A survey among college students in the US has thrown up an interesting question which we, in India, may also want answered. Are today’s graduates equipped to handle a knowledge-based society? The US study of university students surveyed three types of literacy — analysing news stories, understanding documents and maths skills for bank transactions — to conclude that graduates don’t understand newspaper editorials or credit card offers.
Not all bad news, they were good at ‘intermediate skills’ like figuring out which foods contain what vitamin or calories. We may at last have an answer to why the Edit Page is reportedly the least read page by our young readers, while the visual treatment and low calories, offered in the glossies allow the grey matter to go technicolour. As for understanding enough to compare credit card offers and mobile connection plans, well, we thought it was enough to blame the confusion created on the ‘gimmicks’ of banks and telecom players. But now it seems that even the techno-savvy smart collegiates don’t understand it — er, so maybe the banks are to blame? But no, says the survey. It’s the other way round. We know, this argument is getting complicated, so let’s move on to the next para shall we?
The fallout of the survey is a clarion call in the US to all educators to do the right thing by focusing on applicative education and not spooning off ladles of theory. But we’re much too busy here counting the number of schools and colleges we have. What gets taught may be discussed when today’s graduates take over the running of the country — unless they find it too complicated. Maybe then, ‘thinking’ could be outsourced — to older people, perhaps?
{{/usCountry}}The fallout of the survey is a clarion call in the US to all educators to do the right thing by focusing on applicative education and not spooning off ladles of theory. But we’re much too busy here counting the number of schools and colleges we have. What gets taught may be discussed when today’s graduates take over the running of the country — unless they find it too complicated. Maybe then, ‘thinking’ could be outsourced — to older people, perhaps?
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