Education and its disjuncture in Manipur

Moirangthem Pinky Devi *

Students appearing for Class X Exam in March 2024 :: Pix - Khaba Kh

Youths are the driving force of a Nation and the change makers of a society. Today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow’s future, and for a progressive Nation, they must receive proper education.

Manipur is excelling in areas such as literacy rate of 76.95% as per the Census of India 2011 and gross enrolment ratio of 117.5% against the National average of literacy rate of 74% and gross enrolment ratio of 117.6% according to United District Information System for Education (UDISE) published by Ministry of Education, Government of India 2021-22.

The number of educational institutions in Manipur has also increased significantly. However, despite being educated, Manipur youths face ‘structural unemployment’ which arises from the mismatch between the acquired skills and the demands of jobs.

The total educated youths who have passed Matriculation registered at the Employment Exchange Office, Manipur in 2022 is 1,79,451. The India Employment Report 2024 published by International Labour Organisation (ILO) also states that the youth unemployment rate rises with higher levels of education, with graduates and those with higher degrees facing the highest unemployment rates, with women experiencing higher unemployment than men.

Given the condition, it is crucial to analyse the educational system of Manipur to understand why, despite attaining higher educational qualifications, youth cannot translate it into employability.

With the Government’s initiative to provide “free and compulsory education” for children aged 6-14 years, coupled with other educational policies and literacy programs, the rate of literacy and gross enrolment ratio has been increased but the rate of unemployment among educated youth in the State remains high at 9% (according to the Periodic Labour Survey, 2021-22).

Even though the Right to Education 2009 obligates parents to enroll their children in school and by making provision that makes educational opportunities accessible to all; the core issue lies in the quality of education provided by educational institutions. High-quality education is essential for regional and National development, as it plays a crucial role in shaping the human resources necessary for the future.

But the significant rise in educational institutions in Manipur does not upgrade the quality of education in the State. The number of colleges in Manipur in 2005 was 72, but it increased to 106 in 2024 including Central, State and aided colleges. The State has more than 10 universities, including Central, State and private.

According to the ranking of universities in 2023 given by National Institutional Ranking Framework released by the Ministry of Education, only Guwahati University is in the top 100 rank from the North Eastern region. Educational institutions are important socializing agents where students gain academic knowledge and develop a sense of responsibility, and conformity to societal norms. In the book,

The Social System published in 1951, Talcott Parsons views education as a mechanism to stabilize the adult personality. This process is often referred as the “hidden curriculum” of schools or the ‘latent function’ of education. However, education's primary purpose or 'manifest function' is to transmit knowledge and skills, bring out the best in the child.

The current education system fails to effectively harness both the manifest and latent functions of education, as reflected in the rising number of educated youths in the State who remain unemployed and struggle to meet societal expectations. This indicates a gap between the system’s goals and its real-world impact on students’ development and future prospects.

The hindrance of the State’s education system is its heavy dependence on rote learning, which often limits critical thinking and practical skills. This is also reflected in various examinations which heavily focus on memory level and fact retrieval examination that do not assess critical thinking or a deeper understanding to the learner.

The exam centric approach of the education system further alienates learners from learning beyond the syllabus. The system focuses more on passing exams and earning certifications than on meaningful learning, turning education into a process of merely obtaining credentials while emphasizing results over the learning experience.

Education has, thus, left little room for learners to acquire essential life skills to navigate real-world challenges. As Ivan Illich, an Austrian philosopher, pointed out in his book Deschooling Society, 1972, if schools are not a place for learning skills, they are the worst place for education.

He argued that such an education system leads to physical pollution, social polarization, and psychological incapacity, ultimately stifling the potential for personal and societal growth. The failure of the educational system, coupled with the impacts of the pandemic and the ongoing conflict, has pushed the youth into conditions of helplessness shaped by challenging socio-political circumstances making the youth helpless and frustrated.

Compounded by the socio, economic and political condition of the State, the youth became disillusioned and disenchanted with the system, which led to the rejection of both culturally approved 'means' and 'goals' of achieving them that are noticeable in the rising crime rates, increasing incidents of human rights violations, and the high prevalence of substance abuse—each signalling the deteriorating condition of youth in the region.

The involvement of educated youths in the infamous Noida Sector 143 scam is one among the many examples of their desperate desire to grow, often at any cost. These issues undermine young individuals' potential and impede the community's social and economic progress, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions and support systems.

Dayapati Mayanglam-bam’s work “Human Resource Management in Higher Education Mani-pur”, which was published in 2020 opines that higher education system in Manipur is compromising its quality with inadequate manpower resources.

The study also highlights several challenges of the system such as inadequate faculty, poor human resource planning, and an ineffective system for monitoring the quality and standards of education which have both direct and indirect impacts on higher education.

Furthermore, the study pointed out that the limited availability of postgraduate facilities in the region fails to accommodate the increasing number of graduates, contributing to a decline in intellectual capital.

A key solution lies in fostering quality education through integrated programs that emphasize skill development and technological adaptation, as envisioned in the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Additionally, improving educational quality can be achieved through effective human resource planning and the establishment of a robust system to monitor and uphold educational standards.

Another important recommendation is to enhance higher education facilities, particularly by increasing the number of seats for Post Graduate and PhD programs, allowing students to pursue higher studies without limitations.

A significant suggestion to address the problem of educated unemployment is to increase investment in the education sector, ensuring it aligns with the skills and knowledge required in the labour market. The responsibility now lies with every educational institution to empower youth with the quality education required for a successful future. In doing so, we plant the seeds for a prosperous and harmonious tomorrow.

“Quality education for a better tomorrow”.