It goes without saying that the condition of government schools in Zodawn is deplorable. That the government schools are in dire straits and in need of urgent reforms is an undeniable fact. Much have been said and countless efforts have been made in the past for the reform of these schools in Zodawn. But all efforts towards that end prove to be futile and a solution to the problem is still illusive. I don’t have a panacea for it either. So my current discourse will be about the private schools in Lamka and the need for reforms in the teaching methodology of these institutions.
Urbanisation is the trend everywhere in the world today and we, too, are not left far behind. The “well-to-do” or “better-off” (for lack of another word) from the Zodawn villages, migrated to Lamka in search of greener pastures. One of the contributing factors is the availability of good private schools in Lamka. Because all parents, from the illiterates to the most educated, strive to give their children the best education that they can afford. The mass migration from villages to Lamka town and the deplorable condition of the government schools have led to the mushrooming of a plethora of private schools in and around Lamka town. These private schools are doing a commendable job and have also become a source of employment for many people. Before offering my critique on these schools, I would like to clarify that I have great respect for them and I, too, am a product of the private school system. Whatever I have become today, I owe it to the private schools that I had attended.
My first point of criticism is that private schools in Lamka promote and glorify the system of rote learning or spoon-feeding. During my days at St.Paul’s Institute, one of the best schools in Lamka, this system of rote learning was highly prevalent. It would have been the same in all other schools and I believe this system is continued even now. Notes were given even in Class X and we were made to “learn by-heart” these notes. During exams, high scores were assured if one can reproduce these notes verbatim. It is my firm believe that learning by rote or mugging up of facts just before the exams should be shown the door immediately. A teacher should never encourage learning by rote. Spoon feeding is not in the best interests of the students in the long run. In fact, I believe that notes should not be given to the students, at least from Class-IX. Students should be made to prepare their own notes and the teacher’s role in note making should confine to checking the notes prepared by the students and suggesting improvisations.
Secondly, students are not encouraged to raise queries and there is little or no interaction between the teachers and students during classes. Teaching is usually a one-sided affair, the teacher doing all the talking and the role of the students confined to mere listening. Students who ask too many questions were ridiculed, made fun of and not appreciated, let alone encouraged by most teachers. Education should make you more humane, inculcate a spirit of enquiry and a thirst/hunger for knowledge. A teacher’s job is to try to inculcate a spirit of enquiry, curiosity and interest in the subject so that the student is motivated to explore the subject further. Once you arouse curiosity and interest of a student in a particular subject, the rest is as good as done.
Thirdly, a school should have a library where students can read and explore books beyond the prescribed school text books. There is so much emphasis on school text books and scoring high marks in exams. Reading newspapers, magazines and other books of general interest should be encouraged and inculcated from a very young age. Wide reading broadens your horizons. Focusing only on school textbooks narrows your outlook and stands in the way of the full development of the personality. Mastering only your subject will do you no good unless you want to become a researcher or a lecturer/teacher. In today’s competitive world, one has to be master of one (master of two if you want to go through civil services) and jack of all trades. Most of us study to get a job, and especially in competitive exams, learning by rote or mastering only one subject will never be of much help. You have to be aware of what happens around you and have opinions on all important current issues. That can be gained only by reading newspapers and magazines, and that too more time should be given to editorials and opinion columns. A school can play a role towards this end by having a library with a good collection of newspapers, magazines and books of general interest. I firmly belive that one of the reasons why in today’s competitive world, we are lacking behind others is our emphasis on learning by rote and our focus only on school textbooks.
Fourthly, there is little emphasis on extra-curricular actitivties. Extra-curricular activities, whether fine arts, sports, debates, quizzes, etc should be given more emphasis. These type of activities prepare a students for the real work-life and helps in the development of the whole personality of the students. Also, every school should have a career counselor or simply a counsellor who will attend to the queries of the students regarding their careers, aims and aspirations. If this is not feasible, at least one or twice a year, career seminars should be held and career counsellors and experts/eminent personalities or alumni who have made a mark in various fields should be invited to present papers and answer the queries of the students. Also, it would be very good if schools have classes for social, environmental and political awareness classes so that our students would turn out to be more caring towards the society and make better contribution for the good of the society.
My last point I sincerely wish that private school in Lamka will also introduce the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Evaluation of students should be a continous and year-long affair. I have always found it ridiculous that the fate of a student is judged by one year-end examination. What if a very bright student suddenly fall ill or because of tragedies in his family, could not attend the year-end examination? Should all the hard work, time and money spent by that student be allowed to go waste because of circumstances beyond his control? I was on the verge of suffering from the same fate when I was in Class XII at Rayburn College. During the selection examination for the Council Exams, I fell ill and could not appear for all the papers. I was dejected, thinking that one year of my life had gone down the drain, just because I had the misfortune of falling ill at that “opportune moment”. But fortunately for me, I could sit for the Council exams despite not having appeared in all the papers. Every test and every exam should be counted for the final evaluation so that a student should not ignore any test or exam. This will make the student master his subjects very well.
These suggestions does not need much financial investment. Even for the library thing, I believe that there will be people, especially the alumni, who will be very much willing to contribute money, text books and gift magazine/newspaper subscriptions,etc. Let’s hope that these suggestions are given heed by the management of our private schools, for the future of our students, for our better tomorrow and for our society. All it needs is a change in the way of our thinking, a change in our mindset.
