By Albert Thyrniang
The poor MBOSE, SSLC results were quite a shock and attracted attention from the press and the public. This daily had two editorials in three days, one analysing underwhelming results and the other summarising the cumulative reasons for worst performance in five years. Letters to the editor had diversified opinions.
Apart from the 10 zero pass schools there are 45 schools which recorded 25% or less pass percentage and 14 schools with 30% or below. Altogether 69 schools had a 30% and below pass percentage. Another revealing figure is that out of 71 schools with the initials ‘St.’ only 3 schools secured pass percentage in the 45% range, 3 in the 60% range and 2 between 70-73%. All others had 75% plus. Most scored between 80-99% with 14 of them scoring the perfect 100% pass.
It is a fact that majority of parents send their children to government funded schools as a last resort. Parents who can afford, choose to admit their children to private schools. We all know very well that children of ministers are not in government schools. They are in private English medium schools, probably doing CBSE or ICSE Boards. When the results were declared in Assam, a minister posted the 80% plus results of his two children on Twitter. Both were studying in a posh ICSE school. Children of MLAs, politicians, bureaucrats, government employees and government teachers themselves are not in government schools. In towns you will easily find domestic worker walk to government schools while children of that household are driven to private schools.
So the pathetic results and the general poor quality of education in the state do not pain the above section of the society. Therefore, no overhaul will happen; no radical reforms will take place, no decisive action will be forthcoming and little improvement will be visible. The ‘haves’ in the society have rather a laissez-faire attitude towards the unjust educational scenario so long as their own children get reserved seats in medical, engineering and other professional courses.
Out of compulsion the State Education Minister expressed distress at the 50% failure. He assured a detailed report on the schools that secured zero pass percentage. But he also revealed that the recommendations of a Committee that was set up last year for Garo Hills were not implemented. What are the recommendations? Why were the recommendations not implemented? How are we to believe that this year’s findings will be taken note by the Government? With all the five districts securing 35% marks and below, Garo Hills needs painful actions.
The threat of the Education Minister to withdraw affiliation and/or stop government funding to the ten dubious adhoc, deficit or government schools which scored a nil was already rebuffed by the Chief Minister who favours pampering the non-performing schools. In Assam when 17 schools recorded zero pass percentage Education Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma declared their closure with immediate effect. In Meghalaya public money will continue to flow into the pockets of the under-performing schools.
Seven of the ten schools are from the plain belts. The area which was infamous for mass copying for a price, is now bringing disrepute to themselves. It is now in the public domain that these schools are highly politicised and are busy with court cases than educating their students. Students will benefit best if the Government takes over these schools for at least 10 years.
The ills in the educational system are no secret. The issue is the refusal to act for political reasons. Take for example the high absenteeism of teachers in government schools at all levels. The Government is well aware of the negligence of teachers. What steps have successive governments taken to stem this criminal action? Has the Government put in place a monitoring system to force unscrupulous teachers to perform their duties? Are Additional District School Education Officers (ADSEOs) told to make regular visits to Lower Primary (LP) Schools? Are DSEOs made mandatory to visit Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools regularly? Is the DSEL directed to follow up the inspections? Does the Education Secretary further examine the monitoring reports? Does the Minister make sure that genuine monitoring is done and not only in paper? Has any errant teacher been taken to task for being irregular? A surprise visit by DCs instils fear but after a week its business as usual.
There might have been cases when actions were initiated but after these unscrupulous teachers approach their MLAs or ministers, complaints are dropped. Such teachers also bribe officers to get away scot free. Illiterate and uneducated parents around schools are not empowered to go after unprincipled teachers who get pay without work.
The failure to check the attendance of teachers is the main reason for poor learning. LP teachers promote their children to class VI without the ability to read single syllable words and do single digit addition, subtraction and multiplication. Upper Primary teachers send their students to class IX without teaching them the basic language and arithmetic skills or the three R’s, namely, reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic. Secondary teachers ‘prepare’ their candidates for SSLC examinations only to end up unsuccessful.
Political interference and corruption in teachers’ appointment is an open secret. In fact, every government job is for a price. The Education Scam involving the former Education Minister and the then Director of Education is one case that came to light. A DSEO once narrated to this writer the endless calls from politicians, higher officers and others, known and unknown, prior and post interviews for post in deficit schools. To put an end to this malpractice the Government should conduct interviews in camera with audio recording mandatory.
In a letter to the editor a person, presumably a teacher, squarely blamed students for failures! He claims students are least interested and don’t care to study. Therefore, teachers are helpless. This statement is merits condemnation. It is the job of the teachers to inspire and motivate students. They are paid for it. Teachers who feel helpless and are unable to make their students pass, must quit. There is no point in being there. Why are teachers in private schools with much less remuneration producing far better results than teachers in government and aided schools with a much higher pay?Job security with assured automatic rise in pay scales irrespective of performance is killing education in the state.
Parents may also be ill-equipped to encourage their wards to do well but teachers have to step up and perform their responsible roles. If parents do their part the teachers’ role will be minimal. Unfortunately this is not the case in our generation. So the teachers have to double their efforts. Much kudos have been showered on the schools which dominated the top 10 positions in HSSLC, Science, Commerce and Arts every year but fail to repeat the feat in SSLC. Does it mean that students of the prestigious institutions are naturally gifted or have parents who afford private tuitions? Does it mean that the credit goes to the parents and not to the school and the teachers?
This year, the same school did not record cent percent pass in Science, Commerce, Arts or SSLC. If teachers are able to produce top 10s at will, why is it that they could not make ‘poorer’ students pass? Could it be that parents of these unsuccessful students are less privileged?
This is for a fact. In a rural school all the Plus 2 students scored 40% marks and below in SSLC (those who do well rush to towns). But due to regular classes, insistence on regular attendance by teachers, regular tests and practice examinations the school produced 100% pass in HSSLC with some in first division, many in second division and the rest in third division. This is how dedicated and committed teachers can script success stories. Unfortunately these stories are not highlighted in the media.
As COVID-19 is yet to hit its peak, education and other sectors will go downhill. With half of the year gone by due to the pandemic, 2020 might be a zero academic year. While children with smart-phones, tablets, laptops and desktops linked to internet by 4G continue to learn, learning for children of parents of Lumsyiap who have to battle against coronavirus and floods, children of vendors, daily wage earners and farmers who can barely survive has come to a halt. Next year the results might be worse and those affected the most are the marginalised.
Education in Meghalaya needs short term and long term solutions. Long term challenges are improvement in infrastructure, improving communication, streamlining existence of diversified categories of teachers, appointing qualified teachers, etc. Short term solutions are remedial classes and setting in motion a supervision system to weed out teachers’ absenteeism. The rot in education is systemic and complex. We can’t solve all of them at one go. But the reform has to start somewhere. Reforming the educator himself/herself might be the most credible starting point.
(Email: thalbert@rediffmailcom)