On Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 9:36 AM, ss <[email protected]> wrote: > > In any case your experiences with your son do not in any way repesent the > experience of the majority in the Indian education system. You are one of > the > elite who will bypass the system as long as possible.
Shiv, the point isn't about being elite. The fact that you are commenting on this forum is in itself an indication that you're as elite as me or anyone else on this list. The point was about your persistent entreaties that 'nothing has changed in Indian education' and 'it's as bad as ever' and the 'role of rote' and 'it's all engineering or medicine still' etc. My counterpoint was that your knowledge of what constitutes Indian education today seems quite significantly out of date. Yes, a large mass of education is as pathetic as it used to be when you and I were growing up. But there are significant signs of not just alternative schools in India as various people have alluded to here, and of kids seeking careers far removed from engineering and medicine, and of schools and school systems (beyond the state boards and CBSE) that are no longer as outdated as things were in our time. Not just that, there are large pockets of innovation. As a side indicator of that last point, I'd like to bring to note the remarkable performance of private Indian companies in education - something that was unthinkable a mere 20 years ago. Educomp and Everon have market caps of over $500m and yesterday's IPO entrant CareerPoint is quickly getting there. I have more than just a passing interest here. As an investor in the sector I can tell you from first-hand knowledge that there's huge consumer interest in facets of education we would have considered unconventional a few decades ago. And not just from what you'd consider "the elite India". One of my investees focuses solely on teaching kids in K through 4 physical education. With significant traction in Chattisgarh. Another focuses solely on teaching 8 to 12 year olds robotics. Big traction in non-urban Maharashtra. A third runs a dozen schools around India, most outside major cities. Each is barely able to keep up with consumer demand. The times, they are a-changin'. My $0.02, Mahesh
