MAINSTREAM EDUCATION

                                                                                -BY S SANJAYRAM

ABOUT

Mainstream education is based on the idea of systematically educating children according to their age group or in other words classroom teaching. Students attend classes according to their schedule or timetable was given by the educating authority for learning in a proper way or regarding their capability to learn. Most of the schools practice mainstream learning to develop the basics of core concepts which is applied in daily life.

MAINSTREAM EDUCATION IN INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Mainstream education in India is also like our mainstream media which focuses only on a few topics and does not give any other choices! Unlike most countries which gives freedom to students on taking subjects they like or prefer, in our country it is mandatory to take the core subjects till 10th. In countries like Germany, USA, Singapore, till their 6th grade or till primary level it is mandatory to study core subjects like English, Science and Mathematics, But when they qualify for the secondary level they have their choice to study subjects they prefer which can even be vocational subjects which replace core subjects for their interest and growth towards the subject.

In India, till 10 the grade we have to study the same subjects which could reduce the interest of learning as core subjects are given more weightage than the vocational subjects. It not only happens in India, countries in the middle east like UAE have CBSE or ICSE also gives importance to core subjects.

ADVANTAGES OF MAINSTREAM EDUCATION

Mainstream education gives a sense of equality as students who come from different backgrounds are collectively studying the same topics. There is a single teacher for all of the students in the same classroom so learning and competition can be considered logical to an extent. Mainstream education does not discriminate against students with disabilities which are different from inclusive education, this gives confidence to the disabled people as they get some perks to provide equality to all, despite their religion, caste and gender.

DISADVANTAGES OF MAINSTREAM EDUCATION

 Though Mainstream education is practised mostly and has been proven to be effective to most of the students, It has also made education be considered only based on marks. Students sometimes lose interest in the subjects as marks and exams become a barrier to learning. People often judge students based on their marks and not on the knowledge of their subject, In a 3-hour long exam, the amount of knowledge cannot be tested or judged. 

In India, mainstream education is more focused on courses like Engineering, MBBS, Commerce … Well, that’s it! Often students don’t prefer vocal courses, Humanities which is even a Mainstream course due to how relatives and friends think as the criteria to get admission is less, Even some of the best schools do not provide Humanities (Arts).

 In Germany, a course like plumbing can give jobs which pay salary equal to that of an engineer! In the USA, a college degree is often not considered to get a job. These things cannot be imagined in India.

CONCLUSION

Mainstream education is not that systematic and logical even though most of the schools practice it, Mainstream education which was supposed to be the best way of learning has flaws in its execution area like by exams and marks. Education should be more focused on the learning and growth of the children and it can only be accomplished by taking subjects in which particular students prefer. Interest should matter rather than the society which is more focused on core subjects. Unemployment will also increase as there would be a lack of jobs, In India unemployment rates are increasing 

because people are concentrating only on getting a white-collar job. So choose your course according to your interest as it will increase efficiency and would be useful for the development of our country.