By Dr. Sachender Pal Singh
Consultant Head & Neck Oncosurgeon, Ranchi Cancer Hospital & Research Centre
(A unit of Tata Trust & Tata Cancer Care Foundation)
India’s education system has produced world-class doctors, engineers, and scientists — but perhaps not world-ready citizens.
We spend decades in classrooms mastering formulas, anatomy, and algorithms, yet most of us step into adulthood without knowing how to file an FIR, pay income tax, or understand a contract we sign.
This disconnect between knowledge and practicality exposes a deeper flaw: our education teaches us how to succeed in exams, not how to navigate life.
From school onwards, Indian students are trained to remember facts, not responsibilities.
We can calculate compound interest but cannot calculate our own tax. We can write essays on democracy but do not know how to exercise our basic legal rights.
Simple, everyday legal concepts such as:
are rarely, if ever, part of our formal education.
Countries like Finland, Germany, France, and Japan have long integrated “Law in Daily Life” or “Social Studies & Justice” into their school systems. Their students graduate with a practical understanding of law — how it protects them, and how they can use it responsibly.
India, on the other hand, still views law as a subject for lawyers rather than as a language every citizen should speak.
The same gap continues — and widens — in professional education.
As doctors, we are trained to diagnose disease, perform complex surgeries, and save lives. But we are never systematically trained to protect ourselves legally while doing so.
During MBBS and post-graduation, most medical students learn the theory of forensic medicine — the IPC sections, the definitions, the postmortem protocols. Yet few are ever taught the practical realities of:
Many doctors first encounter legal complexities only after receiving a complaint, consumer case, or FIR — and by then, learning comes the hard way.
This lack of medico-legal education is not limited to medicine. Engineers, architects, and business professionals often face contract disputes, compliance issues, or intellectual property concerns without any legal foundation.
The phrase “Ignorance of the law is no excuse” holds true, but it is also unjust when society never teaches the law in the first place.
The absence of legal literacy leads to:
In an age where information is abundant, the ability to act lawfully and confidently has become as essential as literacy itself.
To truly modernize our education system, India must embed Legal Literacy and Life Skills into its curriculum — from school through professional education.
At the School Level:
At the Professional Level:
This approach would create not only skilled professionals but also informed, responsible citizens — aware of their duties, rights, and safeguards.
True education must go beyond degrees. It should prepare individuals not only to earn a living but to live responsibly — with awareness of the legal, ethical, and civic frameworks that shape society.
In a nation as vast and vibrant as India, empowering every citizen with legal literacy could be one of the most powerful reforms of our time.
Because education without awareness creates dependency — but education with empowerment builds a nation that knows both how to serve and how to safeguard itself.
✍️ Dr. Sachender Pal Singh
Consultant Head & Neck Oncosurgeon
Ranchi Cancer Hospital & Research Centre
(A Unit of Tata Trust & Tata Cancer Care Foundation)
Email: sachender123@gmail.com