By Dalariti Nongpiur
How can I be sitting here and not be in awe at what is happening at Jantar Mantar? How can I not marvel at their anger? In times when public relations and influencers have replaced governance and policy makers, to witness the unmasking of a regime that hides behind nationalism and false glory is something that makes me hungry for dissent. It leaves me in a state of euphoria, and I cannot get enough of it. I want to sing out my protest. I want to shout slogans. I want to be a part of this. And I can be a part of this. We all can. We don’t need to be in the national capital to voice our protest. We can bring it here – to Meghalaya. Where clouds whisper. Maybe it’s time we stop whispering. Let’s scream out loud. Let’s stir up a storm, and also demand accountability for the state of affairs our state education system is in.
Last year I visited a remote village in one of the districts in the Khasi Hills and camped there for three nights. There was a lower primary school there – a small two-roomed, one-floor building that catered to a bunch of children from the village. There was one assigned teacher, and since she was not from the same village, she made the journey up and down everyday from her village to the school – or so they would have it be. Since it was during the monsoon and this particular village was off-road and only accessible by 4×4, the teacher did not attend school throughout our visit. The children still went to school and were tutored by the assigned midday meal cook.
Now in a situation like this, who is accountable?
This year, Meghalaya registered a significant jump on the Union Government’s performance grading Index (PGI) in school education. Now what is the PGI? The PGI evaluates school education across all states and Union Territories using a 1,000-point scale across six domains: Learning Outcomes and Quality, Access, Infrastructure & Facilities, Equity, Governance, and Teacher Education & Training. Meghalaya made a 124-point jump from last year and this is apparently impressive. There has been an improvement in all domains especially in governance. The one thing that remained the same though, is the learning outcome & quality – the most important domain. We’re still at the bottom.
So if according to data, proper governance is in place, who do we hold accountable for the poor learning outcome and quality? Let me give you a few options.
· The schools
· The teachers
· The parents
· The students
· The private tutors
· Others (if so, who?)
Once upon a time in Shillong, a little child started Kindergarten in a government school and s/he was immediately seen as different and the teachers tried to the best of their outdated capabilities to help her/him learn, but it did not happen. S/he just did not respond to their methods. So it fell onto the parents to teach her/him and the mother accepted that challenge. She studied her/him, how s/he learned, how s/he read and what s/he liked and disliked. She read articles and spoke to others with similar experiences. She slowly integrated a child who learned differently into a teaching and learning system s/he did not understand and one that did not understand her/him in return.
The child somehow just about fits into the system now – like a piece of puzzle forcefully moulded, bent into submission. In this child’s experience, there was a promise of a special educator, and it remained a promise – broken and silenced. Her/his parents are well educated so s/he got the help and support needed, but what if the parents did not have the capability or the capacity? What would have happened to that child? Would s/he have dropped out of school by now? Would s/he have been just another statistic whose desire to learn this one-size-fits-all system slowly renders non-existent? Why are our schools not inclusive?
Who do we hold accountable for instances like these?
What of our high dropout rates? What of our transition and retention rates? What about children in remote villages? Are there schools for them or are they to migrate to the nearest place where schools exist? And even if they did, will there be seats for them there?
So yes, the cockroaches have infected me. With their “audacity” to rise up and demand accountability; with their questions and their lack of faith in our policy makers (because policy is where it matters most – policy and its implementation); but most importantly with their solidarity and their belief that they will change things. And that gives me hope. Because change is exactly what we need.
