In Response to Schooling
In Response to Schooling in Rural India, Opinion section, The Hindu dated 01/11/05
Dear Mr. Krishna Kumar,
Thank you for your article. Rural education is a very interesting topic. What is needed is a curriculum that makes these children realise the wealth of knowledge already in their posession and give them the "scientific" enquiry. Eg.- a farmer and his child will know more about agriculture than a graduate from the agri university. However, he cannot know what makes pepsi a good insecticide. Likewise, the potter, the weaver and all others who know that if rain comes, or if the sun shines so much something goes wrong with their product but they dont know why! I am writing very general thumbnail sketches here.
You talk of "hands-on", already most of their learning is hands-on, unfortunately that can never be tested with the current system of examination. Further the current education policy along with NCERT that creates frameworks for mainly the Central Board of Education goes down well with the Government and army kids (read urban yuppies), not with the rural kids. As you so rightly pointed, who are on these committees?
For many in the rural area, learning English is a great mark of achievement. I can personally vouch for this as I toured our country interacting with teachers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, while sharing my Educational Leadership workshop with them. The most political teachers were found in Tamil Nadu.
Interestingly I have also worked with the NSS when in college way back in the eighties and can tell you some horrendous tales that are perpetrated in the name of education right in the middle of metropolitan cities like Chennai.
MGR had a grand vision of a well integrated public library system throughout Tamil Nadu in the 80s. It is now languishing as open urinals in most parts of the state. Libraries and easy access to information is the demand of the day. This problem is faced all over the country. It is ironic that many BPOs in India are busy scanning and classifying documents and books for the US while our own country doesnt have any proper resources on the internet! The MA I did in JNU ( one of our supposedly premier institutions) and the MA I did in San Jose State University ( a good but ordinary state university not an Ivy league for sure!) had one huge difference. When I went to the library in SJSU, there were actually books INTACT on the shelf. Pages were not missing. Books were exactly where they were supposed to be. I remember Mr Mallik the librarian in JNU for the languages section- he loved his work and kept a neat floor. The people working at the check out counter were more interested in guzzling tea than do work for the salary they earned. Given the telecom revolution that has happened and the way many village blocks around the nation plan to have internet access very soon for virtual medical help, agri help etc, it is time to invest in elibraries. That should make information more accessible to every child, rural or urban.
The system is quite ok for the most part. I met some amazing teachers from village schools around Bhopal and the commitment they showed to getting "literacy" into their villages is inspiring. What it needs is political commitment. Teachers in Tamil Nadu were more interested in tweaking results to get that lovely pension rather than really see a qualitative "educated" society.
Following the Nehruvian dream of IITs and IIMs, we are way off the mark in Civic education. What makes a rest area cleaner in the middle of the Mid West region of the US who would not really be "inspected", do his job as opposed to a school teacher who, with all benefits of having a government job with UGC scales and security, short changes the system by not providing a "qualitative" education to the children given into her charge? She will give you a earful of woes and inadequate facilities and excuse herself and her inability to do anything. This is the core issue that needs to be dealt with.
I have been observing the public (read Government) school system of the US for the past 8 years and can tell you that the way they go about introducing civics from Kindergarten is amazing. They integrate it with economy and it starts with My Family in Kindergarten and slowly expands with each grade level. Children in Kindergarten get to play postman for a day. They learn to write a note, and address it properly. They learn to put the stamp in the right corner of an envelope. They learn that it needs to be addressed and have information of the sender. Likewise a visit from a police officer or fire fighter makes a dream come true to many children who want to be these guys when they grow up. This is one side of it.
The other is the facilities. The recent outpouring of funds for the tsunami survivors is proof that our country does not lack in money or committed individuals. The problem is getting it passed through the system. This is where the political aspect of things comes into play. Just as very few politicians come from next to no background in Public Administration, so too do teachers. Most people with 2nd or 3rd class marks with atleast a correspondance course, get a B ed degree and they are in! Very few have the talent inherently needed to teach. Even less are those who are passionate in their art. I can assure you some very committed teachers get the facilities they need. It is truly amazing. Call it Karma or whatever, their zeal to make a difference in their children's lives is such that they will do anything to get stuff for them. And they get it. Like the teacher in Kairi, the film that won a national award.
I sincerely hope that you do make a difference in NCERT. From my last visit there, to its library in 1999, I can assure you that time has stood still there since the era of Shri PV Narasimha Rao who was Director way back in the 60s. I hope you are able to smooth over silly politics and get down to the task of education of our country's future citizens.
Sincerely,
Blokes Ablogin,
Education Consultant
--------