By Dr John Parankimalil, SDB
I grew up with an old saying, ‘Good buildings don’t make good schools, good teachers do.’ But today, on the contrary, opulent buildings, sprawling campuses, air-conditioned classrooms, swimming pools, horse-riding, smartly dressed students and teachers, and sky-high fees have become the status symbol of schools.
September 5th is celebrated as Teacher’s Day every year but it does not hold the value it once did. Education has become a business. Education is a commodity on sale. Teaching has become a transaction. Teaching has become profit-oriented. The teachers are becoming increasingly disconnected from their students. The disconnect is growing with the advent of online learning. Today, there are so many companies selling education.
BYJU’s is one such company founded by a teacher in 2011. It has over 115 million registered students. What are they basically teaching the students? Nothing but exam related learning. Children as young as 6 are taught tricks to boost their test scores and its subsidiary WhiteHat Jr is teaching coding to 6 year olds.
Teachers are selling short-cuts to succeed and parents are registering their kids in advance for an online course. A child is being reduced to a “Login ID’. He/she is learning behind a screen. His/her interaction with the teacher is limited to the screen and the course. All they talk about is smart learning and tricks for cracking an exam. The skills that the teachers impart are also limited., like, how to solve a math problem, how to complete a paper on time, which topic to focus on, which topics to avoid, how to revise at the last moment, and how to score the best marks etc.
There is no scope for any emotional bond, let alone intellectual or spiritual bond. There is no scope for an impact. In fact, teachers are leveraging this obsession with grades, and contributing to the toxic competition. They are failing to give enough attention in the class room, and selling the unhealthy practice of private tuitions. Most of the same teachers are also offering coaching at home.
In the midst of such a mad race for elitism and academic brilliance, the soul of education gets drained out. The making of a complete human being endowed with human values, along with academic excellence, and much needed skills have become the biggest casualty of modern education. The syllabus-focused education has almost fallen by the wayside which was earlier one of the noble purposes of school education: making of a person intellectually trained, morally upright, service-minded and socially committed.
At a time when frightening reports about youngsters turning into criminals have become the order of the day, one is forced to ask what is wrong with their upbringing. When chilling news is emanating day after day of children turning to drugs, sex, kidnapping and murder, one has to take a relook at their formation in educational institutions. When the moral fabric is collapsing; respect for others is becoming an alien concept; and classmates are reduced to objects of exploitation, none can turn a blind eye to the alarming scenario. It is time to take a close look at the role that schools and teachers can play in showing the children the right path in life. Here comes the necessity of instilling moral values, along with providing academic knowledge, and life-skills.
Teachers do face a herculean task in this regard. They work under pressure to enhance the academic results of students. Their efficiency and proficiency, is weighed on the basis of academic performance of their students. It is true that they do play a vital role in helping students become successful in career and business. I am not saying that teachers should not focus on academic excellence in a competitive world. But on an equal measure, it is their duty to help their students become good human beings who are assets to the society at large. This has become crucial in today’s India where communal disharmony, religious animosity, ethnic divide and regional imbalances are rapidly raising their heads. Teachers can also help students not to fall into the trap of drugs and related issues, through their role as mentors and guides.
Education used to be a mission; those engaged in it, especially the teachers, lived it with a missionary spirit. But, in today’s world, it has become a mere profession, verging on business. It has gained all the trappings of any other business venture. This changed situation has made campuses and classrooms places for grooming students to become professionals devoid of human values. This lack of value system is the reason for students looking at their peers, and others, without love and respect. This deterioration has to be reversed. The classrooms should become zones of solidarity where students respect and appreciate one another irrespective of caste, religion, region or colour. Teachers should become catalysts of this most needed change.
The writer is Director, Don Bosco Institute of Management Email: [email protected]