Everybody has his own memories of school days. I too have my share of them. But this blog is not about the primary school where I studied but the school I have seen in my village. I basically belong to a village known as Rampur Binora which falls in Kannauj District of State Uttar Pradesh, India. I didn't get a chance to study in that. Lucky me!!! You might be wondering why I am considering lucky for not studying in the school which was at walking distance to my home. There are two main reasons first my father worked at different location and never was posted near village. secondly I never wanted to study in that school.
The school has a very small building. I never counted but guess there are 5-6 rooms in that school. One of them is a administrative room where the Headmaster(school Principal) along with fellow masters(Teachers) will sit after their class(lectures). The school was meant to provide education from standard 1 to 5. I am not sure if it is still the case or has got any upgrade to provide education till 8th. Nevertheless not only kids from my village but from nearby villages too use to come to the school every morning.
There were no benches for the students but the teachers were lucky to have wooden chairs. If somebody have a look at those chairs one will wonder why they are not breaking down. I reckon most of the teachers will come to the school on their bicycles. Today things have changed some of them have their own motorcycles too.
If you want to identify a student you can easily identify one. He/She will be carrying a midsized jute bag(called as Bori) for their sitting. They will also carry a tiny black board and slate. Students in there don't start using pencil, notebook or pen before 3-4th standard I think. They will use that board and slates for that purpose. Now I think many schools have started using pencil and notebooks. I guess the proof of India shining. One thing that I probably missed was the kohl in their eyes.
The school didn't have any fans or electricity. I think even now it doesn't have it. So in summer time the classes are taking places under the trees. Thank God at least for this reason they are not cutting down those trees. Well to be honest, today trees are being brought down even in villages too. The air is polluted in villages too. The environment has changes considerably in last decade or two. So many villages don't have electricity, proper sanitation, but India is shining.
Most of my friends I know who studied in that school were scared to hell from the teachers. Somehow the school used to get all the frustrated men from the village or nearby villages. I have myself seen them beating kids like animals. I have seen students getting hidden, those who bunked the day, if they even see the teacher is coming. Such was the terror of those teachers. In my opinion, if you scare somebody that is the solution to nothing. But the teachers have different thoughts. After getting beaten by teachers the kohl will expand its boundaries and will be visible on students' face.
Government doesn't do much for the schools but they provide some meals, notebooks, etc free for the students. But 70-75% of that is used by the teachers/headmasters. Such is the depth of corruption in India. There may be exceptions but this is a general trend. And that is true as well because the sole purpose of education is to earn money. I think 90% students in there study to get a job just to earn money not as hobby. Education as hobby happens only in city schools or big schools. Many students just go there because their parents want them to get basic knowledge. They have to end up as a farmer in the end.
The teachers don't like to attend the school most of the times. If all the teachers are present in a school that simply means that there is something on the day like some senior official visit, etc. I have myself seen a teacher teaching to 3 different classes at the same time. One may wonder how is it possible. But they are superman. Teachers will ask the students to bring ciggarettes, tobacco, etc. Yes, there is no age restriction for sale of these things in there. In fact, I think many shopkeepers might not even know that it is illegal to sell these things to minors. What should one expect such students to learn from them? Its really tough for an average student to do good from such schools. Who is to blame here? Presence of so much negativity is affecting transformation of kids into good citizens.
The school is not just a school but is the most favourite activity centre for the village as well. The school is being used for Ramleela(A live drama about lord Ram), Election Booth, marriages, etc. So its serving more than the purpose one should say. It may be used for organising election rally as well. The school doesn't have any boundaries, so you can see some pets cows,buffaloes etc. sitting and enjoying around. Sometimes I feel these pets might be thinking that they have a better life than those poor kids.
The whole system need a lot of basic changes. Hopefully that day will come sometime and the "Education for all" tag will be validated.
There is plenty to tell and share. But I would like to stop here.
No comments:
Post a Comment