A young 7-year old student was brutally murdered
in a school in Gurugram. So far, reports suggest it was the school-bus
conductor or driver who tried to sexually molest him that did it. This is hard
to believe but time will tell and it’s best to let the police bring out the
facts. In another incident in Noida, a boy slaps another for camera. The principal
calls it “Peer slap bet”.
Fancy term indeed. In another incident in Lucknow, a Class-3 student was slapped 40 times by the teacher
for not responding to the roll-call. Elsewhere, a kid was detained in school
for long for non-payment of fees. Another young girl was also detained in
another school for dress code. I’m sure it makes us all wonder what our schools
and teachers have come to. Of course, these are hopefully stray incidents and
one hopes these aren’t that common across the country.
Childhood and early teens are the most joyful
years in life. Our schools are the ones that make it absolutely miserable for
children. Most children hate schools. Cannot blame schools by themselves but also
our governments that have made them daytime prisons for kids. Despite a lot of
efforts by courts, some govts and other activists, our schools have remained a
painful experience for students, teachers, management and parents. Almost every
school is a centre of chaos. I am not even going to discuss the discriminatory RTE legislation in this post.
PM Modi talks of a “New India”. Much appreciate, but you certainly cannot build a new
India with the dilapidated structure of our school education. Our schools don’t teach for learning
outcomes and thinking. They teach to TEST. Period! Every classroom
act is designed to pour information into children’s heads to ready them for the next test. I cannot believe there are schools
that run “unit tests” for Class-1
children from the second week of the academic year. I know parents who are
constantly preparing their kids for the next test. With such backwardness and
lack of innovation of any kind, our schools are way behind civilisation and
modernisation and not equipped for any New
India:
What to teach is an important question. What to
test is also an important question. Not
everything that is taught needs to be tested. And even the method of
testing can be simplified without inflicting pain for some lower level
subjects. The three key subjects to be taught and tested are English (Or the medium of instruction),
Math and Science. All other subjects are secondary and need not be tested
so stringently. What purpose in hell does it serve in memorising nonsense about
history, geography or civics? A general reading of these subjects in class
followed by Q&A would be enough.
That apart, I sympathise with teachers too. Not
much investment is made in them. I have seen the poorest of poor people
appearing for B.Ed exams in worn out
clothes and slippers just because they cannot find any other work. Teachers are
supposed to create geniuses for the country but the investment in them is
almost zero and a peon in a private company or an Uber driver earns more than
most teachers. Therefore, they too teach
to complete a task. They don’t teach to seek learning outcomes.
Trends in International
Maths & Science Study (TIMSS)
is an international study across countries that is being conducted for many
years across the world. These are mostly for Class-4 onward in schools. India
has not participated in these studies except a stray exception. Consistently,
in these studies, Singapore, Korea and
Japan perform dramatically well. Yet, our Delhi minister goes to Finland to discover magic in education.
All one has to do is compare text books of Singapore and NCERT to see the
dramatic difference and why their students find it more interesting to
understand and learn.
Let us also keep in mind that there is not a single course in India that
certifies and qualifies someone to be a Principal. There are professional
certifications for doctors, lawyers, CAs, architects but none for Principals.
ZERO! What stops the GOI from starting prominent institutes across the country
to train and certify principals? Our pathetic HRD ministry is concerned only
with IITs and IIMs when the roots of our “New
India” are formed in schools, not in higher institutes. Therefore, a separate ministry and minister
focused on school education is a must. Although education is a state
subject, there must be every effort to standardise curriculum and methods of
instruction.
Because education is a state matter, our states
exploit kids in areas like history. In Bengal the Mughals are gods. In
Maharashtra Shivaji becomes most important. In UP again Mughals. In Rajasthan
it’s Rana Pratap. And there are moronic SS books that teach RahulG, Barkha or
Teesta as heroes? What history is being taught and why even test this subject with
so much pain inflicted on children and parents to cram facts and vomit in
answer sheets? What is the purpose in this day and age of facts being available
at fingertips on mobiles and internet? If we want a “New India” a dramatic
change is needed in school education. This means – what we teach, what we test and how we test. When schools are not
enjoyable for any stake-holder, students in particular, some of them, turn to
deranged behaviour. We get juvenile jerks who form gangs in schools, bully, and
get violent. We also get perverted teachers and principals and lower end staff
that results in painful incidents like these:
Unless we unburden our students, teachers and
principals there is no way we will produce great innovators or thinkers. Our schools are mass-manufacturing units of
mediocrity. You cannot build a “New India” with a moth-eaten structure. And
the problem is too huge to explain in one single post. Therefore, this series
on school education, something I am passionate about, will continue in multiple
parts.
To be continued…
