Beginning with the obvious need of the hour, Sex Education! Yet not many institutions impart this knowledge to their students. Some schools shy away from teaching the science chapters on human reproduction and omit it from the syllabus. This infuses taboo and hush-hush attitude towards discussing the act of sex. The lack of sound and accurate instruction around sex, forces the growing teen, to explore other sources, often unreliable, such as pornography, explicit printed material, and peer experiences, to gain information about sex. Educating a young mind about the meaning and importance of consent increases the mutual respect between genders. This shall reflect in reduced rates of sex crimes. Along with this, students should be given information on safe sex practices, masturbation, and sexually transmitted diseases. This shall enable them to make safe and informed sexual activity related decisions. Similarly, discussions on homosexuality should not be portrayed as a ‘deviant’ way of life.

That time of the month, Visit from Aunt Flo, Chums, sounds familiar to you? If not, then let me enlighten you that these are the ‘secret female code words’ used for Periods or Menstruation. This only depicts that talking about periods is unthinkable in our society. Schools can be one of the major social institutions to bring this issue to light and break the stigma. Schools tend to instruct only female students on menstrual hygiene. But they shy away from educating male students about menstrual awareness. These actions promote the gender gap. Most of the men do not have complete knowledge about the biological process of menstruation. They also lack awareness of menstrual hygiene products, thereby are unable to extend support to their counterparts. By educating students of both the sexes, they can encourage empathy. They would have a greater understanding of menstruating females, their know-how, and their hardships. Had the method of imparting instruction to the students on these sensitive subjects been organic, not only would the giggles and suggestive remarks been less but there would also have been a normalization of women bleeding every month.

As a means of individual expression, the schools in the West allow their students to paint their nails, dye their hair, thereby do not have strict uniform policies. Indian schools, on the contrary, require students to wear school uniforms and have similar hairstyles to peers. On the one hand, uniforms are necessary to maintain homogeneity and consistency in students. But on the other hand, this also restricts the student’s medium of the original expression. This may lead to the development of a herd’s mentality. As a result, their individuality seems lost. Thus, schools can have Casual Friday’s, just like in the corporate world. Students could dress up on that one day of the week and express themselves in the way they want. This shall provide a platform for the fair exploration of the best of both worlds, the individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Gaining freedom to express would not only contribute to greater personality development and talent acquisition growth but also encourage leadership skills in the students.

A hard reality to handle, some of the schools appear to give opportunities only to the so-called “scholar” students. At inter-school competitions, the academically talented students get to represent their schools. Even in the case of in-school competitions, such as debates, essay writing, eloquence contests, elections, etc. these students are at the forefront. The students who are not so academically bright are left behind to study in the classroom. Unknowingly, they are led to think they aren't cut out for it. The school reason that the bright student would cope with the missed education seemingly quickly compared to others. Thus, they push them harder in extra-curricular. Doesn’t this sound like the popular saying, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”? There should be equal opportunities for both the academically talented and not-yet-bright students. Their strengths and abilities need a stage to explore and develop. Often, it is observed that parents' lack of encouragement to participate in extracurricular activities. Parents believe that academic achievements are the only pathway for career development. They fail to understand the value of all-round development for overall career success. Schools are not, therefore, the only one to blame.

Some teachers and peers frequently mistreat students with special needs. They are easy prey to bullying and mockery, often causing trauma as well as suicidal tendencies in differently-abled students. They struggle to fit in, due to their physical and social disabilities. The lack of friends and social support in the classroom may contribute to low self-esteem issues. To top it, for the convenience of students with any physical impairment, the basic toilet facilities, travel arrangements (such as ramps), or infrastructure adjustments are not made by the schools. In addition, hardly any individualized educational accommodations are made for students with intellectual disability, autism spectrum, or hyperactivity/inattention. They require special curriculum adjustment, remedial education, examination modifications, and inclusive teaching methods to excel. Often, some regular schools ask parents to admit their child with special needs to a ‘special’ school, simply because they wouldn’t have to make any accommodations. As a result, there are high rates of school drop-outs in differently-abled and special-needs students. This limits them to be independent and self-reliant. Educational laws offer equal rights to every student to be a part of the school of their choice. Therefore, it is mandatory for each school to make the necessary physical, social, extra-curricular, and academic inclusions and accommodations for differently-abled and special-needs students. Teachers, students, and the entire education system need to be sensitized about disability. Spreading awareness on how one can extend help and support to students with disabilities is necessary for comfortable schooling. Disability doesn’t define capability!

Do you know ugliness and handicap could be one of the reasons to seek dowry? If you find this hard to believe, read the following excerpt from the Class 12 Sociology Textbook. The poor status of women in society is reflected as a cause of the dowry system in India. Thousands of students across the state of Maharashtra refer to this book. As a result of the content in the books, students tend to develop stereotypical thinking patterns. Even in the application form, occupational details of mothers have a checkbox of “housewife.” While the father’s section has a blank line to fill the details. Since then, a student begins to see a woman as a primary caregiver and a man as a bread-winner. This establishes strict gender roles in growing minds. Thus, the schools should attempt to break this notion of gender roles. Even simply by using the word, 'homemaker' for both sets of parents, shall help to bring about a change in the mindset. Educational bodies responsible for the creation of syllabuses and references should take great care that none of the books have any sexist remarks, communist messages, racist comments or images, or advice against the LGBTQ+ Spectrum! The exposure to healthy content would help the students to break the mindset against certain members of society. Thus, when an educated individual develops a romantic interest with the same gender, they should not assume as deviating from “the normal.” However, the education system as a whole does not appear ready to accept and integrate homosexuality and trans-community into the curriculum.

Have you ever witnessed a person choking over food and feeling helpless to extend assistance because of a lack of knowledge? The lack of practical training is a factor that is neglected in the education system. Many schools do offer life skills education but as a part of a theoretical curriculum. No practical implementation of the same is taught to learners. This handicaps the student to implement the learned knowledge beyond the boundaries of a classroom. There is a severe shortage of practical life skills classes such as cooking and sewing, mental health, first aid, financial literacy, fire drills, and other emergency and safety training taught to every student regardless of gender. When students graduate to higher standards, training may extend to teach life-saving skills. Such training sessions must be held periodically in an educational environment. So in the event of a real catastrophe, students are aware of the immediate and emergency action plan to protect them and save others.

Ever heard a friend saying, “I wish I belonged to the reserved category”? This statement describes the discomfort of a student in the general category. The cause of resentment has a clear source. If there is a 5% gap between the general and reserved category student for the eligibility requirement to apply for a course, then how do the selection criteria fall apart significantly. In a recent event, a student with 80% in the general category did not obtain a seat, whereas a student in the reserved category secured the same seat at 30%. Due to some unfit students, admitted into the course based on reservations and not on merit, can place society at risk. These professionals with limited expertise and insufficient skills, particularly in the field of medicine and science, can do more harm than good. Instead of providing admissions on discounted merits, other provisions shall be made in respect of individuals in the reserved category. Perhaps, a complete academic scholarship, consisting of free tuition, and housing to the deserving students who do not have enough resources. (More on this later!)