“Man is born free but is in chains everywhere”. In France, prior to the revolution, when these words were first said, these chains were tangible physical restrictions, restrictions of expression, of social mobility. The nature of freedom in modern world has changed. We live in an age of democracy, in an age of increasing “liberties” and rights. We live in an age where each man is given a voice, soap-box, and mobility to reach its goal. We live in what some would say “a free-literate world”.
Yet the echoes of pre-revolution France still resound in our society. In spite of the progress everywhere we turn, we see men in chains-chains of the mind.
The chains that restrain our minds are ancient. They have existed for centuries molding and transforming our thoughts. One of such forces is EDUCATION. The fact cannot be ignored that the Right to Education Act (RTE), is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21a of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the Act came into force on 1 April 2010.
But the truth that our education system information is valued over knowledge and understanding, even though rational understanding is the pathway to rational questioning can’t be ignored too. Our education system teaches us implicit belief – belief in teachers, textbooks, notes and examinations. We are equipped in belief, but in this rapidly changing world, what we truly require is skepticism which will help us to arrive at the truth. We must challenge the assumptions we are presented with in modern world which can only come through a secular education and not only by textual concepts.
There is hope however. All is not lost. India is making progress in increasing the attainment rate of primary education. According to a survey, In 2011, approximately 75% of the population, aged between 7 and 10 years, was literate.
Educators are coming up with new technology, new methodologies to increase education among the crowd.
India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic development.