Much has been debated about bringing in reforms in education in Meghalaya. The blueprint was prepared by the Meghalaya Parliamentary Alliance (MPA) of 2008. However, this road-map is implemented in the breach! Reforms process in education should start at the lowest level. Primary schools in this state are still a far cry away from what they ought to be. The teachers appointed especially in government schools are, generally neither qualified nor efficient. They are mainly political appointees and this is what has taken education downhill. In private or mission schools primary education is much better but it comes at a cost. But even there, very few teachers are trained to handle children, much less to understand their temperament and the how to deal with them in the classroom and outside it. Teachers in the primary school ought to be sensitive, kind and compassionate. Unfortunately these are rare qualities. They should know that children respond better to love than to punishment. Children are still subjected to military discipline. They are expected to remain compliant and non-questioning and if caught talking to their mates they are subjected to severe punishment. A look at some of the schools in the rural areas of Meghalaya would reveal that they have not evolved from those days of 18th century England when the rod was considered essential as a form of disciplining and where the classrooms are in a decrepit mess, leave alone the toilets.
It is pointless focussing on higher education, which, in any case, is accessed by very few people. Many have to take up a job and supplement the family income by dropping out of high school or after their Senior School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations. Till date the system has not devised a syllabus which would allow a student to discontinue school at Class VIII with a certificate that qualifies him for a vocation/livelihood without being labelled a drop-out. We still consider the SSLC as the qualifying examination. This is not the best method of education in a country where rural poverty is on the rise and the options for those who cannot continue with further education beyond high school are hardly available. In India we seem to cater to a set of defined families. They are those who can pay their children’s school fees, buy their books, uniforms and other necessities. How many can really afford all the above is a good question.
Earlier the system allowed those who had to drop out of school for economic reasons to pursue their studies via evening classes. These have since been abolished for reason best known to policy makers. Morning classes have been introduced but those are not the best options for parents of school going children. These are reforms we need to ensure that education has some meaning to our lives. The rest is just dry and boring administration and teaching a rigmarole!