Friday 29 September 2017

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION


 

Human life is the best creation of God, has got two aspects: the biological and the socio-cultural. Biological aspect is found in plant and animal life. But the socio-cultural aspect is the rare distinction of human life alone. It is only man who is capable of being educated. Through education, he tries to seek new ideas and new ways of life. It is again through education that he promotes his intelligence and adds his knowledge with which he can move the world for good or for evil, according to his wishes. Thus, he attempts to understand himself in relation to the world about him and to transmit that knowledge succeeding generations.
Our life in the complex world is governed not only by the biological process, but also by a social process. While the functioning of the organism is the biological heredity, education is his social heredity. With biological heredity alone, he would be nothing better than an animal. But he has social heredity that makes him a man who is now capable of governing this world.
Education is vital process of social life.  Without education we are not able to have a normal and prosperous life, and human race would be no better than animal race. Eating, drinking, sleeping and sexual life are common to both animals and men. It is only knowledge and education, where they different. Education not only comes from the books and school teachers, but also from knowledge and experience by socialization.
Education means both the acquisition of knowledge and experience as well as the development of skills, habits and attitudes, which help a person to lead a full and worthwhile life in this world. It is a process of training the individual through various experiences of life so as to draw out the best in him.
Education is a continuous process. It has passed through many age and stages in the evolution process and at every stage it had a different meaning according to prevailing conditions.  The concept of education is still in a process of evolution and this process will never come to an end it is therefore rightly said that last word of education will never be said. Education deals with ever-growing man in an ever-growing society. Its concept, therefore, can never be static. It must continuously grow and change.
In modern day, the society has undergone unprecedented changes and People are becoming more and more concerned about education, from the demand for compulsory education to the quality of education. In order to cope with the rapid changes in the contemporary world and meet the challenges of the future society, the education system has also changed in order to produce what the society needs. For example, the Education reform in the recent years no longer emphasize on the academic achievements of the students. More importantly, the aim of education should help students to achieve whole personality development, as well as to engage in life-long learning.
The words "profession" and "professional" generally associated with specific callings, and will relate instead to, standards and attitudes.
Profession
The profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain.
A profession arises when any trade or occupation transforms itself through "the development of formal qualifications based upon education, apprenticeship, and examinations, the emergence of regulatory bodies with powers to admit and discipline members, and some degree of monopoly rights."
Professional
The term professional is more generally used to denote a white collar working person, or a person who performs commercially in a field typically reserved for hobbyists or amateurs, such as cricketers, actor, musician, doctor etc. .
In western nations, such as the United States, the term commonly describes highly educated, mostly salaried workers, who enjoy considerable work autonomy, a comfortable salary, and are commonly engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work. Less technically, it may also refer to a person having impressive competence in a particular activity.
Any man or woman, who has prepared for exacting service by thorough and disciplined scholarship and training, and who lives and works in the spirit of professional standard, may be well recognized as a member of a profession.
A professional is a member of a profession founded upon specialized educational training and obtained a degree in a professional field.
Professional education
Professional education is the process by which men and women prepare for exacting, responsible service in the professional spirit. The term may be restricted to preparation for fields requiring well- informed and disciplined insight and skill of a high order. Less exacting preparation may be designated as- vocational or technical education.
The foundation of professional education should be not only technical skill, but also a sense of social responsibility, an appreciation of social and human values and relationships, and disciplined power to see realities without prejudice or blind commitment.
The concept of professional ideology is based on three claims.
1.      First, the work of professionals entails such a high degree of skill and knowledge that only the fellow professionals can make accurate assessment of professional performance.
2.      Second, professionals are characterized by a high degree of selflessness and responsibility that they can be trusted to work conscientiously.
3.      Third, in the rare instance in which individual professionals do not perform with sufficient skill or conscientiousness, their colleagues may be trusted to undertake the proper regulatory action.
In general, Professional responsibility is the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of attorneys to act in a professional manner, obey the law, avoid conflicts of interest, and put the interests of clients ahead of their own interests.
The responsibility of higher and professional education in the world today is essential, as it has been in the past and will continue to be in future societies. In order to contribute to this, GUNI (Global University Network for Innovation) presented at the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on higher and professional education, 10 proposals for higher and professional education transformation towards a proactive and committed role in society: -
1.      Open up to society and create a true knowledge-based society through engagement with society as a whole.
2.      Shift paradigms from individual competitiveness, economic profitability and a short-term focus to the collective, with human and social benefits and to be sustainable in the long term.
3.      Become cosmopolitan centers of global culture. Build bridges between different cultures and sources of knowledge. Knowledge is no longer produced exclusively by and consumed within universities. Instead, their task should be to connect different kinds of knowledge, forging links between knowledge and citizenship.
4.      Renew thought for society. Break the conformity of thought by proactively criticizing the world of ideas. Transform the paradigms and beliefs established in social, economic and political systems, how we organize our community and how this is reflected in our education systems.
5.      Go beyond educating professionals to educating citizens in ethical awareness and civic commitment. Know how to contribute to the common good through professional practice. Educate for glocality, democracy, citizenship, intercultural relations, peace building and a deep understanding of life’s dynamics.
6.      Introduce complexity, uncertainty and transdisciplinarity into the curriculum and in research, towards a holistic vision of reality. Link different areas of knowledge in order to understand complex issues and find solutions to the great problems in the local and global context.
7.      Analyse the ethical, social and environmental implications of the advance of knowledge. Increase the resources invested in analysing the impact of science and technology and augment the capacity to absorb their expansion, in all aspects of human life.
8.      Democratize access to knowledge. Remove barriers in an effort to provide open access to expert knowledge, making it as useful as it can be. Move towards the idea of socially relevant knowledge as human heritage.
9.      Network for glocality, Cooperation and co-creation of knowledge. Local needs require local proposals in global frameworks, and global challenges require global solutions that are locally acceptable. However, global solutions can come from local experience and vice versa.
10. Link research to local needs and to the global development agenda. Couple research, decision-making and development to inform decisions that affect large segments of the population. Explore how to link scientific research and political decision making related to collective well-being.
India has a Long history of organized education. The Gurukul system of education was among the oldest educational systems. Gurukuls were traditional residential schools of learning.
Since ancient times, India has been a centre of excellence in the field of higher education. Nalanda, Vikramashila and Takshashila were few of the oldest universities in the world and were the most renowned seats of higher education during their time. Students' from far off countries came to study in these universities. Today India has one of the largest higher and professional education systems in the world and also some world-class institutions for higher and professional education.
The current system of education with its western style and content was introduced and founded by the British in the 19th century.
Historically, we can divide the era of professional education into four periods:
1.      First period ( from 1800 to 1857)
2.      Second period ( from 1857 to 1902)
3.      Third period (1902 to 1950) and
4.      Fourth period ( from 1950 to the present day)
FIRST PERIOD (1800-1857)
The educational system of this period was influenced by the policy of the East India Company. The company needed some Indian clerks and official for its various departments in order to manage affairs well. The Company stood in need of doctors for the army, judges and pleaders for the courts, and engineers for constructing roads, canals and govt. building under the Public Works Department. Hence, these were the chief branches of technical and vocational education in the education system of that period.
SECOND PERIOD (1857-1902)
This period is comparatively of greater importance from the viewpoint of industrial and vocational education, though the main objective of vocational education in this period too was to produce a number of well-trained efficient and experienced Indian officials who might conduct efficiently the work of administration and organization under British officials in various government departments. In 1857, with the incorporation of three presidency universities, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, subjects such as Law, Medicine, Engineering, Agricultural Science. Commerce and Technical Education were included in the curriculum of Universities and special teachers were appointed to teach these subjects. Also the system of conferring certificates and degrees in these subjects was introduced during this period.
THIRD PERIOD (1903-1950)
This period beared a unique importance in the sphere of Indian vocational education. A marked success had been achieved in the field of vocational education.
Formerly, the utility of such education was purely mercenary. People received this type of education mainly to secure some employment under the Government. But in modem times, the educated people got training in these branches solely for the purpose of meeting the industrial and vocational requirements of the society. There are many factors leading to its progress. In the first instance, it was an age of growing political awakening in India, which increased the urgency of the demand of a revolutionary change in the sphere of education. With the advent of independence in the country, several laboratories and research bureau were established with a view to bring India on an equal footing with other progressive countries in scientific progress as well as to meeting manifold requirements of a newly freed country through the industrial and vocational upheaval.
Department of new technical and scientific subjects were opened in colleges and universities. Secondly, private enterprise too contributed considerably to the growth of industrial and vocational education. Wealthy people made liberal benefactions and helped the establishment of many industrial institutions. Thirdly, provision was made for sending Indian students abroad, i.e. England, America, Germany and Japan for thorough study of modern sciences, vocations arts and crafts in these countries and they developed them in India after their return from abroad. After the independence of the country, a steady progress is being made in these directions.
Fourth period (1950 - the present day)
In this period various committee were appointed to find out number of technically trained persons needed by country, to expand technical education, to improve the condition of existing institutions and to establish fresh institutions so that Indian students might not feel the necessity of education in foreign countries. Besides these the scholarships were also awarded to students of technical and industrial branches of education. As a result of the government’s policy, the technical education was expanded during this period.
Apart from engineering and technology requirements of scientific personnel have been increasing since 1950. Adequate steps are being taken to encourage science education both at secondary and higher levels including research.
Since 1950 the facilities for agricultural and veterinary education have increased appreciatively and various new agriculture and veterinary colleges were established.
Though rapid expansion of medical education has taken place since 1950, yet there is an acute shortage of medical personnel particularly in rural areas so that the number of medical college was increased. At the same time facilities have also to be enlarged for middle level personnel such as nurses, midwives, health visitors and sanitary inspector etc.
Just like above mentioned courses the special attention was also drawn for improvement of management.

Professional education and            Socio-economical development in India

Education plays an important role in the formation of human capital and thus contributes to economic development in particular and overall societal development in general.
Education is the most important factor in achieving rapid economic development and technological progress and in creating a social order founded on the values of freedom, social justice and equal opportunity. The professional education works as an instrument for modernization, change and development for our society and play’s the key role for restructuring the economies of the developing countries. According to UNESCO, professional education leads to socio-economic revolution.
In recent years, the Indian economy has grown remarkably and caught the world’s attention. It has also become one of the world’s new economic giants. Since 1980s and between 1990 and 2002, the Indian economy grew at 5.9% annually, compared with the average 2.8% for the world overall.
The main key to the country’s current socio-economic success appears to be education, particularly the development of higher and professional education. India is well known for its large pool of technical and vocational labor. It would not have this advantage if it had not provided strong support for higher and professional education over the past six decades. Without this asset, it could not have achieved its new economic standing on the world stage.
Two aspects of India’s recent economic development have attracted global attention—its GDP growth rate, which has averaged 5.9% and hit 9.2% in 2006, and its position as a world leader in information technology. Indian call centers provide services for many multinational corporations. In biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, auto components, and other fields, India is emerging as a global center as well. India also boasts some world-class enterprises. Infosys, for example, ranks as one of the globe’s top 10 innovative companies. India’s remarkable economic performance growth is the result in great part of major reforms begun in 1991 that opened up and freed its economy and provided incentives and stimuli for its prosperity. This is another facet of the Indian experience that has not gone unnoticed around the world.
India’s rapid growth is closely correlated with its human resource supply, which in turn is a product of India’s strong system of higher and professional education. India has the world’s third-largest higher education system, second only to those of the US and China. It has consequently the globe’s third largest pool of scientific and technological personnel, between 8 and 10 million people, and it can export skilled information, communication, and technology workers. India also enjoys a sound reputation in technological and management education. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Management are regarded as world-class institutions in terms of quality and the employability of their graduates. India is also an overachiever in research and development, accounting for 8% of all funding for these purposes in the developing countries and ranking first in articles published. Any analysis of higher education in India should take into account the main characteristics of Indian society.
India has a huge population of more than 1.1 billion. Its 2005 per-capita GDP was $3,452, 127th out of 177 countries. It was ranked 128th on the United Nations Development Programme’s social developing indicator. India is an unbalanced-developing country in which traditional and modern economic elements exists side by side. Agriculture accounts for a large proportion of gross economic volume and much of the population is rural. Yet India is also a global leader in IT, with its software and services industry ranked second in size only to that of the US.
In short, India is a vast country gripped by vast disparities. Its tremendous social and economic problems and polarities have deep historical roots and must be solved before it can fully modernize. Its successes, however, still point the way to a bright future and provide lessons and examples for other developing countries. This is especially true in the field of higher and professional education, where India’s experience can show how a developing country can create an elite education system and thereby spur its economic growth despite the constraints of widespread poverty.
Nursing education in India began with very brief periods of training. Orderlies and midwives were often chosen for this and were given a period of two to six months of closely supervised practical experience in general nursing, then called sick nursing. This was training in the hospital and certificates were given after completion of training.
The basic program for combined general nursing and midwifery developed rapidly after 1871. The need for theory as well as practical experience was felt. The training for general nursing was extended to two years and then three years before the student went on for midwifery training. The present basic program for nursing education throughout India consists of a three and half year program in general nursing midwifery. Uniformity of training is maintained by recognition of schools which meet the standards and requirements given by the Indian Nursing Council. The basic Certificate program now includes all areas of nursing as well as integrated community health nursing.
The leaders of nursing in India realized that more and better qualified teachers and ward supervisors were needed if standards were to be maintained and nursing was to advance. Hence, courses were set up in several places to give Indian nurses an opportunity to prepare themselves for responsible positions in hospitals and schools of nursing. Post certificate courses were first offered in nursing administration, supervision and teaching. These originated at the College of Nursing, New Delhi; the College of Nursing, CMC Hospital, Vellore; and the Government General Hospital, Chennai.
The first four-year basic Bachelor Degree programs were established in 1946 at the College of Nursing in Delhi and Vellore. This program is now offered at a number of other colleges. In 1963 the School of Nursing in Trivandrum instituted the first two-year post certificate Bachelor Degree program. Other schools have begun this program since that time. In recent years, as higher education for nurses has developed around the world, courses in India have developed so that the nurse can specialize in almost any subject and continue education through the level of the Master's degree. The first Master's Degree Course, a two- year postgraduate program, was begun in 1960 at the College of Nursing in Delhi. Now this college is known as "Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing, New Delhi.
At last whole of the presentation can be summaries to the fact that professionalism should not be detached apart from the social responsibilities and any professional must be aware enough to think about the whole some accomplishment of the organizational goals with fulfilling the developmental and growth need of the society.
By going through the whole discussion it can be concluded that now a day’s professionals are seeking only for their own benefits rather than thinking about the responsibilities and wellness of the society so as the main aim of professional education, which was to serve and improve the society and civilization, is being deviated towards selfishness and individual profitability that’s why the civilized peoples of the world are puzzled as to intelligence and education do not bring peace and order, democratic constitutions do not bring democracy and religion does not bring brotherhood. If our imperiled civilization is to survive, our keenest and most disciplined minds, and to a very considerable degree this means our professional men, must devote their moral energies and intellectual powers to solving current and long range problems.
1.      Basavanthappa, B.T. “Nursing education” Jaypee Brother, New Delhi, First Edition (reprint 2004); Page No. 106-118.
2.      Sofia, RN & Shaida, BD; Development of Education Theory and practices; Dhanpat Rai & sond, Delhi; 15th edition (Revised 1991); Page No. – 01-03.
3.      Sharma, C.B. & Pathak, Avijit; MES-014 Societal Context of Education, Block-1 Education and Society: Concepts and Perspectives; First Edition (2009) Ignou New Delhi, Page No. 33-44.
4.      PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION - Ministry of HRD, www.education.nic.in/cd50years/n/75/7Y/757Y0801.html
5.      Higher and Professional Education in India, www.adb.org/Documents/Events/...India.../Paper-Shi-Xiaoguang.pdf
6.      A broad approach of the higher education role: beyond training professionals to educating responsible citizens, by - Yazmín Cruz and Cristina Escrigas; at -Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI); from - http://www.iau-aiu.net/conferences/Lebanon2009/Presentations/Cruz_Escrigas.pdf
7.      Indian Government and Professional Education, www.indiabuzzing.com/.../indian-government-and-professional-education/
8.      What ails quality professional education in India?, www.merinews.com/...professional-education-in-india/15779993.shtml
9.      Higher Education in India, www.academics-india.com/
10. Privatization of Professional Education in India, www.articlesbase.com/.../privatization-of-professional-education-in-india-522208.html
11. Indian Government and Professional Education, www.indiabuzzing.com/.../indian-government-and-professional-education/
12. Higher education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education
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