The Voice of People Party (VPP) spokesperson, pleads for the continuance of the Deficit System of Grant-In Aid to schools, arguing that the arrangement as a private-public partnership model has worked over the decades. Myrboh laments that government run institutions are known to be laggards as there is no system for holding teachers accountable no matter how poor the teaching-learning outcomes. In fact, the heart of the matter as far as educational outcomes in Meghalaya is concerned is that there are no measurable yardsticks for teacher efficiency and delivery. Once a teacher is appointed, he/she hangs on for close to 25-30 years and only the students know how much they hate a particular subject because the teacher lacks specific communicate skills. This aspect has never been addressed because the era of strict school inspections has all but vanished.
When too many students fail in a particular subject should the school/college authorities not do some soul-searching to find out the root causes? How can one teacher hang on for decades without producing results simply because a system has not been developed to measure teacher efficiency and the harm caused by permanency of tenure? While the case of urban schools could be somewhat different, that of rural Meghalaya is in a pathetic state. In some universities today, student feedback is considered integral to repairing whatever deficiencies there are in teaching-learning outcomes. But what about schools, especially primary schools? When parents are not the main stakeholders in education and are diffident about expressing what their children feel about a particular teacher for fear of being victimised, the system is bound to fail.
Teacher feedback from students is a norm in the west. Students give their feedback which can be both negative and positive. This helps the teacher improve his/her teaching methods and even try out new methods which could be improving communication skills which is one of the most important skills that a teacher needs to have. When students give positive feedback the teacher is enthused to do better and improve his/her teaching skills. In the case of younger students, their parents actually need to engage with teachers frequently. Parents who believe that dropping the kids to school and picking them up after school hours is their only duty have already failed their parenting test. Parents need to take interest in their children’s studies and even have conversations about how their day at school has been. It is only then that the child might open up and say things that could inform the parents that they need to engage with the teacher about their child. Our education system is faulty in that every child is treated like an automaton who is given the same teaching when what is needed for some children is a different approach. It is here that most parents end up sending their kids for private tuition where there are fewer students and the child gets special attention.The education system in Meghalaya and the country itself needs rigorous repair, nay a complete overhaul, but that requires courage to face facts. Unfortunately, governments choose to live in denial.
