ARE GOVT TEACHERS DELIVERING QUALITY EDUCATION?

Letter:
As the teacher-student fraternity across the state celebrated the birth anniversary of Dr. Radhakrishnan, a great educationist and philosopher the world has rarely witnessed in the contemporary era, I am a little confused as to whether I should pen down this article or not which hints at how the education system, its delivery and above all –its quality is hindered or to be more frank, jeopardized despite all the emphasis, policy decisions, scholarship-packages-across the world by the government in Sikkim. Here I would like to indicate that until and unless, the very dedication and motives of the government teachers (most of the teachers) are clear and pious, nothing much can be expected regarding the quality of education being delivered in government schools. The government willfully or hesitantly (out of State financial implications) etc. manages to appoint the so-called ‘good’ teachers (so-called ‘good’ teachers shall be explained or questioned later on) for the government schools. However, the question is: Are these teachers really serious and sincere towards their deliveries, capabilities and above all efficient enough to competitiveness to which they sincerely usher their students to, despite the best of salaries and incentives they get.
The moot point is that the principals / teachers of the government schools claim that theirs is the best school in the State and they pretend to defend this claim somehow, more materialistically. Based on this claim, why don’t these government teachers get their own children admitted in their schools? The truth, on the contrary, as is being observed of late and which is very unfortunate is that most of these government teachers prefer to educate their own wards/children in public/private English medium schools where they appear to be conveniently assured that these schools shall provide the best of education to their wards as against the one where they practically and actually teach. This in a practical and truer sense exposes and establishes the quality of education of the government schools in Sikkim wherein the present government teachers themselves don’t rely on their own quality of teaching, its quality and deliveries. If this is not the case, I am open for an elaborate discussion over the issue with our ‘honourable and dedicated government teachers’. However, only if all the concerned ‘Govt Teachers (90 %) offer an explanation to my assertions then would I be truly in a position to wish all the Teachers including these Government Teachers a very very happy ‘Teacher’s Day’. In the absence of an explanation, it looks like the government teachers are simply turning the noble teaching profession into either a bridge-gap option or money-minting machine or medium, apart from fooling one and all in the guise of a ‘Guru’ thereby pushing the career-education future of our ‘un-elite’ children into risk and jeopardy at the whim of their insincere approaches and deliveries. There is no other reason for them educating their wards/children in public schools whilst imposing their weaknesses and lapses on the economically deprived students who are earnestly seeking education and the art of competition at Government Schools out of their ‘total and uncompromised faith on their Government teachers’.
Until and unless this trend is timely rectified by the ‘government teachers’, – delivery of quality based education, despite the best of efforts by the government is a far cry. The above submission however is in no means an attempt to question one’s fundamental or constitutional rights.
Guru Govindam!
Chewang Pintso, Gangtok