Science taught in schools is most boring, outdated: CNR Rao

Science taught in schools and colleges in India is "outdated", "most boring" and is no longer the one practiced in advanced laboratories, senior scientist and Bharat Ratna recipient CNR Rao today said.
"Science we teach in schools and colleges is no longer the science we actually do in advanced laboratories. What we teach is most boring. The science which is taught is completely outdated. The chemistry we teach in school...Who wants to learn that chemistry?
"Most teachers are boring. We have to improve our teaching. Teachers and teaching have not been good in India. So the National Mission should be improving the teachers and teaching standards," Rao said.

He was speaking at the seventeenth JRD Tata Memorial Lecture organized by ASSOCHAM here.
When asked whether all the advice to the government given by experts was followed, Rao, who served the head of the Scientific Advisory Council to then prime minister Manmohan Singh, said if all advices were accepted the country would not have been where it is now.
"We would have been much more advanced," he said.

He noted that education and science was not given due importance in the country.
"Education and science are not given importance. When P V Narsimha Rao was the HRD Minister, even I was helping him in writing the National Policy for education, Narsimha Rao said that 6 per cent of GDP must be spent on education, but when he became the Prime Minister, he never remembered...Only 2 per cent (was allocated for education).

"How committed are we (in spending on education). That way Rajiv Gandhi was very committed, but his life was cut-short. UPA II was fairly successful (in understanding the problem) and Manmohan Singh was very receptive," the senior scientist said.