The document discusses the need to promote science education and foster a spirit of inquiry among students in India. It notes that the current education system focuses too heavily on rote learning and does not encourage critical thinking. As a result, many students do not pursue technical careers. It proposes establishing science centers in each district to make science more accessible and interesting to students. The centers would provide hands-on learning, science readings, debates and competitions to inspire students and quench their thirst for knowledge. This would help develop India's "innovation capital" and create a more efficient society and economy. It requests help establishing an initial science center in Anjar taluka, Gujarat.

1. Growing Innovation Capital through Science Penetration in India
Innovation is a processes where we convert ideas into implementable business activities or
models which improve efficiency and are economically sound. A crucial part of innovation is the
habit of inquiry, critical questioning, thought, information and knowledge. Today information and
knowledge are fairly & easily accessible to humans than ever before. What is not common is the
habit of inquiry, critical questioning skill and thought. Education, in schools and colleges do tend to
transfer some part of these rare skills but often it’s not so in the resource deprived education system.
Rote learning, spoon feeding, acceptance of concepts without questioning are the main methods to get
good results exams, especially in rural and semi urban schools managed by local institutions. This is
done by the system to save the jobs and for work endorsements. The pupils are at loss as they are not
exposed to and ingrained to critical questioning, sprit of inquiry & thought; it creates unquestioning,
submissive citizens of the future. As a result a majority of the students do not take up, technical &
challenging careers, which in time effects there income, social & employability status.
Government & schemes of NGO’s working in the field of education are struggling to provide the
basic infrastructure Viz. books, food, learning material, classrooms, toilets, water etc. though it is
essential, hardly that interest students to be regular at schools. Even today the dropout rate at class 8
in India is 40% of the total enrolled students. Leave apart the regular attendance, which is bleak due
to poor quality of teachers & instruction methods, lack of peer pressure from parents for regular
attendance, especially in rural and semi urban areas of India.
A typical scenario is that the books have lessons on science & mathematics concepts but they lack
the teaching aids, instruments and chemicals to carryout experiments, and more so the zeal of the
teachers to make lessons interesting is missing most of the times. Often there is disconnect between
the taught experiments and there applicability to the immediate surroundings and environment of the
pupil.
If we have to have a better society and social and economic systems which are far better in quality
and efficient in there resource consumption, we need to penetrate the concepts of science, critical
questioning, sprit of enquiry into the students. To have a large innovation capital we need to have
even larger base of scientific capital into the students, regardless if they are studying in metropolitan
areas, semi urban or rural areas.
Therefore I propose that each district must have a vibrant science center which 1. Eases the
understanding of science, 2. Provide out of the syllabus concepts of science regardless of the grades
which they study, 3. Have libraries which have science reading materials in local a language which
quenches the thirst for knowledge and inspires the students to have a spirit of enquiry, 4. Science
debates, essay competitions, exhibitions, societies, science portals, science film festivals in theaters,
innovation societies which take up case by case problems and conduct workshops to try find solutions
to solve the problem, modeling workshops, conferences, interaction with scientists etc.
I request to please help and guide me in making science popular to raise innovation capital for a
better, efficient, vibrant today and future India.
To start with please help me in establishing a science center in Anjar taluka of Kutch District of
Gujarat. I am ready to channel all my efforts and resources to make this dream come true.