By Aristotle Lyngdoh
There has been much talk and discussion on how to improve the system of education in our state and also to provide quality education that will cater uniformly to the educational development of all the children of the state. This is in fact, the need of the hour in order to bring our children at par with the rest of the country which as of now is below the national standard. The other criteria that reflects the quality of education in our state is the difficulty faced by the students from the MBOSE background to compete and qualify in the top category of the National Entrance Examinations like JEE or NEET etc., which are compulsory these days for admission to any technical and specialized course.
On the other hand it is very sad and disappointing to see that as a state we do not have a specific and precise curriculum of our own except a syllabus that we often see in some textbooks of the State Board. Therefore when the teaching job is reduced to completing certain chapters for a particular standard, then it become simplistic and anyone can be a teacher just to complete the syllabus, irrespective of whether or not students have gained understanding and learned anything. The situation is more horrible to imagine for those in rural areas where primary teachers are either matriculate or Calls XII passed only. The statistics compiled by ASER shows a very disappointing situation where only 65% of the students in Std 3-5 can read a Std 1 text and only 34% can do subtraction. In Std 6-8 only 70% can read a Std 2 text and 19% can do division. Further, as per MBOSE website, in 2016 the total number of students who appeared in SSLC examination is 50,126 (both regular & private) but the pass percentage is only 54%. Coming to the HSSLC segment of the same year, 21,083 students appeared in Arts stream but only 1,198 secured first division. Yet another disturbing factor will arise because only 2184 students are enrolling in Commerce stream and 3586 students in Science stream (figures as per 2016 data). What about the rest and what will they do? Therefore, there is an urgent need to reform the educational system of our state beginning from the grass root level.
From the above figures, it is apparent that the numbers of technical and specialized professionals are declining over the years and this is not a good sign for the state where there is already a shortage of local technical experts. If the situation continues, then the gap therein has to be filled by experts from outside. The sole reason for this huge slide of students towards Arts stream is probably because they have failed to grasp the basics of foundation right from primary level. This is a major deterrent for the students to acquire understanding about the principles and concept of the subject matter as they go to higher classes. Further, from this category maximum numbers of them will end up teaching here and there just for the sake of getting a livelihood. If this is the case, which is in fact a real phenomenon, then one can imagine what sort of foundation will be imparted to the children of the upcoming generation?
When parents send their child to school for the first time, they have high expectations and dreams that their son or daughter will one day achieve something significant. But as their time in school drags on most students end up earning labels of being less-intelligent or dull or unfit for the course of studies until they finally drop out. This thing should not have happened if proper and clear foundations are imparted to them in the way it should be, by dedicated and trained professionals.
Only if teaching is a vocation can the mission be accomplished. But if it is just another option for livelihood, then one teacher will be doing incalculable harm to batches of students for 30 years or more of teaching tenure. Only when teaching is a calling can the teacher sustain himself/herself through every situation and trial irrespective of the different types of pupils he/she handles. Building and imparting foundation or making the children understand a topic is not confined to the four walls of the classroom. Learning and comprehension can happen in various learning environments and here comes creative teaching and imaginative pedagogy. I am amazed to learn about the techniques of one guy from South India who was teaching arithmetic for primary level in one of the KVS School (Kendriya Vidyalaya) here in our state. He used a simple technique while teaching the concept about ascending and descending numbers by taking them to the staircase. He demonstrated with numbers on the steps that climbing the steps is ascending and coming down the steps is descending and in five minutes the whole class comprising students from the Khasi, Garo, Bihari, Nepalese and Bengali communities could clearly understand the concept without any difficulty. Here I realized that language is not a barrier but the lack of techniques is what one should be more worried about.
Yes there may be talented and gifted teachers but they are only a handful and that too after long experience. But in general the creativity of a person cannot just emerge unless that person is well trained and exposed to various learning environments. Building a strong foundation right from childhood when the child is at the formative years and the mind is receptive is something that our leaders in the government have never thought of or prioritized. If we can come up with a new education policy, then building a strong foundation right from the pre-primary and primary school levels should be a major thrust of the policy, and I am sure that by the time these kids complete the tenth or twelfth standard they can easily clear any type of competitive entrance examinations with good ranking.
It is high time the society realizes that teaching is a specialised profession and not just an employment avenue or a livelihood. It is the teacher’s onus and privilege to make the children more enlightened and equipped with the life skills to handle their own future. With the present form of education, school children are structured to imitate and copy what that has been dictated just so they can pass their exams. The opportunity for them to reason and express their learning in a constructive environment is totally absent. Another challenge that may create further confusion in the learning–teaching atmosphere is when there is an attempt to introduce religious and philosophical doctrines pertaining to a particular religion. I don’t think this is appropriate to impose philosophical doctrines to school children because education and monastery or shrines are totally two different aspects of life. Education is interactive and productive while religion is one-sided and personal.