Class Room or Timber Depot ?

SK Singh *

It was only the other day when the Education Minister trumpeted so called 'good performance' of government -run schools in the last HSLC examination. He lauded in particular the Tamphasana Girls' (TG) Higher Secondary school for achieving a rare feat of pass pc at 92.36 this year compared to 54.9 in 2018.

His objective was to bring to limelight a kind of a 'claimed-success' story of a handful of schools specially during his reign in the Education Department during the last 2 years of BJP government. Heralding achievement or even attainment is a positive matter; what is distasteful is 'over-patriotism' even where there are some accomplishments.

The TG Higher Secondary School has its own reputation at least among government- run institutions. This feat is not a reckoning of these days; it has a long history of being renowned for decades. So too, the Johnston Higher Secondary School for boys. Those days the few newly set up private schools were nowhere to be compared with these premier government schools.

The best students of those years therefore were admitted to these schools. Good performances of these schools then and even now are therefore near axiomatic; these schools got the best teachers, were provided best facilities over the decades. These glazes have definitely faded over the decades and as yet, they still shine today. Applauding these schools is of course desirable but the authorities should talk more about the lesser- fated schools and how to go about in raising their standards.

He even elaborated on the need for improving proper infrastructure for imparting quality education in general. Why the government fails short of recognizing the second-grade or third institutions and how to improve the standards. For one reason, they are the ones where the families in the lower strata are ordained to go; for the other, they have a rich haul of qualified teachers let loose in wilderness. They need only improve management, creating an atmosphere for study where the teachers go to school and where they teach.

The ground reality however, these days, this rich manpower is not governed or more appropriately not managed. In the result, the teachers do not teach, they are more irregular than regular, absenteeism is high at 25% as found by PRATHAM in several of their ASER surveys and the Principal is either weak or made powerless or both.

What makes government schools perform poor? To refresh our memory which is short anyway, in the recent HSLC examination scores of government schools fair miserably, many striking 0% of pass, some surprisingly scored 100% and on closer scrutiny, these turned to be putting up just 1 student in not far away schools like, Heirangoithong HS and he or she managed to pass. The success rate is astoundingly 100%; a kind of a 'statistical lie'.

Similarly, Ibemcha HS, Khabam, Heigrujam HS, Ch Iboyaima HS, Canchipur HS, on the other hand achieved 0%, the first school had only 1 student who failed and the other sponsored 9 students and all failed. What a miraculous performance and these were one time among the second-rated schools in Imphal. A critical examination of the system, the management, the competence of the teachers etc need to be immediately done. The people, the tax payers have a right to know.

What is more intriguing is how many teachers are teaching in these schools all through just to prepare 1 student or 9 students? The annual budget for one school should be above 50 lakh rupees and just one student could be put up and that too failed. We the public are paying for these schools and for these students; it is too high a time for the authorities to present a 'White Paper' on the status of such schools.

Even while these slanderous reports are streaming in, more astonishing situations are forthcoming. In schools in remote hill areas students are taught in the village bus waiting shed, reason, the roof was blown off last year and was yet to be repaired and more astonishingly, 7 out of 8 teachers had been utilized in other places may be in the state or district HQs. A case in hand is that of Kharou Khunou Government High School in Tengnoupal. The compound has been reportedly turned to a timber-depot for a few influential persons.

Could this happen; the tin roof of the only government school in the village blown off a year back, the school remaining without cover in the rains and sun, play ground turned into private timber go down, one native teacher taking classes in any available covered space?

Where had all the line authorities, the ZEO, the DIs and the AIs gone? How can the solitary teacher teach students anyway, what could be the quality and content of teaching all these years? How do we expect any 'learning' from the students? Now that the Pandora's Box is opened what do the government contemplating to do? The Education Minister should talk on such areas too.

Earlier he philosophized on the imperative need for improving standard under a high-sounding phrase, 'School Phagathansi', covering some 60 existing schools to more complete institutions in terms of teaching faculty, infrastructure, logistics etc to enable these select institutions become role model in teaching and concomitant variables to produce better equipped students.

He even toyed with the idea of attracting committed teachers and threw an open letter to come forward to join such select schools. If the going by the norm and practice prevalent in Meitei Leibak is any guide, not many, I repeat, not many, may be enthused to come forward. Despite some of these hiccups, the intention of the Minister Education is appreciable.

This writer had too in the distant past as Secretary to the government in the Education Department dreamt of setting up one Model School each in select constituencies. These schools should be in Primary, Middle stages to start with.

The premise was the consideration that one assembly constituency in the valley would not be far too big a geographical area where a Primary school with reasonable facilities would suffice providing facilities for learning primary standard with some degree of learning. That way child from poor families who could not go to more expensive private schools could settle for government run schools and as yet, get basic Minimum Level of Learning (MLL).

What happened was and perhaps still is, government schools in particular primary and middle classes did not and still fail to impart basics. For one, the facilities were non-existent; for the other, teachers did not teach either because they were too incompetent or too irregular or more probably both. In the result, students from government schools came out after class V without the basic minimum level of learning.

All said and done what should a boy or a girl on completion of primary schooling or passing class V on the average learn? The prescription is they should have understanding of whole numbers and numerals, the normal skill for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division etc. They should also be familiar with unitary method, averages, simple money problems, profit and loss, simple daily life experiences on length, breadth, weights and volumes, fractions, geometrical shapes and figures etc, etc.

Similarly under language and science minimum levels are prescribed. All these put together is what is repeatedly emphasized as Minimum Level of Learning (MLL). And any student completing standard V should at the least possess a reasonable level of this prescribed syllabus before joining standard VI. Note the phrase 'MLL'; not the entire 'Material'.

And what is the ground reality as far as most students in government run schools? Sadly a majority of the pupils lack basic knowledge. According to an independent NGO, PRATHAM conducting ASER survey, in 2016 finds that 53% of Class V students could not comprehend Class II text; 46% could not solve simple subtraction of two digits, without borrowing, the simplest ever. And these boys and girls would be entering the domain of higher knowledge field in Class VI and above.

And for many a family Class V education would be the final level of schooling; some may be leaving even before reaching level V. He or she may not have the luxury of joining Class VI to VII level of study. Imagine how these would face the rigor of living with that scant level of learning?

In private-run schools some semblance of the system could be seen. In government-run schools things were different. Reasons could be elaborated. What was considered was for putting in position some, a few of them at the least which should be able to impart basic minimum level of learning as the pupils leave primary schools and were at the threshold of voyaging into middle level classes.

All said and done, we look forward that too eagerly to a new 'avatar' of these 60 schools where teachers do their job, 'teach and only teach', nothing more, nothing less.