Education in Asia

Again another copy from my Facebook journal: --

As recently as a decade or so ago, we were still very conservative - in our outlook and spending. That has been the biggest change. Urban life in Asia are now much more liberal and willing to spend. Sample many Malls in Singapore are full of international brands. The mall is designed very well also - there is a feeling of openness and space You see people walking around - mobiles in one hand, and shopping bags in the other. The revolution that Singapore is witnessing, more than anything, is one of attitude.

Education is one of Asian's greatest challenges. It is something my friend has encouraged me to think about for quite some time. He is himself working on ideas for setting things right. One Friday afternoon a couple weeks ago, we were brainstorming on this very topic. One thought emerged in my head - based on some experiences that we need to solve about Asia's education problem at the primary school level. For sample, around more than hundred of millions of students do not get a proper education for a variety of reasons. How many Einsteins have lived and died in obscurity, never having had the opportunity of getting an education?

As I heard what my friend had to say, I reflected upon it as a father. The previous week, another friend had come over for lunch. His five-year-old daughter had just gotten into one of the best schools in Singapore after a lengthy process of interviews - of not just the parents, but also the child. My friend mentioned that I may need to put in the application shortly as well (I am confused in here).

I was struck by the craziness of the thought and the process. I would need to start 'grooming' my vision about my future children soon enough so they could pass the interview at a future point of time to get into one of a handful of good schools within a reasonable distance from home (someday...) and I know parents who get paranoid about the process. I know that someday my future children will get educated in a good school and college. But what of the other children out there who will be denied that opportunity because their schools don't have good teachers or their parents have other compulsions.

What is it that we can do - since the government isn't likely to do anything about it? How do we ensure that another generation of Asians does not lose out on opportunities?I had a crazy idea. What if we could use an earlier idea that there is a package like 'the School-in-a-Box' and combine it with the concept of distributed home schooling for the less fortunate? There are millions of computers in homes in Asia which are not used for more than a few hours a day (especially in Asian developing countries).

There are millions of educated people (housewives, retired people) who have time. Can we combine these ideas together? The kids who are not fortunate to get into a good school and get the benefit of good teachers could learn via the School-in-a-box content running on a computer in our homes during the day. The home-based educated people could become facilitators in this process. The schools can become information exchange points between a much smarter bunch of children.

To do this all, we do not need the government. We just need our own initiative with a bit of external help. Many developing countries in Asia stands at the threshold. The economic engine that I saw in the malls, like in Singapore is in danger of sputtering soon if we cannot get the education core running. Not for the first time, we can see a bright future.

Will we once again snatch defeat from the jaws from the victory? What do you think?