Bottom Up approach could potentially disrupt the Education Industry !!

Moving on from the topic of future of education (My last post), there are some pointers and steps to take for the way the system can be designed and the various alternatives. Just to start with, we could say that the system should be designed in a way where changes are easily possible. It should almost be like a LEGO game where in the same object can be tweaked and changed to arrive at different conclusions.

Our proposal to the HRD minister would be to have a course and syllabus common to the entire nation distributed in an Electronic format which can be printed out or reproduced as per the local language and dialect which can be changed ,if need be, every year. The process should be of continuous improvement and not of trying to find an ‘all conquering script’ the first time. We can take a hint from the Japanese car makers who brought the system of ‘CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT’ and try to make the education system like a manufacturing plant where the educators listen to the target audience and make changes every now and then.

Try to think of top 5 companies in the world and the competencies they carry. A thread that binds all these companies together is that they source their data and have a work force which is spread over all the continents and many countries. They look at bringing the expertise from various countries and try to implement this expertise on a global level. One more thing, and probably the most important, is that they listen to the customers. They rake in feedback and try to make sure that the problems are not repeated. So why doesn’t our EDUCATION SYSTEM follow the same principles which guarantee progress?

Why is the system of education not being operated in a professional way like a professional organization? Why can’t the system be like a company with a product or service, cater to the present demand or wither away? If this happens, the Edupreneurs (entrepreneurs in the field of Education) can come and offer different solutions which will be based on the day-to-day updates.

The other alternative that can be used to reform the system is to disengage the entire ‘Top — Down’ model and replace it with a ‘Bottom — Up’ model where every state/region can modify the system of education the way they want to. They would not be dependent on the Government for the capital or to get an approval or to pass some regulations so as to make sure that the things fall into place. The educational syllabus in Mumbai and Sangli can be different (secondary education of course, as the basics would be same for everyone). The overhead and the living costs in both the places are different and hence there should be some way for the colleges to get the desired fees approved. Maybe if we come up with something similar to this albeit efficient, the ‘Bottom — Up’ approach could work in the long run.

If our minister is able to pull both of these ideas together, then we will have one of the most advanced systems of education, for one which is readily scalable in terms of content and course with a change in the direction of the wind. Today we need to teach our young minds about ‘Ethics’ and ‘Morals’, but we do not have a subject related to this, and by the time a subject like this would be introduced, we may need some other subject which would be important at that point of time and which would be delayed further, making the implementation useless. So, let’s let the emergent and the loose Local Network take the place of the Command Network for the prosperity of our system.

Once this happens, we will have a lot of technology and IT which would be embedded in the system based on the needs and requirements of that place, which would be different from other places. We should use the Command Network in a way that allows the Emergent network to do what it deems right by giving them the right tools and mechanics to grow in their structure.