Upskilled for Life

Modern education gives us degrees, but does it prepare us for the realities of life?

- PRIYA S. TANDON

It may teach us how to win battles at work, but does it teach life skills?Dron Acharya, the royal preceptor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, taught them the skills of warfare. His favourite disciple was Arjuna. He taught him to wield every weapon including the Brahmastra. Having had Dron Acharya as a teacher, why did Lord Krishna need to counsel Arjuna and teach him the Bhagavad Gita? Because Dron Acharya gave just job skills, to Arjuna. Krishna imparted life skills and spiritual wisdom to him. And it was through that wisdom that Arjuna was able to deploy his knowledge of warfare and become a key player in winning the Mahabharata war. But what about us? Do we have life skills? Spiritual wisdom? Who will teach us?

From the time a child is born, the parents are anxious about school admissions. Because education is of prime importance in shaping the persona of a child. Education in India over the last few years, has been under the scanner for being inadequate and incomprehensive as it stresses upon learning by rote and is not churning out students who are employable. They have theoretical knowledge but have no exposure to practical knowledge.

Presently, our education system is undergoing a complete overhaul. "The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) focuses heavily on improving employability by integrating vocational skills, practical learning, digital literacy and entrepreneurship into mainstream education, aiming to bridge the gap between academia and industry, create job-ready graduates with critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and promote lifelong learning through flexible entry/exit points and industry collaboration.'