By Nikita Synrem & CR Patricia Hodge
Allow me to tell you an anecdote of a young and wildly ambitious future scholar, still fresh and doe-eyed in her third year at college, who had the tremendous luck to teach a class in a respected school of Shillong. She instead found herself in a walled box stuffed to the brim with sweater clad lads, one of whom, upon being asked, defined a noun as a cow. This den of a classroom, this blackened white-board, this single marker and a cow, in a reputed school which hired a student to teach other students made me wonder then and wonder now, “What of the places outside Shillong’surban, planned and well-funded atmosphere?What of the places where a cow is a living, breathing, mooing noun? ”.It has been many years since that optimistic girl entered those doorsand has since seen things go from bad to worse. Amid all the debates about the rising costs of education, we have forgotten to pay attention to the slow decline in educational standards as my hated grammar book cow slowly takes over.
We in Meghalaya have long prided ourselves on our strong commitment to education, especially school education. Ever since the formulation of the Khasi alphabet in 1842 by Reverend Thomas Jones, education in Meghalaya has become an almost sacred affair. However the truth is that with each passing year the standard and quality of education in Meghalaya has rapidly declined.Research has shown that most schools in the state suffer from financial constraints, lack of infrastructure and basic facilities and need improvement in the quality of education to be imparted. There needs to be greater acquaintance of all the stakeholders with the problems facing the majority of schools in the state, especially with the management of financial and human resources. Equally important is the need to acquaint the people with the problems affecting the state of education in our own state.
A cursory glance at data acquired from various sources reveals some very startling facts, which point to an almost criminal mismanagement of education in Meghalaya.For example,
- According to the DISE (District Information System forEducation), Meghalaya has 56% private unaided schools that are functioning without any girls’ toilet. As of 2015, multiple studies have shown that the lack of toilets is one of the prime reasons for the dropout of children, especially the girl child from the school system.
- Meghalaya has the lowest percentage for schools with drinking water facility in the country at 63.81%.
- Electricity facility in schools in Meghalaya is the third lowest in the country with only 28.54%.
- It has been found that at least 40% of government primary schools in Meghalaya are yet to have drinking water facilities.
- Only 11.74% of schools have been provided with Computer facility in Meghalaya which is the fourth lowest in the country.
- 90% of primary schools in Meghalaya cannot be accessed through proper all-weather roads.
The above statistics reveal a complete breakdown of the management of education in Meghalaya. Is the cause for the breakdown really a result of lack of funding? Meghalaya has been placed under the Special Category states, meaning that Meghalaya receives much of its funding from the Central Government.As of March 2016, only 14.30% of the SSAfunds allocated on education were actually utilized.This clearly indicates that it is really not a question of inadequate funds but more of an issue of mismanagement, lack of governance and accountability and corruption. The education funds were never spent properly.Where indeed is the money spent other than the occasional white washing of the walls and particular school events?Given the immense lack of infrastructure and trained teachers, it is ridiculous that the state cannot properly spend the funds actually allocated for education.
Now with the plan to increase allocation for the North East from Rs. 32,180 crore to Rs. 43,245 crore this ‘non-spending where needed’ might just increase to a whole new level as the state already fails remarkably in properly spending the funds. In fact there are 27 state government schemes which have not been implemented in the state while there are also 10 schemes under the national trust which are yet to be implemented. Just to put things in perspective, in 2015-16, Sikkim spent Rs.59, 791 per child on education while Meghalaya spent only Rs.14, 497 in the same year. (Source: CBGA Report on School Financing).If the mentioned facts are not damning enough, on 3rd January 2018, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against a former Education Minister and other officials on charges of corruption related to the recruitment of teachers in lower primary schools in 2008-2009.
Meghalaya is ranked below the national average in basic infrastructure like provision of drinking water, toilet construction, boundaries, libraries, electricity, computers, playgrounds, computer aided learning and even the provision of hand-wash.(Sources: DISE (District Information System for Education), AISES (All India School Education Survey) 2015-16). With the basic aspect of infrastructure failing to meet reasonable standards, one can only wonder about the quality of education in Meghalaya. Data available on the standards of education reveal what we already suspect. But before we get into how the teaching process can be optimized I think it is fair to talk first about the problems we currently encounter.
- The average number of teachers per school in Meghalaya is lower than the national average.
- 81% of all school teachers were untrained in 2015-16.
- There was a shortage of 1748 primary teachers.
- There were 224 single-teacher schools in 2015-16.
If there is one thing that we all can agree upon it is that you cannot have quality education without quality teachers. The attainment of a degree does not equate with the ability to teach.For the last 3-4 decades, Government schools have employed teachers with low academic achievement, and inadequate pre-service training. For many years eligibility for admission to primary teachers teaching course was 10th pass and after a one-year diploma, these teachers could teach students of 7th and 8th standard. Education is supposed to be directed towards the improvement of the student and it onlymakessense that the teacher should be completely qualified to teach and be completely able to teach. The pedagogy, teaching styles and classroom management techniques have not changed much. Education in our case has never been about the students; it has always been about the teachers. It is not learner-centered even today. Teacher experience, preparation programmes and degrees, certification etc. should be key components inselecting qualified teachers. A part of the education fund should obviously be dedicated to teacher training for the simple reason that we need teachers who can actually teach
If the state of Meghalaya is unable to provide proper training for teachers and ensure an adequate number of trained teachers, there is not much to be expected when it comes to the case of special needs schools. Meghalaya has 20,000 – 25,000 children with special needs, of whom 50 per cent are out of schools.The Meghalaya Policy for the disabled has not been implemented even after ten years of its drafting since 2007.The Shillong Times already published an article on the 4th of July, 2017 in which Sajjad M. Ali, administrator of Dwar Jingkyrmen, a school for special children stated that the school received only 26% of the total fund requirement and that the school is totally dependent on charity. Additionally, quite recently a visually impaired student was denied admission for Ph.D course in NEHU simply because of the lack of facilities for students like her. If a central university cannot be inclusive, not much can be said for the schools and colleges in the state. Meghalaya is yet to reach that stage of inclusiveness where special and general students can be taught together efficiently.
In Meghalaya nearly one lakh students have dropped out from schools over the last four years (2013-2016) according to the Education and Literacy Department.In fact the state dropout rate at the primary level is again, much higher than the national average of 4.1, standing at 9.4 in 2015-2016.Dropout prevention and recovery efforts need to find space in the programme of education. Schools have to focus on keeping students in and. The one size fits all approach that the education system applies to both rural and urban areas, general and special students disregards the problems of inequality, accessibility and only continues to marginalize.
With Meghalaya approaching election season the need for a long-term educational reform should remain high on the agenda. Administrators and planners, as well as people from all walks of life need to introspect deeply and thus arrive at a better understanding of the reasons for our pathetically poor education.The education imparted has lost relevance and credibility and the future of our children is at stake. Only a well- informed and truly concerned citizenship can change things for the better. This article is not written as just a complaint, but also a way of making the citizens of our state proactive and fully immersed in the democratic process. It is about time we actively make ourselves aware of how deep the flaws of corruption have embedded themselves in our system. Instead of accepting things as they are, we need to change. Change will take time, but change is necessary.
(Nikita Synrem & CR Patricia Hodge recently completed their M.A in English from NEHU, Shillong)