‘There must be harmony between education and the working world’: Neeta Dua

The world abounds with the achievements in education in diverse spheres. It is a social mechanism, which enables an individual to achieve life’s tasks with diversity. It goes without saying that education is imperative for each and every student for it opens the vistas of independent living.

Having said that, it is also important to understand that a lot has to be improved in the field of educational development in order to fill the gap between education and career options. When we look back even two three years prior to the sudden onslaught of Covid-19 pandemic or the immediate pre-Covid era, a need for change was already paving its way to the surface.

What the Covid-19 pandemic has done is that it has urgently brought this need of alteration in education system to the forefront. The conventional system of education needs to be updated in order to cater to the need of the future. It has been pointed out by many notable personalities that the technological change is likely to generate many jobs in the future through its direct, indirect and induced effects.

Within this decade, around one third of all jobs are likely to change radically. Amid such dynamic era, it is necessary to reflect whether the kids are being prepared for future or not. And by future-ready generation, we mean a group of people who are ready to respond effectively to both anticipated and unanticipated changes.

In order for that to happen, the education sector needs an introspection. I believe there is a need to develop a collaborative framework wherein the students feel a connect between structured classroom learning both at the school and university levels and the world at large.

Unless this connectivity is established the , students would find a disconnect as they stand on a vague ground with regard to the theoretic knowledge that has been imparted to them for so many years. One way in which this connectivity can be ensured is through skill development. Skills development policies, systems and resources need to be developed and strengthened to meet the current and future challenges.

Also, the student should not only be trained in that skill but also taught to become a part of the ecosystem wherein reskilling and upskilling becomes their second nature i.e. they need to be taught the art of lifelong learning.

Putting it simply, there has to be a harmony between education and working world or what we may call a ‘practical interface’ or ‘practicalisation’ of education such that there is an understanding of the changing trends of world of the work in order for the learners to investigate the various career opportunities in front of them.

Neeta Dua, principal, Little Flowers Public Sr. Sec School, Shivaji Park. Views expressed are personal.