The Indian education system and its quality is a topic that is being debated upon on a regular basis these days. Politicians feel that there are many flaws in the system and they need to be fixed at the earliest. There have been many reforms in the modern education system when compared to the education system in the olden days. These changes were brought in during the British rule and after India got independence. The country was famous for its education once upon a time; students from all around the world would visit India to gain a quality education. The scenario has changed drastically today.
The What and How
A function was held this week for the launch of Ayurvedic medicines which was attended by Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik. Mr Singh said that India’s education system was ruined by following the principles of Lord Thomas Macaulay. He was the governor-general of India from 1832 till 1835. Macaulay believed that the Indian education policies were inferior to the western ones. For this reason, he implemented the western policies into the framework of British policies of education in India. Mr Singh believed this was a foolish move as Indian education system was famous in that era and the implementation of Macaulay’s policies ruined it. We are suffering from the consequences of this decision even today.
He also points out that if Ayurveda had been efficiently taught in the country post-independence, we wouldn’t have to depend completely on foreign medicine to cure the diseases. The cure for many diseases could have been obtained from plants. Since this did not happen, the pharmaceutical industry is commercialised and has become a business.
About the Event
The event where the Union Minister spoke was the launch of a range of Ayurvedic medicines which were developed based on the formulae derived by an IAS officer, SM Raju. All the products had been tested thoroughly by the labs associated with the AYUSH Ministry. Parameters laid down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were also followed.