The curious evolution of Indian education

How can we encourage curiosity and creative problem solving across the Indian student diaspora?

The management education system in India is found grossly wanting in regard to encouraging creativity and creative problem-solving.  The reasons responsible for this are many.  Our students are taught to believe in one and the final solution for every possible problem.  This does not leave any space for them to be curious and be creative.  The capacity to observe a phenomenon does not find any room in the teaching pedagogy, classroom delivery, community thinking among the students.  Since curiosity does not find any room they are always bereft of creative problem-solving.  Experimentation, failures, and successes are not the part of the game in the management educational programmes.  Partly for this, even industry in particular and stakeholders in general are also responsible. We want one and the final solution for any problem.  The students then are fear-stricken about giving a solution which might not work out endangering their continuation, promotion, and hurting prestige.  One way of promoting curiosity and creative problem solving is giving a big fillip to liberal management education which provides a lot of scope for experimentation.

What are the industry innovations that particularly catch your eye?

Entire industry gaming has taken a ‘U’turn.  COVID 19 could be taken as a case in point.  The rules governing business have to be shunned.  No more the doctrine of business advanced by Adam Smith and later supported by Peter Ducker could take the businesses and industry forward.  It is not the profit but corporate citizenry would work now.  ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) would have to be at the back of each and every decision of the business.

This innovation and its acceptance would bring business exist by society.  The environment is an important factor and the innovations should be in the nature of ‘green businesses’ driving them to relook at their very rationale of existence.  ‘Being social’ is the need of the hour. In COVID 19, we need to pay employees their due even when the business operations are suspended. Governance is the third and important element.  The businesses would have to be transparent, accountable and responsible for their actions.