By Aristotle Lyngdoh
“The purpose of education has changed from that of producing a literate society to that of producing a learning society” Margaret Ammons (1964). Education as a continuing learning process transforms societies to a better one when people become educated and learned.
Just like any other development index, PGI gives us the idea on the status and quality of the education system operating in the state and also where we have gone wrong over the years. These parameters comprise five domains such as (1) Learning outcomes & quality, (2) Access, (3) Infrastructure & Facilities, (4) Equity and (5) Governance Processes. Each domain contains a set of indicators relevant with the assessment of the learning process. And each indicator carries a uniform weight or score point to indicate the level of performance of each educational institution.
Before going further, it is important to have some ideas on the background of schools’ establishment system in the State. Considering how religious endeavour and missions have pioneered school establishments in this State despite their limited resources and where the purpose of education then was driven by the mission and spirit of commitment and dedication to enlighten individuals, this is a great contribution. But with the passage of time, the perception of people towards education seems to have changed radically.
Today, education is more business-oriented and a venture that can generate income quickly. Most institutions in the State too started initially and wholly as private sponsorships by employing manpower available within the vicinity so as to minimize expenditure cost, thereby compromising with the quality and teaching competency. And when these institutions came under government sponsored programs either under SSA or through Grants-in-Aid or as ad-hoc entities the teaching faculty too came under the government payroll but not under any administrative supervision and control. So when they resort to agitations and strikes, no authority in question can reprimand or discipline them. Their performance, discipline and professionalism are outside the coverage of any rule of modern human resource mechanism. Thus, in 2017 a huge exercise was carried out to phase out unqualified teachers unless they complete some basic teacher’s training at least before 2019. Still the situation has not improved much and school children still continue to remain deprived of modern techniques and creativity.
The National Achievement Survey (NAS) was conducted in 2017 across all schools in the country. It also forms the basis of the assessment on learning outcomes and quality for the grading purpose in PGI. The assessment was conducted for students of standard 3, 5 & 8 to assess and evaluate the learning outcomes and quality in core subjects such as Language, Mathematics, Science & Social Science. Unfortunately, the State scored only 126 points out of 180 much below the national average of 140. The percentage of schools that have displayed learning outcomes and quality were also very few. This means that most of the school children are unable to express their understanding in core subjects. Is this not an embarrassing situation? That is why in most cases children are forced to memorize texts even without understanding, just for the sake of writing exams. So, where is teaching competency and managerial efficiency?
With regards to the second domain or access relating to the net enrollment ratio, retention rate, transition rate at primary, upper-primary and secondary level including mainstreaming of dropouts, the State scored the lowest at 53 points out of 80 total points of which the national average is 70. The assessment as per the indicators show that the interests of students is on the decline and fades away as they proceed to the higher classes. Why is it so and how shall we explain this phenomenon? How do we expect the society and state to develop and progress if the younger generation does not participate robustly in the learning process?
The claim that the State is an educational hub in the region and has the best institutions, is absolutely wrong and deceptive. How could we boast about this when in fact the State does not even have a single engineering college or medical college amongst others? On the contrary, this will blind the eyes of everyone from seeing the true picture and will likely affect budget allocation in this sector. Every year between 15,000-20,000 students appear in the secondary board exams, of which 3000-4000 students from privileged categories successfully opt for the science stream at Higher Secondary level. What about the rest and what prevents them from scoring good marks? Is it because of their weakness or the lack of opportunity and understanding on core subjects?
The third domain tells us about the facilities available for students in school such as functional toilets, clean drinking water, science and computer labs, library, etc. and provision of vocational education. Out of 150, Meghalaya scored 87, much below the national average of 122. Perhaps this is also another factor contributing to learning outcomes of students because of lack of exposure on basic scientific facts and phenomena. The picture was different and contrasting from twenty and thirty years ago. We can still recall how the learning experiences in those days were fantastic despite the poor quality of Assam-type building in those days. There were mini science labs, basic science and sports equipment and even if there was none the teachers would always make an effort to get one. Today, we hardly hear and see such kind of effort being made by the school or teachers concerned.
The fourth domain relates to the performance of various categories of students including children with special needs. Here too Meghalaya scored only 128 out of 230 and the national average is 228. This is also another great disappointment and another embarrassment in the context of equality and justice to everyone.
The fifth domain speaks about the overall administration and management of school education. The domain constitutes the maximum score due to the highest numbers of indicators being assigned here. Out of the total 360 points and 268 national average score, Meghalaya could manage only 197 points. As depicted in the report, the recruitment and relocation of teachers lacks transparency and professionalism. Managing Committees are left with no option but to make different kinds of adjustments. There is no doubt a huge shortage of desired qualified personnel in the State for all subjects which is a serious and worrisome situation so what shall we do about this?
While the cost of education has been steeply rising over these years and from an illiterate society at the beginning of the 19th century to a society where educated unemployed persons are also increasing, yet the behaviour and attitude of people in general has not shown any significant improvement. Looking at the behaviour of people especially during election times and how money is the sole criteria in electing a legislator, the habit of opposing essential projects and programmes, and many others, all reveal the nature and quality of education in the State. Improving the quality of education and making education attractive is a collective effort of all stakeholders in the society and also requires a huge investment. Therefore, it makes sense if the entire 120 crore rupee MLA scheme annually be invested in the education sector.