Introduction
In this article an attempt is made to discuss the relevance of entrepreneurship in school education. To start with we may clarify what we mean by the common terms used in the discussion
- Education is the process of acquiring knowledge and skills, and developing character traits, often through formal instruction or informal experiences.
- School Education The purpose of school education is to impart knowledge and skills, develop critical thinking, and foster personal and social growth to prepare students for productive lives and active citizenship. It also encourages cultural awareness, promotes lifelong learning, and provides a foundation for future career opportunities and economic empowerment.
- Entrepreneurship is the process of starting, managing, and growing a new business venture by combining innovation, risk-taking, and vision to create value.
Background
It may be appreciated that the only thing constant in this world is change. Some quotes on education by great thinkers are appended below for reflection:
Bertrand Russel
- Stifles individuality, curiosity, creativity, critical thinking
- Loss of enthusiasm for learning process
- Transfer of information without understanding
- Restricts ability to ask questions and to draw independent conclusions
- Puts pressure to perform in outdoing peers-grades
- Restricts collaboration and mutual growth
He also stated that the British education system is all aimed at preparing for wars. The sole aim is to defeat the enemy and the Japanese education system is aimed at Nation building. There is no education system in the world which is aimed at human building.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- Education’s purpose is to cultivate a free and creative individual, capable of critical thinking and societal contribution
- When we think we know we cease to learn
- Without a spiritual bent of mind, the physical and intellectual development of a person remains restricted.
Mahatma Gandhi
- An education which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad, to assimilate the one and eschew the other, is a misnomer.
- Education should be so revolutionized as to answer the wants of the poorest villager, instead of answering those of an imperial exploiter. Basic education links the children, whether of cities or the villages, to all that is best and lasting in India.
- Basic education links the children, whether of cities or the villages, to all that is best and lasting in India.
- Education should be made self-supporting through some productive work. Education should lead to economic independence and self-reliance for livelihood.
Seymour Pappert
- knowledge is most effectively built when individuals actively construct meaningful products in the world.
- He believed in encouraging children to explore and discover concepts through their own experimentation and problem-solving, rather than being directly told.
Jean Piaget
- Theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world.
- He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process that occurs due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment.
Socrates
- Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.
- Change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.
- Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual
- Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Einstein
- Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think
- Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.
We may see that there are a few points which most of these great people agree upon. These may be summarised as:
- Education should not stifle individuality and creativity
- Education should be based on observations and finding solutions
- The aim should be to impart knowledge and skills, develop critical thinking, and develop self confidence to fend for themselves under varied circumstances.
Scenario leading to the 21ST CENTURY
There have been several inventions in the past which have changed the environment. We may recount some of them:
- Invention of the wheel
- Steam Engine
- Printing press
- Electricity
- Electromagnetism
- Aviation
It may be noticed that each one of these inventions had tremendous impact on human life but each one of them affected only a particular domain. As a result of which humans were able to adapt to them without being unduly disturbed,
Most of the changes occurring as a result of developments were so gradual that what is learnt or the skills developed in childhood still remained relevant in old age.
Two developments which took place in the Nineteen Fifty’s affected the lives of mankind globally. These were:
- Launching of the Sputnik by Soviet Union: Enabled overcoming the difficulty in communication across the globe due to the curvature of the earth.
- Development of the Integrated Circuit (Chip): Resulted in fulfilling Charles Babbage’s dream of making a machine capable of doing the functions of a human being.
These developments started showing their impact in the nineteen seventies’ eliminating the effort required for gathering information, finding solutions and instantaneously sharing them across the Globe. This converted the entire world into a Global Village.
We may notice that this resulted in 1) Access to all information and solutions instantaneously across the Globe and 2) Rendering the skills required for gathering information and finding solutions to problems redundant. The skill required now was to identify the problem you want to solve.
Challenges Posed By The Dynamic Environment
We may readily identify the challenges posed by the dynamic environment as:
- What we learn today may be of no use in the near future.
- We need be constantly aware of the developments around us.
- Observe the surroundings assess the implications and plan solutions.
- Don’t take things for granted and be ready to take inputs from others also.
- Interact, cooperate and learn with others.
It may be readily observed that most of the quotes of the great people quoted above are still relevant today but the focus of school education has hardly ever taken cognisance of them. Instead, the main focus of school education has been on:
- Instructions and guidance
- Repetition and consolidation
- Assessment of reproduction
- Competitions and focus on doing better than peers instead of challenging oneself.
It is high time now that we shift the focus to observation and innovation. Let us examine what is Entrepreneurship:
Entrepreneurship is the process of starting, managing, and growing a new business venture by combining innovation, risk-taking, and vision to create value.
“Innovation, risk-taking, and vision to create value” is what is imperative now while constantly observing the environment.
It may be observed that the ability to do so is domain dependent. An individual is not smart across all domains. Everyone is smart in some domain and dull in some domains. It is important to identify the domain in which one is smart and pursue progress in that domain.
Some Suggestions On Meeting The Challenges
It may be noted that any changes thought of should be brought in gradually and clandestinely. Drastic changes are likely to meet with strong opposition by those who are comfortable with the status quo. There is always resistance to change.
Every one engages in some activity. When engaged in an activity one enjoys, fatigue does not set in. However, it requires some exposure and patience to identify the activity one enjoys. For this exposure to variety of domains is required.
Having recognised some of the challenges posed by the developments in 21st century some of the steps which could be taken to overcome them could be:
- Allow the children to think of solutions to problems instead of dictating the solutions for them to memorise.
- Allow the children to explore what problems they face and encourage them solve them without setting any time limits and assisting only when they ask for it.
- Encourage children to share their experiences with peers and make collective efforts to solve problems.
Periodical interaction with experts in different fields could help exposure. Here again answers to children’s questions would be far more effective than a monologue by experts.
Entrepreneurship is the backbone of all development. After children have identified, to an extent, the domain of their choice, they may take up live real time projects to work on. The staff of the school (not only teachers) could assist the children on their request to achieve their aims.
It may help a lot in focussing on the concepts in all subjects instead of drill and practice without understanding the concepts.
These are just a few steps which readily come to mind and the rest have to be thought of by constantly observing the changing environment.
Arun Warhadpande
25 November 2025
