Dr. Brian Mendonça
brianlibra@gmail.com
Abstract
Education today has undergone a sea change. Today
students realize they are stake holders in the system. They want to determine
their future -- even if the State comes down heavily on them. The agitation in
JNU against the hiking of fees, culminated in goons entering the campus and
injuring students selectively. But students have not only engaged with issues
on their own turf. They were the first to register their disapproval of the
CAA. Students today are emerging as key players in national discourse. Theirs
is the voice of the 21st century.
Some students in college are disenchanted with the
way things are. There are many Vemulas out there. Dalits still are deprived of
fair opportunity. They begin to realize
that the system always supports the privileged.
What is the aim of education? Ostensibly happiness,
to prepare a person for life. Education is not the same as knowledge.
Examinations test knowledge, but education can be acquired hands-on. With the
surge in technology, the teacher becomes redundant. Everything is available on
the smart phone.
The stress the students go through is not adding up.
They want to script a new world. They want to see the jobs that are promised
but are often not there. They want a system change. This paper will try to
address some of these issues.
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National Conference on ‘Transforming Education for
the 21st Century: Problems and Concerns,’ P.G. Dept. of Education
and Research Centre, GVM’s Dr. Dada Vaidya College of Education, Farmagudi,
Ponda, Goa, 13 March 2020. Pix of Brian presenting his paper at GVM College of Education on 13th March 2020.
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