By TFL Mawlong
We live in a culture that shuns critical thinking. This has always been the case, even within the four walls of our classrooms. Though no teacher denies this, students are becoming smarter. Ironically, every teacher consciously assumes it is the students’ fault for the bad academic performance. And then, time passes. As the economy advances, priorities shift. Teachers unconsciously recognize that the teaching method that once seemed reasonable has become archaic. But the flawed method is too convenient to abandon.
Years ago, our teacher asked a friend of mine why he didn’t write down notes while they were being dictated. “What is the point, sir? Every equation, every line is exactly as it is in this book,” my friend responded. Our teacher immediately escorted him out of the classroom. Then, two years ago, one brilliant student said to me, “Sir, we skip classes because he [teacher] only tells us fairy tales more than half the time.” I later learned that, daily, this college teacher derives job satisfaction from boasting about his sons’ and daughters’ academic achievements. As for teaching, he would only superficially and bookishly discuss the lessons before handing out the Xeroxed notes. In a decade, nothing appears to have changed!
The change has been so insignificant, except, of course, in the infrastructure. Tuition fees as well have universally risen by over 500 percent on average in the last 20 years, despite inflation rising by only 267.23 percent. Is there a corresponding improvement in education? No! On the contrary, the quality of education has deteriorated! So, while education in mainstream India is constantly developing, looking at Meghalaya feels like entering a “Parallel Universe,” where education is notoriously slow to progress and adapt, as evidenced by every report (PGI, ASER, Oxfam, and NIRF) and of course the society’s overall backwardness.
There are far too many bright and motivated students who are underserved. Too many students are having their confidence and creativity shattered by a poor educational experience; even many successful students admit to receiving high scores despite not learning much. Ours is a society that dashes the dreams of many talented students’ and lavishly rewards rote-learners both during and after their studies. So, as a society, how do we accept the loss of talent being squandered?
Perhaps we don’t think it’s important to be concerned about other people’s abilities. But, comrade, each of us has a stake in our collective education. That has always been the case since prehistoric times. Who knows when or where brilliance will strike? There could be a young boy in your neighbourhood who has the potential to solve the Universe’s mystery. Perhaps a cobbler’s daughter in the outskirts of Shillong’s might have the potential to discover a cancer cure. Perhaps there is a farmer’s son in Smit Village who might have incredible insights into the farming technology. Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, by depriving them of opportunity, we squander their abilities before they even finish school. By “opportunity” here it doesn’t just mean the chance to attend schools or colleges. It also means enjoying a good educational experience. As a society, how do we justify not offering those children a world-class education?
Worse, besides providing very little learning, we actively teach “passivity” and “discourage critical thinking” by having students simply sit while only the teachers speak. And, rather than valuing truth and challenging lies, we teach “lying” and “downgrade integrity.” We inflate internal marks to ensure a higher pass percentage, and we manipulate the institution’s report to highlight our “on-paper-only” or “perfunctory” programmes. Do you think this is healthy?
What are the consequences of this “educational disorder”? Despite infrastructure improvements, the misalignment between what education is and what we deliver worsens. And it is this that actively sustains Meghalaya’s “backwardness and poverty.”
To address this tragedy, perhaps we can do something. First and foremost, it is prudent to evaluate and re-evaluate ourselves regularly before national agencies evaluate us. There are some non-profit government-supported educational institutions that, despite the support they receive, are doing a great disservice to Meghalaya. There should be a policy to review the performance of deficit schools and colleges every 2 or 3 years. And to incentivize quality teaching, the policy should provide for the unequivocal withdrawal of financial support from the constantly underperforming deficit schools or colleges.
Second, we must do away with the policy of making B. Ed certificate a universal requirement for recruitment. I am not anti-B.Ed. However, because of this ill-conceived and politically motivated policy, we are losing world-class individuals who do not want to waste time and money on certificates but who could otherwise be world-class teachers. The requirement of a B.Ed certificate to apply for a teaching job accentuates the anxiety to get a certificate, and then a job. The certificate takes precedence over who you are, and your talent (or lack thereof) becomes irrelevant. That being said, aggressive implementation of in-service capacity-building programs (such as the NISHTHA program) should be given more importance.
Third, we need to rethink how we teach in the classroom. In this age of information revolution, rote-learning is obsolete and critical thinking is no longer optional. We must educate all teachers and principals on the fact that simply depositing knowledge like money in the banking system is not how we nurture the mental abilities of students. The problem of poor educational experience will not arise if every teacher makes a genuine effort to help students gain an intuitive understanding. Every student, regardless of which school or college they attend, would have a fulfilling educational experience.
Fourth, Meghalaya should re-imagine the examination system. The flawed examination system is a silent factor that catalyzes the entire decrepit educational system. For example, during the pandemic, this rote-learning system rendered the NEHU’s open-book-online exam pointless. Students consequently feel it is pointless to study. If it’s a test of critical thinking, an open-book-online exam will suffice because students can’t just copy answers from the book or notes – they’d need a certain level of understanding to write the answer. The best in the world always have an open-book section of their exam. A student can bring as many books as he wants to the exam hall, but the questions are analytical, application, or problem types, and the answers are not in textbooks.
To conclude, nothing significant can be accomplished in Meghalaya until we reconsider the flawed policies, re-imagine the examination system, and, most importantly, reform classroom teachings.
([email protected]. The author’s views are personal.)