What a Day !

The day is of immense importance to me--

It is the day which marks the end of my education (hey, i know that the philosophical will say,one's entire life is an education and it never ends), but here, I literally mean that the day marked the end of my formal education. As I was attending the lecture of 'Marketing of Services', my last lecture of my MBA degree, I couldn't help but take back my thoughts to the day my tryst with education began, May 1, 1979, my first day at school. A mere kid of 3 then, and excited with all the new accesories(uniform, school bag, water bottle, tiffin box and what have you), I lay my first steps into the 'educated world'.

Today, some 21 years later, after attending a number of schools and colleges, I feel like looking back at all that I have learnt in these years, whether all the sweat and toil that I have put in has actually contributed in making a better human being out of me, whether it has made me a more responsible, sensible, humble and a more well informed citizen or has it actually done little ? What would I have been like had I not gone through the entire process ?I ask these questions not only to find out how effective our education system is, but also to check out on my own efforts and endeavours.

Having done my entire schooling from the humble Government run, Kendriya Vidyalayas, I can vouch for the statement that our schools are good enough. Paying a monthly fee of Rs 5, which was as good as free, I have learnt a great bit from my schools. Apart from imparting me the basics of Arts, Sciences, Commerce, Crafts, Music, and Sports, my school(s) also helped me shed my inhibitions by offering me various opportunities to take part in what we called, Co-Curricular Activities. Above all, the KV's, thanks to the mixed student population, also gave me a chance to mix up with, and get to know people from all classes of society, the elitest of the elite, the middle class and even the lower class---and this helps a great deal in the overall development of a child, telling him where exactly he/ she stands,how lucky he is compared to some and unlucky compared to others and prepares him well to face the disparities which exist in the cruel world outside the premises of the school.

As far as the undergraduate courses are concerned, I sincerely believe that they should be totally professional oriented and not what they are like right now, following a same syllabi for everyone.

And then the MBA course-- well, I have learnt very well in these 2 years that MBA is all about putting the simplest of things in the most complex of ways, just to zap the poor listener so that he has no clue as to what all you are bullshitting-- and he has no option but to nod his confused head to your bakwaas--

So now that I am on the other side of the table, I can easily pass on statements that yes, the education system has certainly contributed in my journey from the uneducated, dark world to the world of light, the light of knowledge-- and that I owe a lot to my teachers !

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I am Radhika Sapra, a 23 year old Indian, just finished my MBA from IMI,Delhi and about to join Unit Trust of India as a Sales Manager.

This was written by me on my last day at college, when I realised that this was probably the LAST theory session I was attending in my life--and it sure left me nostalgic, taking back my thoughts to the day I had stepped into my first school.

Also, I am from India and know the Indian education system well. However, I always wanted to know how the system functions in Pakistan and so I am submitting this article as an attempt to know about Pakistani education system as feedback. I also want to make friends from across the border and so expect friends to get back to me.