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Let Education in 2015 Turn a Person Into Personality
The change of government in 2014 generated an environment of
unprecedented expectations all around. One expects reforms in education
would get due priority. In 2015, parents of every child studying in
government schools would expect a better school environment, full quota
of teachers, genuine mid-day meals and regularity and punctuality in the
school functioning. Migrant labours in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon,
Noida, Greater Noida and other real estate ‘heavens’ would expect their
children, particularly girls, go to school. Those whose children are
getting education in high-fee charging public schools may not be aware
of the magnitude of the problem that vast majority of families confront
in getting a functional school with full quota of teachers and basic
amenities. When the Supreme Court directs the government of Uttar
Pradesh to complete the recruitment of 72,825 teachers in primary
schools within six weeks, it indicates how callous the nation is about
the education of children dependent on sarkari schools. This recruitment
process is for over four years. One would like the Central government
and state/UT governments to come together and assure the nation that
special recruitment drives shall be conducted to post professionally
equipped teachers in every school in adequate proportion by the end of
July 2015. Further, that the process of recruitment shall be
transparent, corruption-free, without political interference, and that
the basic principles of recruitment shall be strictly adhered to. There
is no use lamenting the low levels of learner attainments when the state
is not discharging its fundamental obligation of appointing regular
teachers as per the mandated teacher-taught ratio.
One expects
that copying in examinations shall be eliminated, and that the new breed
of ‘solvers’ shall not be allowed to flourish and play havoc with the
future of young persons who pass their examinations with high
marks/grades with their ‘help’. One would like to pray to the examiners
of ‘practicals’ to do their job honestly. These are seemingly small
expectations, but could visibly transform the ailing education system.
For decades, 6 per cent of GDP allocation to education has been assured
by practically every government, but never implemented. Will the new
government move in this direction? It could, say within the next three
years, if not immediately. It would boost quality in education at every
stage and hopefully energise the much-neglected sector of quality
research and innovations. The President of India, immediately after
taking over, convened a meeting of all the Vice-Chancellors of Central
universities and exhorted them to fill in the vacant posts within next
six months. One wishes this task is completed by mid-2015. Serious
reforms are necessary in the appointment procedures of V-Cs and also in
the promotion norms of academic faculty in higher education. The system
of Academic Performance Index (API) has resulted in lowering standards
and needs to be scrapped. Innumerable ‘national seminars’ are being
funded and sub-standard materials published as papers and books to get
additional points in the API calculation. University systems are
perceived as centres of excellence and models of value-based
institutional functioning. University teachers are supposed to be role
models for the young of India. No one would like a single case of sexual
harassment being reported from such hallowed precincts. None would like
to receive reports on plagiarism, nepotism or financial scandals from
educational institutions.Finally, one expects education to be
steered and imparted by men and women of exemplary character and
commitment. Only such persons can inculcate and nurture moral, ethical
and humanistic values among the young, and transform education into a
‘man-making process’ and a ‘person’ into ‘personality’.
Mahabharata
says in Shanti Parva that the “teacher leads from humanity to
divinity”. The strife-torn world needs education imparted by such
teachers. Shall we see real transformation of the teacher preparation
process to move towards good quality education?
