[Answered] “In the time of consumerism and changing social ethos policy focus on education need new approach.” Examine.

Modern consumerism is altogether a different thing. The consumerist of today is forever dissatisfied with the given. Today consumer abandons as quickly as he acquires. He is caught in the unending cycle of longing, acquiring and getting disillusioned. Further changing social ethos with rise of social media, fake news has led to intolerance and lack of patience. Educationists need to understand this reality and should Approach a new approach.

Impact of rising consumerism and changing ethos especially on education:

1. The modern individual has become a hedonist, one who craves to experience in reality the pleasures he dreams of in his imagination. He prefers to live insulated from the harsh realities of the world.
2. The individual has become impatient and intolerant of almost everything. They are not disciplined, obliged and are ethically confused.
3. The teacher-student relationship has suffered a blow. The teachers indulge the students with unmerited favours to purchase popularity as a substitute for reverence.
4. The learning environment is vitiated. The rebelliousness and indifference of students progressively activate indifference in teachers, who come to see teaching only as a livelihood.
5. Students become the raw materials in the education industry. They cease to have any intrinsic value. They are endured and forgotten.
6. All cherished ideals and goals become redundant. Nation-building, social transformation, character-building, or building a better society, or engaging in the goal of perfecting human nature,  all of these sound unreal.

Education policy need to focus on:

1. Enabling students acquire positive attitudes and desirable habits for keeping themselves fit and healthy. Cleanliness, Healthy eating, fitness, relaxation, avoiding indulgence etc. should be taught.
2. Education should empower students with necessary attitudes qualities and skills for their personal/psychological development. Basic manners like courtesy, respect, humility, politeness, self confidence, honesty, sincerity and integrity should be taught.
3. It is important enable students assume responsibility for their work and duty in the day-to-day learning and work situations and develop positive attitude and skills to work productively and efficiently.
4. Teacher should help students to learn how to appreciate, demonstrate sensitivity and skills in fulfilling their responsibility as citizens towards shaping of a better society.
5. Awareness and respect for one’s own and others rights and responsibilities in the context of Constitutional values – justice, freedom, equality, secularism, multiculturalism, sustainable development is important and should be inculcated in students.
6. Ability to work with others in a cooperative way, sensitivity towards women, ethnic minorities, appreciation and respect for cultural diversity and unity in the midst of diversity is need to be focus of education policy.
7. It is important that education should inculcate the values of love, empathy, caring, sharing and compassion for harmonious and humane relationships in students. Trust, gratitude, forgiveness, non-violent ways of conflict resolution, joy of giving, altruism are important values.
8. It is important to enable students develop critical and creative thinking in solving life and societal problems.

What we are not realising in the process, is that, when educational institutions become malls, everyone ends up a loser, most of all the student. The market has, ironically, made our native vision of education urgently relevant. We need education policy to focus on qualitative education inculcating satisfaction and mental peace in students.