Seeking Quality for Education

editorial:
Education is being billed as a priority area for governmental assistance with ‘quality’ as the watch word. It is heartening for Sikkim to learn that education is receiving a relook, the challenge now will be ensure that the appraisal is frank and forthright and the course correction effective. The density of schools in Sikkim leaves no room for complaint and the free textbooks and uniform scheme of the government ensures that at least the tools required to remain in school are in place. Schemes like the mid-day meal are also pegged as incentives to keep students in school, but the only effective incentive will be the quality of education that is imparted in the classrooms, not the quality of food served during breaks. That said, enrolment is handsome in Sikkim’s schools and kids here can complete education if they so desire. What is necessary to ensure is for the schools to groom the students, not just prepare them to pass their board exams. There is no prescribed set of do’s and don’ts by which this can be achieved, but a good place to begin would be to offer respect and provide inspiration. Respect for the students and their education and inspiration for the teachers and their responsibilities.

There is much in the education system of the country and the State which can be improved, but what is important to bear in mind is to first get everything that is already in place to perform to its potential. When one seeks respect for students, it is with the end result of these children growing up into self-respecting and confident citizens themselves. This possibility is denied them when their school infrastructure is allowed to waste away, when basic amenities like clean toilets and drinking water are either not provided or not maintained, when they are allowed to complete entire terms without adequate delegation of teachers. The panchayats now have a say in education and school management committees have been incorporated everywhere. It would not be a bad idea to require every panchayat and SMC to release a school update to the media every month, including the status of teacher deployment and health of other infrastructure in the schools. The problem is that there is no embarrassment felt even when such obvious failures as inadequate deployment of teachers is played out in public by protesting parents or students. It is obviously because the system does not prioritise respect enough and officers see themselves as dispensing favours, not public service.

For a long while now, all blame for everything that ailed education in Sikkim has been heaped on the teachers. This is unfair because even if many of them are casual towards their work and irresponsible in their tasks, it is so because the super-structure of the department allows such unreliability to continue. If the system allows itself to be played, should those who abuse it be the only ones shouldering the blame? What is important now is for the government and the department to inspire the teachers. The lavish pay hike is fine, training always welcome and with the right attention paid to physically developing and maintaining schools as centres of learning, the inspiration required to revitalise the teaching fraternity will be complete. Once what is possible within the existing framework has been achieved, the loftier aspirations of quality can be targeted. For that final aim, it would be advisable for the policy-makers to set a clear target on what they want government schools in Sikkim to become, then grade the schools so that once efforts to scale up ‘quality’ are rolled out, it is possible to return at regular intervals and measure the achievements. At present, ‘quality’ is a loosely defined term, this will simply not do; it needs to be quantified into measurable terms covering infrastructure, attendance, staffing patterns, co-curricular engagements, community participation, creative outputs etc.