American documentary lauds Indian education system

[sajiv]

The Indian and Chinese education system scored better than the US system in terms of preparing students for a globally competitive 21st century which would be cognitive skill driven and knowledge intensive, according to an American filmmaker.
     
'The economy in the 21st century will be a cognitive driven based on knowledge power,' said Bob Compton, executive producer of the film Two Million minutes which takes an in depth look at the education system in China, India and US.

'The Indian education system is more rigorous than the US and students and their family are more dedicated towards an academic pursuit than in the US,' said Compton whose film explores how students allocate their high school years, approximately four years or two million minutes to preparing for the globally competitive scenario.
     
He said that in US while the pressure is on athletics, in India it is on academics with students working hours to improve their academic score and parents investing heavily in education and tutorials to help their wards achieving their academic goals and being prepared for the future.
     
'The Indian and Chinese students also aim high in terms of securing admission to institutes of high learning unlike the US where the benchmark for an average student was not that high but one that was more moderate,' he said.

The film traces the life of two Indian students, Rohit and Apoorva who study in institutes with aspirational values and come from families that have high academic expectations.

These students are juxtaposed with those of two US students and Chinese students. The focus on maths and science in the Indian academic system, Compton said, would make students in India better prepared for global competition where cognitive skills would count a lot unlike the earlier centuries.

The only place where the Indian education system needs to enhance their curriculum is incorporating entrepreneurial education, he said.
   
The Indian and Chinese system is based on the Darwinian system of survival of the fittest while the US is a more egalitarian based system which worked well in the 20th century but in the 21st century demands of the global market would be different and would demand high cognitive skills to function in high tech industries.
   
Both India and China have made dramatic leaps in educating their middle class-each comparable in size to entire US population. Compared to US, China now produces eight times more scientists and engineers while India puts out up to three times as many as the US.
   
US, he said needs to be worried about few facts: Less than 40 per cent of US students take up a science course more rigorous than general biology and mere 18 percent take advanced classes in physics, chemistry or biology. Only 45 per cent of US students take maths beyond two years of algebra and one year of geometry. Additionally, 50 per cent of all US college freshmen require remedial course work.
   
The film, presented by Broken Pencil Production, which has been screened abroad, is now being released in India. The DVD distribution of the film has been taken up by Flat World Technologies.

[ganeshbala]

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