What Ails Our Schools?

This book is based on not only the author’s experience in the teaching profession spanning four decades but also what others in this profession go through. It includes anecdotes and case studies collected while teaching in schools and Junior Colleges in India and abroad. The reader who may be a Principal or a Teacher or a Parent or a management trustee may not agree with certain views expressed in this book. The reader should see things from the viewpoint of the student to appreciate what is said in this book. This book gives due credit to the management, Principals, Teachers and Parents for their actions in the interest of the students. No individual or organization is blamed in the book. Both good and not-so-good aspects exist in schools. Imperfections are mentioned in the book not because there are only imperfections in our system but because these are areas that need to be remedied urgently. The author is not trying to thrust her views on the reader. The glorious days of Indian history were characterised by the importance accorded to value-based education. In the last couple of centuries some countries overtook us in the field of education. They gave greater importance to education. We lost focus on education. This book is about the elements of a school, namely, parents, teachers, Principals, management, and most importantly students. Often students’ misbehaviour gets highlighted. They only need a strong mentor to assure them that the right path is the best one to choose and then they immediately fall in line provided the mentor leads by example. They want to be heard, spoken up to and not talked down. Students are the best part of schools and for them the school days are the best. Should the schools not keep focus on them all the time? Don’t they need the best of facilities, teachers and quality education? Are parents, teachers, Principals and management doing everything they should for maintaining / improving school educational standards in India? A programme conducted by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) for International student Assessment ranked Indian higher secondary students only better than those from Kyrgzstan among 74 participating countries. Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2011, assessing schools in rural India, found declining attendance, over-reliance on private tuitions and declining reading and mathematical abilities of children in the 6 to 14 years age category. Despite a welcome high enrolment rate of about 96.7% at the primary and upper primary levels, the quality of school learning is simply not up to the mark. Most of the government schools lack basic infrastructure such as black boards and text books. Teaching standards are poor, with higher teacher absenteeism. Only 48.2% of class V students surveyed under ASER were able to read class II-level texts. Few acknowledge the malaise and are willing to address these challenges. The various pillars of the edifice of education such as school authorities, teachers, teacher trainers, text-book writers and curriculum developers are working in a disjointed manner. This has resulted in various ailments that afflict our schools. Pre- and post-independence saw a poverty-ridden and illiterate Indian populace. Education at that time was available only to a fortunate few. The scenario is different now. The government has woken up to the fact that it has the challenge of providing education to a huge part of one billion-population. School is an integral part of one’s life. One discards the comfort of home and the warmth of mother’s hug to set foot on the big wilderness called the outside world as early as at the age of 3. Relationships are built in schools. Friendships are developed, bullies feared and teachers admired in the beginning years. This admiration for teachers slowly turns into respect in the middle schools. Few students of today want to be teachers tomorrow. Teachers’ pay is low as is their status in the society. Often one comes across women taking up teaching as the last option. Few talented persons are attracted to the teaching profession. Because of substandard work culture and lack of freedom to innovate, the few talented teachers leave schools. Some teachers do a shoddy job. For example, a teacher explained the first aid for snake bites. She taught them how tying a knot near the place where a snake bit would avoid the spreading of poison. A student promptly asked, “If a snake bit a person on the face should we tie the knot around the neck?” The teacher was thrown off guard. A teacher should expect such questions and be prepared accordingly. Principals should have a free hand in the matters relating to the functioning of the school. The zone of operation of the Principal should be defined. The Principal should be allowed to operate unfettered within the defined space with responsibility and accountability so that she is not blamed for consulting or not consulting the management at every stage. The Principal has to implement the policies of the trust and should be enabled to do so with dignity. The management should provide the necessary support to Principal, teachers and the other school staff in the performance of their work. The Principal has to be creative and encourage the creative teachers. Parents have a responsibility to interact sensibly with the school. Students should not be pressurised to perform in the school. Education should not be restricted to an academic exercise. The students deserve it. Students’ welfare includes all aspects of schooling such as academics, sports, behaviour, character, personality, punctuality, hygiene, nutrition and co-curricular activities. Students’ welfare should be the main focus of a school. Comprehensive external auditing of school infrastructure should be undertaken more effectively and regularly. The student community is putting up with the defective teaching, lack of personal attention and poor infrastructure offered by schools innocently, trustingly and silently. Is this how we look after the future of our country?