The education system in our country has often been criticised for the quality of education provided to its students. Learning subjects like math, physics, history have not been considered enjoyable by a significant part of the student population. In the wake of Finland’s decision to reinvent their education system, teachers in India theorise on the pros and cons of alternative methods of teaching.

 Think out of the box

To contradict reports doing the rounds on social media, Finland is not doing away completely with traditional subjects but instead, adopting a system which will incorporate a problem-based or project-based learning. Schools will continue to teach regular subjects but, will also focus on helping students study interdisciplinary issues.

This innovative system seems ideal for the holistic development of a student. But, should this system be adopted in India? And, would it work?  These are a couple of the questions that come to mind. Principals from various schools believe that this would require a systematic change, and would have to be incorporated at a pre-school level. Shim Matthew, the Director Principal of Vibgyor High School, believes that it would be a change for the better but, is a process that needs to evolve slowly. Teachers and society would have to be on board for it to succeed.

Subhrata Chowdhury, a geography teacher from Kolkata had a different opinion. He believes that Finland and India face different problems, and this mode of learning would require schools to have complete autonomy to frame their curriculum. He feels that this mode of learning can only be adopted in private institutions and not in state-run ones. Institutions run by the state would require proper groundwork and would require well-equipped teachers to facilitate this change.

In our system of education students are tested on content, memory and recall value instead of concepts or applications of what they have learnt, this hampers the overall growth of a student.

Our system of education needs to transition itself to adopt this innovative mode of learning to help students explore options and invoke critical thinking for overall development.