CHENNAI: Scholar and public speaker Dushyanth Sridhar, and analyst and history commentator Badri Seshadri, discussed the Indian education model and the shifting knowledge paradigm at TNIE’s ThinkEdu Conclave 2023 in Chennai on Thursday.
While Badri expressed concerns about the current education system and the limited availability of written records, Sridhar pointed out that there was evidence of history in ancient India and that learning from the past is not solely based on faith.
Sridhar stated that the Indian education model has three key parameters: an integrated approach to understanding and disseminating knowledge, a logical approach, and the Guru-Shishya system.
However, Seshadri expressed a differing viewpoint, stating that some historical events cannot be seen with the available evidence and that he prefers not to search for it as it is based on faith.
In contrast, Sridhar emphasised that learning from the past is not just based on faith, but is a moment to cherish, and that concepts mentioned in scriptures can be stripped of extra elements to relate to science.
Regarding the current Indian education pattern, Seshadri stated, “I have many disagreements and problems with the current education system. In ancient times, there were more teachers.
It has become an institution centre. The teacher chose what to teach and what to impart to a particular student. This is not possible today. Now, it is uniformly spread across teachers and we only talk about higher education systems.”
‘Issues in education system’
Regarding the current Indian education pattern, Dushyanth Seshadri stated, “I have many problems with
the current education system. In ancient times, there were more teachers. It has become an institution centre. We only talk about higher education systems now.”