According to John Dewey a famous educational reformer,
The writers’ emphasis on education being life itself is very apt and thought provoking. In any assembly a well educated person can be identified without any effort. Those who are educated in the real sense display a cultured demeanour. They are courteous, well mannered and sophisticated. People wonder where did they have their schooling. I pondered upon the situation prevailing in Delhi. There are some very good schools and there are some not so good. This is applicable to both Govt. and Private schools.
There are many Govt. and Public Schools in Delhi which are doing an excellent job for the cause of Education.This article is not directed towards these schools.
In Delhi the Private schools are known as Public schools, which is a misnomer.People have a craze to admit their children to these so called Public schools. After all what is so special about these schools? The only attraction is that English is taught from KG and Nursery classes. Taking advantage of the public obsession several such schools have mushroomed all over the city.Whether it is in the interiors of the city or rural areas or even in some posh areas, there is no dearth of such schools which can be nomenclated as teaching shops. There are Schools which are located in two or three room tenements,which give the impression of a cow-shed, but they proclaim that they are public schools, providing quality education. We feel amused when we come to know the names of of these schools.Just add the word 'Convent,' to the name and lo and behold a public school is born!! These schools charge exorbitant fees and fleece the gullible public. They do not provide trained and well educated teachers. What kind of teaching can we expect from such teachers? Who are the owners of such schools? There is no society or trust running these schools. The proprietor may be a local Halwai, who has never entered the portals of a school.There are Peons, Drivers, Shopkeepers, Primary school teachers and many more who have taken up the responsibility of providing quality(?) education to the students.
The reason for the multiplicity of so called public schools is due to the ever increasing demand for English. The rickshaw puller, the dhobi, the sweeper, the mason, domestic servant and several others want their children to study English and prefer to send their wards to these schools. I recall that I happened to meet one of the teachers serving in one such school. I enquired how much salary she was drawing. I was stunned to know that she was drawing a salary of 1500 Rs. per month. She told me that there were three teachers in the 'school' and all the three were getting the same salary!!These schools are run for monetary gains and not for any social or national purpose.
The question is what is the solution ? How can such schools be dissuaded from functioning? The govt should provide quality education so that people are weaned away from such schools. Efforts are being made by the govt. to provide free quality education to the masses. For example, In the year 2009 the govt. passed the Right to Education Act.It was implemented in 2010.
According to the Act all the children between the age of 6 to 14 will have a right to be educated. Even the reputed Public Schools were covered within the rules of this Act. It envisaged that it would be mandatory for all public schools to reserve 25% seats for economically backward students. The Act laid down that Govt would reimburse the expenses in the case of such students. This is a social welfare scheme and if allowed to run, it can do wonders in eradicating the demon of ‘money making’ to a great extent.
The Scheme of opening Pratibha Vidyalayas in Govt schools is also directed towards raising the standard of education.It is essential that more such schools should be opened for the benefit of the students.I close with a quotation by Nelson Mandela,"Education is the most powerful weapon,which you can use to change the world."
"Education is not preparation for life; Education is life itself.”
The writers’ emphasis on education being life itself is very apt and thought provoking. In any assembly a well educated person can be identified without any effort. Those who are educated in the real sense display a cultured demeanour. They are courteous, well mannered and sophisticated. People wonder where did they have their schooling. I pondered upon the situation prevailing in Delhi. There are some very good schools and there are some not so good. This is applicable to both Govt. and Private schools.
There are many Govt. and Public Schools in Delhi which are doing an excellent job for the cause of Education.This article is not directed towards these schools.
In Delhi the Private schools are known as Public schools, which is a misnomer.People have a craze to admit their children to these so called Public schools. After all what is so special about these schools? The only attraction is that English is taught from KG and Nursery classes. Taking advantage of the public obsession several such schools have mushroomed all over the city.Whether it is in the interiors of the city or rural areas or even in some posh areas, there is no dearth of such schools which can be nomenclated as teaching shops. There are Schools which are located in two or three room tenements,which give the impression of a cow-shed, but they proclaim that they are public schools, providing quality education. We feel amused when we come to know the names of of these schools.Just add the word 'Convent,' to the name and lo and behold a public school is born!! These schools charge exorbitant fees and fleece the gullible public. They do not provide trained and well educated teachers. What kind of teaching can we expect from such teachers? Who are the owners of such schools? There is no society or trust running these schools. The proprietor may be a local Halwai, who has never entered the portals of a school.There are Peons, Drivers, Shopkeepers, Primary school teachers and many more who have taken up the responsibility of providing quality(?) education to the students.
The reason for the multiplicity of so called public schools is due to the ever increasing demand for English. The rickshaw puller, the dhobi, the sweeper, the mason, domestic servant and several others want their children to study English and prefer to send their wards to these schools. I recall that I happened to meet one of the teachers serving in one such school. I enquired how much salary she was drawing. I was stunned to know that she was drawing a salary of 1500 Rs. per month. She told me that there were three teachers in the 'school' and all the three were getting the same salary!!These schools are run for monetary gains and not for any social or national purpose.
The question is what is the solution ? How can such schools be dissuaded from functioning? The govt should provide quality education so that people are weaned away from such schools. Efforts are being made by the govt. to provide free quality education to the masses. For example, In the year 2009 the govt. passed the Right to Education Act.It was implemented in 2010.
According to the Act all the children between the age of 6 to 14 will have a right to be educated. Even the reputed Public Schools were covered within the rules of this Act. It envisaged that it would be mandatory for all public schools to reserve 25% seats for economically backward students. The Act laid down that Govt would reimburse the expenses in the case of such students. This is a social welfare scheme and if allowed to run, it can do wonders in eradicating the demon of ‘money making’ to a great extent.
The Scheme of opening Pratibha Vidyalayas in Govt schools is also directed towards raising the standard of education.It is essential that more such schools should be opened for the benefit of the students.I close with a quotation by Nelson Mandela,"Education is the most powerful weapon,which you can use to change the world."
Very thought provoking post Ma'am.
ReplyDeleteToday, one can find a school in almost every lane of the city, with the focus on money and not education. Have seen so many people prosper in a short span of time with these schools but the infrastructure or the teachers or the education that is provided here is a big question mark.
Quality teachers to provide quality education is certainly the need of the hour.
You have correctly assessed the situation.Unless Educatoinists have a missionary zeal and dedication.we will never be able to achieve much!
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