CTMS_S407 1

“Portals of Education”Key-note Address at

State-level seminar

By

Dr T.H.Chowdary* Director, Center for Telecom Management & Studies

* Chairman, Pragna Bharati (Intellect India), AP* Former Information Technology Adviser, Government of A.P

Chairman & Managing Director Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., Bombay

T: +91 (40) 2784-6137/6667-1191(O) F: +91 (40) 2784-0058/6667-1111 (O)

thc@satyam.comTalk @ Andhra Mahila Sabha, College of Teacher Education : 6th Mar '09

CTMS_S407 2

The Greatest Resource of any Country is its People (1)

Who are • Educated• Cultured• Informed • Duty conscious• Saving• Healthy, industrious• Patriotic• Respectful of plurality

CTMS_S407 3

The Greatest Resource of any Country is its People (2)

• Only such and not illiterate, indolent, dependency- addicted people can build a– Prosperous, powerful, intellectual & ethical Nation that

can be a Jagatguru, that Bharat was once.

• Subsidies, free supplies, funded pilgrimages & marriages, loan waivers can only help the poor to merely survive

• But not thrive and grow into confident (aatma viswas), self-respecting (aatma gaurav), self-dependent (swayam nirbhar)citizens

CTMS_S407 4

The Greatest Resource of any Country is its People (3)

• Only right and true gnana, (knowledge) thro’ vidya education can fully develop and manifest the divine potential (divyatva) in man.

• A truly developed (thro’ education) person –will not demand– Entitlement or– Employment But will become an – Entrepreneur

• Aham brahmaasmi (I am verily the divine)• Luceat lux vestra• (Let thine light shine forth)

CTMS_S407 5

All men are created equal

• But turn out unequals!

• Upbringing & education reduce inequality

• Our wisdom: Vodi, Badi and Gudi

• Education gives choice of profession and residence

• When profession (vritti) and place of residence (nivasa) change, caste (tied to vritti) declines and withers away

CTMS_S407 6

What is Education (1)

– Education is a liberating force, it enables the individual to rise form mere

materiality to superior planes of intellectual and spiritual consciousness.

 Education gives us accumulated lessons of heritage to carry it forward

to posterity. The past is our foundation, the present our material, the

future our aim and summit. Each must have its due and natural place

in a national system of education. – Sri

Aurobindo

– We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is

increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one’s

own feet. Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.

- Swami Vivekananda

CTMS_S407 7

What is Education (2)

– Education is the process of individual mind getting its full possible development ……….It is a long school which lasts a life time - Dr. Zakir Hussain

I firmly believe the efficacy of education as panacea for our social evils - Dr.B.R. Ambedkar

– Education should address the problems of national development, particularly issues concerning self-reliance, economic growth, employment and social and national integration.

– Education is visualised as an evolutionary force so that each individual is enabled to evolve from purely material consciousness towards superior planes of intellectual and spiritual consciousness

• -The Education Commission (1966)

CTMS_S407 8

What is education (3)

– Education aims at liberation - liberation from bondage and ignorance, backwardness and gravitational pulls of the lower human nature.Education should be so designed as to become a powerful carrier of the best of the heritage and it should, therefore, aim at transmitting to the new generations the lessons of the accumulated experiences of the past for further progress in the present and the future.

Source: “Higher Education in India – Vision and Action” GOI’s paper for UNESCO Oct. 1998)

CTMS_S407 9

West East

EducationInstructionProfessorLecturerTeacherTutorGuide

VidyaGuruAacharyaAdhyapakUpadhyaya

Education (1)

West & Bharatiya

CTMS_S407 10

West East Examination TalentEconomic manHedonismSelf-gratificationCycles of boom & BustInability to Cope with adversitySelf & FamilySocial Degradation & Strife

Knowledge talent Moral manLoka SangrahaAdding to the sum total of happinessTena tyaktema bhujithaah;

Maa grithah Caring & Sharing Respect for Pluralism (not mere tolerance)GlobalisationVasudhaiva Kutumbakam

Education (2)West & Bharatiya

CTMS_S407 11

West East

Globalisation

Economic, Markets, GDP/PCI

Inequality (within a country between countries)

World Economic Forum (Davos)

Not only economic butSocial, moral & Ethical Upliftment World Social Forum (Brazil, Seattle, Doha, Mumbai) Education, Health, Environment, Employment, Culture & Language

Education (3)West & Bharatiya

CTMS_S407 12

Rights Duties Rights of Animals Children/Youth to Life Food, Housing, Education Employment, Marriage, Medical & Health care, children (any number) old age pensionsHuman Rights for terrorists, rapists, dacois, vandals, not for victims

Vidhi, KartavyamSwe Swe Karmanya-bhiratah, Siddhim VindatiKarmanyevadhikaaraste, maa faleshu kadaachana

Education (4)West & Bharatiya

CTMS_S407 13

Rights Duties for students, not for teachers, for children not for parentsTo absent from work for “prayers”, for ceremonies, rallies, movementsTo Copy, get 1st Class degrees, M Phil, PhDsRight to Promotion

Parents only to give money?No duty to public work in government offices, company solvencyNo duty to study, to acquire merit

Education (5)West & Bharatiya

CTMS_S407 14

Values inculcated by TeachersLincoln‘s Letter to his son’s

Headmaster. (1) Respected Teacher,

My son will have to learn, I know That all men are not just, all men are not true, but teach him

alsoThat for every scoundrel, there is a HeroThat for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leaderTeach him that for every enemy, there is a friendIt will take time, I know; but teach him if you can That a dollar earned is of far more value than five foundTeach him to learn to lose and also enjoy winningSteer him away from envy, if you canTeach him the secret of quiet laughterLet him learn early that the Bullies are easiest to Lick

CTMS_S407 15

Teach him if you can, the wonder of books…But also give him Quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in

the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hills – side In school teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheatTeach him to have faith in his own ideas even if everyone tells him they

are wrongTeach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the toughTry to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is

getting on the BandwagonTeach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a

screen of truth and take only the good that comes through Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sadTeach him there is no shame in tears

Values inculcated by Teachers Lincoln‘s Letter to his son ‘s Headmaster (2)

CTMS_S407 16

Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetnessTeach him to sell his Brawn and Brain to the highest bidders, but never to

put a price tag on his heart and soulTeach him to close his Ears to a Howling Mob…. And to stand and FightIf he thinks he is right Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because

only the test of Fire Makes Fine SteelLet him have the courage to be important Let him have the patience to braveTeach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will

always have sublime faith in mankindThis is a bid order; but see what you can doHe is such a fine little fellow, my son

-Abraham Lincoln

Values inculcated by Teachers Lincoln‘s Letter to his son ‘s Headmaster (3)

CTMS_S407 17

Swami Vivekanandaon teachers

Swami Vivekananda was addressing a conference of teachers. He said:

“Five years as a school-master, a man becomes a fool”.

Immediately, a teacher got up and said, raising much laughter in the hall:

“Vivekananda is too generous: only two years are enough”.

(Not acquiring new knowledge and communicating to students is what makes a teacher, a “fool”.)

CTMS_S407 18

Teachers to Inspire

• Teacher must inculcate patriotism & nationalism

• Janani janmabhoomischa Swargadapi gariyasi• Wonder that was India – A L Basham• Aristotle & Alexamder – Gangajal & Flute• Indian Ocean but no American, English,

Russian, Chinese, Spanish, French, Portuguese…Ocean

CTMS_S407 19

Children in Govt Schools & Private Schools (1)

• In Delhi:• 31 lakh students KG to HSC• Government : Private

3 : 1 [all classes]

2 : 1 [Classes VI to XII]• Do govt teachers send their children to

government schools/schools where they teach?

CTMS_S407 20

History is important (1)

• India is unique in many senses– The only surviving culture/civilisation– Renewed vitality– Centuries long resistant to aliens and find triumph– We must “decolonise” the Indian mind unsettled by Macaulayan

education– Our sciences, astronomy, mathematics, ayurveda, philosophy

(Vedanta), our literature, our cosmogony (universe, time)– Our nation-hood as distinct from the concept of nation-state

• There are attempts to falsify India’s history

CTMS_S407 21

History is important (2)

What is a Nation • Kulapati K M Munshiji in his small book,

‘Warnings of History’, and Rajaji in his several writings warned the nation of what precisely is happening now.

• Munshiji spoke of three essentials for a people to consider themselves as a nation: Common memory of heroes and their achievements, – Will to unity and – Habitual urge to collective action.

CTMS_S407 22

Why learn History?History is important (1)

“To develop fully your own character, you must know your country’s character. A plant partakes of the character of the soil in which it grows. You are a plant that is conscious, that thinks. You must study your soil – which is your country --- in order that you may be able to draw its strength up into your own strength”.

– Dwight D.Eisenhover

CTMS_S407 23

Dr B R Ambedkar’s speech after writing the Constitution

• Here I could have ended. But my mind is so full of the future of our country that I feel I ought to take this occasion to give expression to some of my reflections thereon. On 26th January 1950, India will be an Independent country. (Cheers) What would happen to her Independence? Will she maintain her Independence or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind. It is not that India was never an Independent country. The point is that she once lost the Independence she had. Will she lose it a second time> it is this thought which makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her Independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own pr.

CTMS_S407 24

Dr B R Ambedkar’s speech after writing the Constitution

In the invasion of SInd by Mahommed-Bin-Kasim, the military commanders of King Dahar accepted bribdes from the agents of Mohammed-Bin-Kasim and refused to fight on the side of their King. It was Jaichand who invited Mahommed Ghori to invade India and fight against Prithvi Raj and promised him the help of himself and the Solanki Kings. When Shivaji was fighting for the liberation of Hindus, the other Maratha noblemen and the Rajput Kings were fighting the battle on the side of Mogul Emperors. When the British were trying to destroy the Sikh Rulers, Gulab Singh, their principal commander, sat silent and did not help to save the Sikh Kingdom. In 1857, when a large part of India had declared a war of Independence against the British, the Sikhs stood and watched the event as silent spectators.

CTMS_S407 25

Future President, Dr.  Rajendra Prasad

on Constitution• Dr.  Rajendra Prasad, the President of the Constituent Assembly  and future

 Rastrapathy observed, “ if the people who are   elected are  capable  and men of character and integrity they would be able to make the  best  even of  defective Constitution. If they are lacking in theses, the Constitution  cannot help the   country.  …there is sphisiparious  tendency arising out of    various elements in our life. We have  communal differences, caste differences, language differences, provincial  difference.  It runs them of strong  character men of vision, men who will not sacrifice the interest of the  country at large for the sake of smaller goods and areas and who will rise over the  prejudices which are born   of these differences. We can only put  an account  will prove out  such men in   abundance.  “… surveying the present   political  seen   we can admire     and  marvell at the  vision that  Dr. Ambedkar and Rajendra Prasad had   and   between to us

CTMS_S407 26

GALLOPING KNOWLEDGE

• By the time the child born today graduates from college, the amount of knowledge will be four times as great

By the time he is 50, it will be 32 times as great And 97% of everything known in the world will

have been learnt since that child was born The memorising of reams of facts will not be

necessary; they will be quickly available on computers.

But future man will need great knowledge if only to know what is he wants

Information Society Education and Excellence Employability and Enterpreneurship

CTMS_S407 27

Technologyhelps life-long learning

• Internet/Telecoms

• e-learning

• e-education

• Google (and other) search engines

CTMS_S407 28

Life-long education

• Guru’s Exhortation (Taittiriya Upanishad)

Swadhyaya-pravachanabhyam na

Pramaditavyam

“Do not forsake learning and teaching”

• Eg. Rajaji, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (Curiosity, Inquisitiveness)

CTMS_S407 29

Interpret in the light of current life

• Itihasa-puranabhyam

• Vedam Samupabrahmhayet;

• Bibhetyalpasrutat Vedo mamayam

• Pratarisyati Mahabharata I.I-204 Bhandarkar Edition

“The Veda Should be expounded in the light of all current positivistic knowledge; the Veda is afraid of the man of little knowledge and thinks: this man will certainly distort me.”

CTMS_S407 30

How We Learn:Aacharyaat paadam aadhatte

Paadam shishyah swamedhayaa

Paadam saha bhrahmacharibhyah

Paadam kaalakramena cha

A person learns one quarter from his teachers,one quarter by his own intelligence,

one quarter from his peers; that is; class fellows and the fourth quarter in the course of time;

that is; by life’s experiences

CTMS_S407 31

1.8%3.5%2006

0.4%3.0%1990

2.4%4.0%1947

25%22.6%1701

TradeWealthYear

India was not poor! (1)

India’s Share in World Trade

CTMS_S407 32

Share of World’s GDP *

34192171362008AD

3721238742001AD

3229238531973AD

2931283541950AD

2039214881913AD

22389217121870AD

20272333151820AD

26210325251500AD

25140127331AD

Rest of the World

EuropeUSAJapanChinaIndia

*(in%) (Source: Economic Times, 29/1/08)

CTMS_S407 33

18.61.71900

9.617.51830

BRITAININDIA

India was not poor!

Share of World’s Industrial Production

CTMS_S407 34

India held in high esteem

When Alexander set out to invade India, he went to his teacher, Aristotle and asked what Guru Dakshina he would want to be brought from India. Aristotle told him to bring a pail of Ganga Jel and the instrument Venu, the flute of Lord Krishna.

“India is becoming the sink of the World’s gold”

- Pliny, Roman Historian“An Ocean named after – not England, France, Portugal, Netherlands,

America, Spain, Russia, China…..but India

CTMS_S407 35

E

PCIX P

Time

PCI Education/ Population Growth PCI: Per Capita Income-E : Education-P: Population Growth

Education, Population & Wealth

CTMS_S407 36

World Population and the Poor

Year Population % of the Poor1820 1.1 billion 85%1980 5 billion 30%2000 6 billion 20%2007 6.5 bln 18%

CTMS_S407 37

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Sour

ce: A

ngus

Mad

diso

n; J

.P.M

orga

n

World GDP per Person, 1000=100

S & T for Wealth Creation

CTMS_S407 38

Graduate Production in USA

1995-96 2000-01 2005-06

Business 200000 250000 318,800 (80,000)*

Computer & Information Sciences 24000 40000 48,000 (150,000)*

Eng & Eng. Technologies 70000 70,000 (300,000)*

Education 105000 107000 107000

Biological & bio-medical Sciences 48000 50000

Social Sciences & History 125000 126000 161000

* figures in brackets are for India .

CTMS_S407 39

Graduate Production in USA

Masters:Education 1,75,000

Business Doctorates:Education Engineering 7400

Medical 5800

Health 7100

USA conferred bachelor degrees in 2005-'06 1,485,000 (3,500,000)*

146,000

7,600

* figures in brackets are for India .

CTMS_S407 40

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

01980 1990 2000

Number of Research Papers Published

India China South Korea Israel Brazil

Years

No.

of

Pap

ers

Sou

rce:

Bus

ines

s W

orld

, 30

Jan

2006

Quality of Education (1)

CTMS_S407 411975 1975 1999

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

500

0

Number of PHD Degrees in Engineering

India China South Korea Japan Taiwan

Sou

rce:

Bus

ines

s W

orld

, 30

Jan

2006

Years

No.

of

Deg

rees

Quality of Education (2)

CTMS_S407 42

Ten-Year Trend in Engineering and Technology PhD Degrees in the United States, China and India

-

1,000.00

2,000.00

3,000.00

4,000.00

5,000.00

6,000.00

7,000.00

8,000.00

9,000.00

10,000.00

1994-95

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

Academic Year

Gra

du

ates

USA China IndiaSource: The India Economy Review, 30 Sept 2007, Vol.4; www.iipm.thiktank.com

CTMS_S407 43

Ten-Year Trend in Engineering and Technology Master’s Degrees in the United States, China and India (Actual and Estimated Data)

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

1994-95

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

1999-00

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

Academic Year

Gra

du

ate

s

USA (Engr/Techl) China (Engr/Techl) India(Engr/Techl) India(MCA)

Source: The India Economy Review, 30 Sept 2007, Vol.4; www.iipm.thiktank.com

CTMS_S407 44

How Equipped is India for Higher Education

Country Population

(million)

No of Uni-versities

To be on par with the country of comparison; Varsities India needs to have

Korea 45 120 3000 Israel 6 10 1700 Lesotho 2 2 1000

UK 50 170 3400

USA 280 1700 6100

India 1000 310 ---- Australia 18 39 2200 China 1200 1000 850

*Suggest: Begin having a University for each District* Every Private Engineering College should be required to grow into a University within 8 years of wind up.•Corporates to found.fund ‘Varsities’.•In India we have 8.8 mln. or 5% of the young in the age group 18 to 23 yrs. in Universities

CTMS_S407 45

Govt X Private Schools (2)

• Do Govt teachers live in the villages/towns they are posted

• What is the percentage pass in Govt & Private schools?

• Why is there such a difference?

• English Medium – Govt Schools - A disaster for A P

CTMS_S407 46

India’s English Speaking Advantage

This is an excerpt from an essay written by a candidate from Bihar in the UPSC (IAS) examination. We are informed that the candidate has passed the exam:

 The cow is a successful animal. Also he is 4 footed, and because he is female, he give milks, ( but will do so when he is got child). He is same like God, sacred to Hindus and useful to man. But he has got four legs together. Two are forward and two are afterwards. His whole body can be utilised for use. More so the milk. Milk comes from 4 taps attached to his basement. His motion is slow only because he is of lazy species. Also his other motion (gobar) is much useful to trees, plants and as well as for making flat cakes ( like pizza), in hand, and drying in the sun. His only attacking and defending organ is the horns, specially so when he is got child.

- (Contributed by Vipin Buckshey, New Delhi, H.T 31.1.04)

CTMS_S407 47

Macaulay’s famous Minute of 1835 which formed the basis of British educational policy in India.

“We must at present do our best to form a class of persons, Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions ,

in moral and intellect. ……..”

CTMS_S407 48

Globalisation of Education

• Under WTO Agreements, education comes under the category “services”.

• So it must be open for “trade” in services, in education

CTMS_S407 49

Foreign Universities (1)

• We had internationally famous universities

Takshasila [world’s first-2800 years ago]

• Now 150,000 Indians study in foreign universities; spending Rs.15,000 cr/year!

• Just about 5000 foreign students study in India (mostly from Afghanistan, Iran & some African countries)

CTMS_S407 50

Foreign Universities (2)• China, Malaysia, Korea, Syria, UAE, Nepal

permit foreign universities; our NIIT operates in 50 countries [English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French]

• Indian Universities will have to compete with foreign universities operating in India!

• Government Universities are academically, financially & socially disabled

• Come they will Govt or no govt: Ex. ISB: Hyderabad (ranked among the world’s top 20 business schools but not recognised by AICTE or UGC.

• 2nd Example: Indians becoming US Chartered Accountants [GAAP; TFRS]

CTMS_S407 51

Our Heritage

• Bhasha is the Vaahini• No water flow, river dries up, land

becomes desert• No mother tongue, we get de-Indianised,

become resident non-Indians (RNIs, cf NRIs)

• Teachers must inculcate love and respect for and interest in mother tongue – our literature, our heritage, Dharma, Neeti

CTMS_S407 52

Instilling Culture in Students (1)

• Culture is obedience to unenforceable laws• Modesty [Vidya dadati vinayam]• Soft and unhurting speech• Greeting [Namaskar]• Thanks [Dhanyavaad]• Gratefulness• Personal department [dress standing, entering/leaving,

smile, laugh, guffaw] [Manda Haasa, Attahasa, Vikatattahaasa….]

• [sneeze, yawn, blow, spitting]• Not inflicting pain on others [speaking in lifts; cell phone

talk in lifts, while walking, in waiting rooms, buses, Railway compartment]

CTMS_S407 53

Culture (2)

• Not forming a queue

• Pushing lift buttons again and again

• Not returning greetings (Adharamu Kadalu Kadalaka)

• Knowing some-thing about many things (General Knowledge) and knowing everything about something (speciality, Excellence in profession)

CTMS_S407 54

Culture (3)

• Respect for women and elders• Non-violence [except when Dharma is in

Sankat, Peril]• Patriotism• Not hating “others” [Maa Vidvishaavahaih]• Spending time with family, especially,

children [The greatest gift that parents can give to children is time, not money, not wealth.

CTMS_S407 55

WONDERFUL TIME TO BE ALIVE…

I think this is a wonderful time to be alive. There have never been so many opportunities to do things that were impossible before. It’s also the best time ever to start new companies, advance sciences such as medicine that improve quality of life and stay in touch with friends and relatives. It’s important that both the good and bad points of the technological advances be discussed broadly so that society as a whole, rather than just technologies, can guide its direction.

-Bill Gates: The Road Ahead

CTMS_S407 56

Auto-biographies/ Life story of great men

• Lives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us foot prints on the sands of time.

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar• Lee Kuan Yew• Henry Ford• Jamshedji Tata, Dhirubhai Ambani, G D Birla• Khrushchev, Gorbachev• Ben Gurion, Golda Meir • Balagangadhar Tilak – Gita Rahasya• Margaret Thatcher• Irvine Shroedinger• Andy Grove• Einstein• Oppenhammer• Betrand Russel • K M Munshi• Rajaji• M C Chagla

CTMS_S407 57

Dhanyawad:Thank You