Reforming Education: Youth-in-view

The year 2011 will be remembered almost like 1968; student revolts on campuses across continents in 1968 brought in the recognition that educational institutions were not fulfilling the aspirations of the youth. Protests of students on campuses then focused on many aspects of their lives—from freedoms to education. In contrast, youth protest movements in 2011 have gathered in city centres and town-halls; the focus of protest is yearning for a better life for them, and a better world for all. The students in Chile have been demanding that post-secondary education be treated as a public good, and hence subsidized by the state. The movement of students began in April after a state university was ‘privatisedâ. Last year (and this year too), students in UK have been protesting against a three-fold rise in educational fees at post-secondary level. Students led the protest in Senegal against the regimeâs authoritarian tendencies; so it was the youth of Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain…And, now the youth in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland are demanding livelihood with dignity.

The youth ‘unrestâ  is a phenomenon worldwide today; it has multiple manifestations and sites of protests. The central question to understand this phenomenon is the nature and meaning of this ‘unrestâ. Youth today spend nearly 20 years of their formative years in some educational institution---nursery, primary, secondary, tertiary. The design of all these educational institutions, the curricula, the pedagogy, and the assessment of outcomes are all controlled by ‘expertsâ-with-age. All educational institutions are thus in the hands of the ‘non-youthâ, meant to ‘educateâ the youth. It is this contradiction in the perspectives and lens of youth and non-youth that creates the conditions for conflicts and dissatisfactions.

Is it conceivable that the design of curricula, courses, pedagogy, assessments, etc be in the hands of the youth? Is it possible that the young determine the manner in which ‘qualificationsâ will be defined? Will educational quality and relevance improve if the youth-determined system was put in place?

These and many other questions came into sharp focus recently when an international youth assembly deliberated on educational reforms. Some students suggested open classrooms; some others felt that education-in-community would be most critical; learning of natural phenomenon while playing games was anotherâs recommendation. Looking at teachers in educational institutions, some of them wondered how their teachers lacked practical insights; others wondered why indigenous leaders (without PhDs) were not professors of ecology; or the folk musician not the head of department of music?

It may well be that education itself needs redefinition; it may well be that education-outside-the-institution needs to be assessed, credited and qualified; it may well be that educational outcomes in classroom and outside the classroom need to be ‘organicallyâ linked again?

That will thus be a new way of practicing education; youth-in-lens approach to ‘reforming educationâ is not only about reforms of educational institutions, but also the ‘realignmentâ of education inside these institutions with education outside institutions. For that to happen, we would need ‘Deans of Lifeâ, and not merely ‘Deans of Facultiesâ, to come together with youth. As a clown in the streets of Santiago said, “education is about our lives now; can you vacate the field, please”!