indicate serious learning gaps in primary schools - a class five student can read and write only at the level of class two student (Annual Status of Education Report, 2022). This is quite concerning with regard to the quality of government primary schools and its implication for skill development in subsequent years. We do not, however, intend to cast any aspersion on the seemingly low budgetary allocations and missing thoughtfulness in spendings - it is to suggest that we need to look at our priorities afresh. Then we have fast growing private schools in the country. They account for 31.3 % of the total schools and are ever growing in number (Education Landscape of India, 2022).
Let us now try to understand what goes on in India's classrooms. Our understanding is that aspirations for schooling have been soaring and classrooms - both in the private and public schools - are humming with children. The growing buoyancy has been caused by several factors including government encouragement and realization by the parents about the instrumentality of education for a good future career and life. In general, pushing knowledge and cramming are the order of the day at Indian schools. Teachers are dispensers of knowledge followed by homework drudgery and casual evaluation (Mishra, 2023). Reflective engagement around subjects and issues, within and outside the curricula, are rare and limited to some occasional debates and essays competitions - more so among the private schools and less at the public schools. Opportunity for interactions and dialogues with the internal faculty and outside visitors and experts are sporadic. Extended exposure to the outside world including local communities and institutions is not thought appropriate even for the humanities and commerce students - students remain confined to the syllabus and probable subjects for the next competitive exams. There is limited opportunity for thinking about and reflecting on life and realities beyond the schools, either as part of the pedagogy or under the guidance of professionally trained counselors. Community connections are notional, limited to organizing Parent Teacher Meets (PTMs) usually after the examinations where students’ weaknesses and limitations are recounted and faults externally fixed. Trained and mentored within such a regimented and intense academic confines students tend to remain focused around syllabus, subjects, model and probable questions, scores and their teachers - it is almost a closed scenario. They are always guided by externals and eventually lose touch with themselves - their own self. Reflectiveness, imagination and pro-action are replaced by and limited to ‘mugging up and reproducing what is taught happens to be the norm. Teachers and other sources of knowledge; the private tutors, coaching centers and time management around them are the only world students are aware of - the sheen of life reflects in scoring high marks in examinations. Existential questions are rarely raised, discussed and attempted. Complex existential questions, however, do not wait longer and soon after the examinations and schools they start confronting the students. Their past teachers are themselves neither available nor well informed to support them and the parents get desperate to put them in whatever ‘best’ is available from among the baskets of institutions and subjects. This is the beginning of a ‘casual and forced choice’ which keeps multiplying and accentuating year after year, finally culminating into - ‘do whatever is available’ scenario. Lack of definitiveness leads to split efforts and resultant outcome: a compromised career choice. Entering the workforce with such a compromised choice adds little value to the Demographic Dividend (Mishra,2023).
Preparing for Demographic Dividend: Insights from a public school’s initiatives
Established in 2018, Manava Bharati International School (MBIS), Patna (India) inculcates and pursues the philosophy of legendary Indian intellectual Ravindra Nath Tagore in its goal and pedagogy. For him (Tagore) education is emancipatory in nature. For education is not an instruction but a process of inspiration and exploration. It offers an occasion to explore one’s capacity (Tagore, 1929). MBIS is convinced that inspiring exploration is what makes education an instrument for capacity building and human development. Schooling prepares the foundation to this end. It would not be apt to suggest that schooling should not get the children indulged in adult subjects - they should get the opportunity to be face to face with future existential questions. MBIS also believes in the agentic perspective of human development which considers people as self-organizing, pro-active, self-regulating and self-reflecting (Bandura, 1986, 2001). Developing these competencies, which Bandura terms as agency, should be the agenda of the schools rather than pushing knowledge in a designated area. MBIS understands that although people tend to set goals and action plans individually, their achievements are better realized collectively. Hence ‘collaboration and collective action’ is the school's core approach. If the school offers opportunity for the self-organizing, proactive and self-reflecting individuals and help them direct their action collectively it would help them realize their goal better. The perspective helps to learn from each other and, being reflective, develop agency to evolve as ‘agents of change’. This sets the background for realizing an optimum ‘Demographic Dividend’.
Turning commitment into reality: What works, what ways!
Commitment to the above perspective may not be sufficient to realize the intended outcome, there needs to be well thought strategies and activities to realize these goals. MBIS is a Senior Secondary School, affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Government of India. It follows CBSE curricula which is quite elaborate, touching upon subjects and spheres relevant and appropriate for school children. It (CBSE) encourages freedom to adopt appropriate pedagogy and strategy to prepare the students and develop adequate competency around the curricula and the subjects as recommended. CBSE has an examination and evaluation framework and the schools enjoy enough freedom to improvise and reorganize. MBIS understands that its collaborative perspective allows it to enrich and embed better learning outcomes against the prescribed curricula which, in turn, develops agencies following a diversified pedagogy. There is no clash between what the CBSE prescribes and what MBIS practices. In fact, the pedagogy adopted by MBIS, leads to developing reflective, self-organizing and proactive students which help them deal with the seemingly enormous task proactively without being overwhelmed and stressed.
Evolving a collaborative and participatory arena!
A collaborative perspective needs to be fully understood and internalized, in order for the stakeholders - teachers, students, support staff, parents to relate to and develop a common understanding. This is not done through specialists’ lectures or preaching but through different sets of evolving activities. A simple exercise, organized in the beginning (the following box) may explain nuanced understanding underlying collaborative approach and how it got embedded in the perspective of MBIS:
As the school (MBIS) commenced its first session, students and teachers planned for an exposure trip to Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand (India). An educational initiative at Anghaila hills (adjoining the city) has a profound relevance for the newly established MBIS and its collaborative perspective. The initiative signifies the return of a legendary philosopher and educationist, Dr. D.P. Pandey, from Shantiniketan, where he had spent considerable time with Rabindra Nath Tagore and was involved in his varied experiments in child centric education. Anghaila hills was developed as a center for learning and research on child education and continues to be an inspiring destination for learning around child education.
As a warming up exercise, prior to their planned visit, teachers and students agreed to sketch a representative scenario of the destination – they completed the exercise diligently. As part of the exercise they displayed their respective sketches before each other and explained what the sketches signified. A vivid description of mountains, forests, rising and setting sun, open air, happy children working and playing together and forest dwellers were on display-the teachers were face to face with each other with their creative descriptions.
While explaining their sketches , the teachers and the students projected their world views and explained the meaning they attached to their respective sketches. Each carried a distinct meaning and was appreciated by each other in due earnest. The exercise demonstrated that sketches were considered important irrespective of who did it! It was confirmation of embedded views across different age groups and people on similar themes and subjects. The views, as expressed, were vivid and diverse. Subsequent visits to the Anghaila hills and engagement in various activities sowed the seeds of collaboration and impact of participation and freedom in developing collaborative perspectives.
A simple exercise struck an important common chord; worldviews were meaningful and important conveying diverse meaning and depth-as diverse as the teachers and students were, integration and inclusion proved important. They contributed to each other’s understanding and were complementary. Teachers and students could meaningfully complement each other and this message was clear- collaboration helped to appreciate and learn from each other which could weave better (diverse) learning outcomes together.
From here on, collaboration within the school, is reflected in various ways; organization of classroom lessons, workshops and presentations, organization of different events, preparing questions for examinations, organization of community engagement program, organizing learning camps and exposure trips, developing themes for plays, analyzing examination results together with parents and teachers, planning trips, undertaking research and writing papers, publications and so forth. The trying period of the pandemic proved an opportunity for collaboration when the teachers and the students worked online. Reaching out and offering mutually available resources and support became the order. More important was sharing one's personal insight and perspectives, evolved in the process, helped development and consolidation of shared ideas, insights, concepts and perspectives. Publication of ‘Against Odds: Unlocking Children’s Potentials in a Lockdown Environment’ (2020) and ‘Turning Challenges into Opportunity’ (2021) proved landmark milestones which helped the students and the teachers rediscover their merit in their efforts and celebrate their initiatives and collective actions during the pandemic. Post pandemic the students-initiated publication of a quarterly journal Out and About (2022 and ongoing) which publishes articles on contemporary issues concerning the students and their expanding world. The period also witnessed publication of anecdotal newsletter (which continues), case studies and analytical articles. This kept not only their morale high but also kept their creativity surging and glowing. In this process, engagement and acknowledging and respecting each other’s worth and views proved catalytic. In the following table let us present important activities and programs and their impact on the students and collaborative perspective.
Initiatives- their impact and implications for Demographic Dividend
Initiatives Impact on the students Implications for Demographic Dividend
Participatory classes Engagement, Reflection and embedded learning outcome Collaboration for learning diverse learning outcome, comparison and analysis
Workshops and presentations Engagement, participation and reflective learning opportunities Engagement with existential questions and identifying and locating a niche for oneself. Development of self-efficacy
Interactive (Ventilation) sessions Bringing to the fore various concerns, reflecting around and developing independent perspectives and worldviews, entering adult issues Developing priorities and preferences for life afterwards, deciding the best fit the road to self-efficacy opens
Inter-school, state and national competitions Comparison, development of core competencies, reflection, self -organizing, self-efficacy Exchange of ideas and perspectives helps develop shared perspectives and broadening of career choices
Participatory evaluation; preparing questions and joint analysis of the result Core competencies, skill development and development of self-efficacy Participatory Evaluation and analysis leads to self-efficacy which contributes to developing skill and competencies in not only contents but adult questions and roles
Role Plays including theater Translation of curricula contents into creative learning stimulus, embedded and expanded learning outcome Analysis of self and various roles played plus inspired learning from the role, a potential for demographic learning
Participation in art, craft and martial arts Development of diverse skills and traits Broadening competencies aiding to self-efficacy
Exposure trips Self-organizing, collaborative learning, broadening of learning opportunities and self-efficacy Broadening/strengthening of life skills and competency
Research and interface with higher centers of learning: Universities and research institutions Looking beyond current learning possibilities, goals and agenda, developing broader interfaces, Expanded and embedded learning Inspired future roles, clarity about future roles, focused efforts to strengthen one’s future goal
Publication of journal Looking beyond current learning goals and agenda, developing broader interfaces, Expanded and embedded learning Inspired future roles, clarity about future roles, focused efforts to strengthen one’s future goal. Added skill helps establish professional credentials
Community Engagement Program (CEP) Broad based and expanded learning opportunity, exposure to various life issues, empathy and growing commitment Empathy and commitment to issues broad bases career opportunities
Field Research and demonstration Learning from research and demonstration, theories get vindicated nullified disapproved and established Analytical skills and competencies adds important values to the person(s) skill sets and hence optimizes Demographic Dividend
Explaining the impact and its implications
Consider the above table and let us try to understand the possibilities during schooling. There may be curiosity with some amount of cynicism whether a school and students should and can be involved in such activities which are basically considered adult (post schooling) activities. The usual practice is to doubt and undermine the capabilities of the school students and consider these activities beyond the scope of schooling. There may be some cynics who raise ethical concerns such as ‘school students should not be subjected to so much work, it would be torturous. In our views, broad basing schooling would not require much work for the students given a considered engagement by the teachers and the school community. Engagement and assurance could make schooling an enjoyable pursuit rather than a drudgery. We witnessed several of the deep-rooted assumptions nullified and misplaced.
Based on our own analysis and understanding we feel there are certain myths and realities around schools, schooling and school going students. Let us consider some of them:
Myths Realties
Knowledge sits with the experts (the teacher) Students possess important insights and perspective; they are equally important to be valued and appreciated
There has to be a distance between the teacher and the students Joining together in knowledge production creates wholesome knowledge
Teachers’ knowledge benefits the students better Collaborative learning benefits both; it is a win-win situation. World views and insights of the students may help the teachers evolve pedagogy and other inputs to allow better learning outcome
Participation of students may lead to challenge, conflict and indiscipline Participation may be more congenial and harmonious as both make important contributions, it may lead to harmony and self-efficacy of the students
Participation and collaboration disempower the teachers, it is divesting them of their authority They are more empowering and they offer happiness and joy. A collective sense of wellbeing may create an agentic environment.
Higher order learning like research and publications are too much for the schools and school going children These are doable and helpful in expanding perspectives of the schools and school going students. It prepares the students for a better future role and contributes to development and augmentation of credible ‘Demographic Dividend’
Existential adult questions are not for the school going students, it should be left for and begin after the schooling age Transitioning with unanswered existential questions, while waiting for adulthood, may be abrupt, baffling and intriguing and may impact their natural progression. Exposing school students to such questions may set in an enabling and natural entry and engagement with adult questions
Key learning and summary
Learning from MBIS has been important especially in terms of learning outcome impinging upon development of valuable Demographic Dividend.
Our understanding is that the Indian workforce is not fully geared with the right attitude and sensitivity to skills acquired and used. The quality of skills and commitment to apply them seems missing hence the skill is neither valued nor compensated for adequately. This might lead to indifference and missing will to improve.
Skilling efforts begin after schooling with a set of mechanical and procedural inputs. Basic questions are missing and socio-cultural issues are not considered. Skill development training are seemingly ad hoc, target oriented; placements notional and compensations unsatisfactory. In a hierarchical social order, the preference is for white collar jobs and the perceptions of a blue collar (lower skill) may not be attractive. As the National Skill Mission’s reports suggest there is low employability because the skill has been acquired half-heartedly and as an option of last resort. Orientation with vocational and life skill development programs may help in developing right attitude and rational selection of vocations.
Schools are focused around curricula, examinations, scores and grades and life issues and vocational inputs are not part of the curricula. Entering the skill arena, after completing schooling, may seem abrupt and out of place. Preferred vocations should combine degree, higher salary and perks and not hands-on floor jobs. Everybody cannot get such combinations.
Schooling is an important life event traversing different phases of human development- from childhood to adolescence. Transitioning from childhood to adolescence has to be carefully planned. The developmental concerns are not related to either this phase or that phase but in many cases they occur across boundaries. One aspect of development, in a given phase, transcends to and helps the next phase. Teaching strategies and inputs should accordingly be planned to allow optimum benefits and development.
Our understanding is that existential questions and adult issues can be dealt with within schools. Pedagogical modifications and variations are needed. As we have experienced, empathetic engagement helps in attempting and understanding those questions and also in offering solutions. School students, abundantly, demonstrate the potential to deal with them appropriately.
This (schooling) process is empowering and offers important lessons for life which helps the students select and prepare for various roles. Selecting and preparing for various roles is the beginning of entering the adult domain with conviction, capacity and skill and thus ensures development and augmentation of a rich Demographic Dividend.
The perspective and pedagogical fit adopted by MBIS, suggests that they do not require to attempt different things, but to do things differently. We understand that the perspective and the pedagogy is creative and enjoyable and in no way has the elements of drudgery and struggle. CBSE curriculum offers freedom and scope to try diverse pedagogies according to the contextual suitability,
MBIS’s perspective and pedagogy offered environment and pedagogy to stimulate and fuel elements of self-organization, reflection, proactiveness and imagination. This, in turn, helped developing self-efficacy among the students. The collaboration across stake holders, more specifically the teachers and the students, broke hierarchical barriers and created synergy. Nurtured under such environment the students pass the school with definitive answers to many questions which are existential in nature. This works positive in offering right career path.
The New Education Policy (NEP, 2020) offers an opportunity to take such perspectives and pedagogical diversity forward which would help enter the next phase of ensuring a rich Demographic Dividend. It would be appropriate to remind that the demographic dividend for India would start peaking up by 2030 to reach its optimum by 2056. We should not wait to catch up with this opportunity.
In conclusion the road to Demographic Dividend, in India, goes through its schools. Schools need to evolve perspectives and pedagogies to orient, sensitize and develop proactive, reflective and self-efficacious future skilled and capable citizens who would not only carry out designated tasks, but would be able to innovate and evolve perspectives and vision to create and consolidate rich ‘demographic dividend’. Adequate investment, in the schools, alone can optimize it.
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