Monitor
private schools
Sir,
Adverting
"Monitor Government Schools"-by
Mr. PC Sharma and "Government to
monitor Private Schools"-Minister
for Education (Excelsior October 4) India
is a land of Rishis and Ashrams. Rishis
are those who see things with their inner
eyes. Ashram is a place where intense
shrama, edeavour takes place. It is the
vision that leads us to life-style.
Ashrams are founded for varied purposes
according to the vision and inspiration
the founders received.
If I may
not be wrong in my understanding of the
word the lily white idea of an ashram
could be as a place inhabited by
simplistic and gullible people quite
innocent of the socio-economic and
political realities, and solely busy with
the chanting of the soul-elevating
bhajans and with the contemplation of the
Supreme Self in the cave of the heart. .
Timely Ashrams were founded in India time
and again by the visionaries who had
their own particular targets and
programmes.
In the
world-renowned plays of Kalidasa and
Bhasa we see the ashrams playing a
central role in the whole development of
the story of the play. Shakunthalam and
Swapnavasavadatta are brilliant examples
for this. This shows that ashrams were
places of meeting of great people like
the rulers of the country, the
intellectuals of the place and also the
common people without whom the stories
never run. The inmates of the ashram had
great understanding for the spirituality
of the people as well as for their human
and earthly life in all aspects. To my
mind the educational pattern in our
country is based on this very concept of
ashrams. The Shantanikatan of Guru
Rabindranath Tagore is the example.
Has the
Indian Education system become
"Ashram like for all", when it
addresses the ultimate concerns of life,
especially of those most disadvantaged in
Society? In the backdrop of our history
Indian education should be sustained by a
spirituality of communion of everyone and
everything. Before making practical
plans, we need to promote a spirituality
of communion, making it the guiding
principle of education. A spirituality of
communion also means ability to think of
our brothers and sisters as’ those
who are a part of me’. That the
materialistic consumer monoculture of
economic globalization inevitably leads
to the "marketization of education
and repression of the poor"is very
much evidenced in the working style of
the
Privately
run and controlled educational
institutions. Hefty fees in the name of
Admission fees, Annual Charges, Building
fees and the like are charged from the
parents without indicating the spirit
behind these charges. Inspite of all this
the teachers working there are paid
farthings, and by and large, hire and
fire policy is followed to keep the
teachers under thumb, taking undue
advantage of their despondency. These
teachers have simply become hewers of
wood and drawers of water for the
management. There is no room available
for the teacher to moan even feebly over
the injustice meted out to him. What is
happening in these institutions can be
judged by the stark truth that tuition
and other related fees are charged from
the students for the vacation period and
the teachers are denied in the majority
of the cases vacation salary. Self made
rules rule the roost in utter disregard
to the Labour Laws and the Payment of
Wages Act 1936(Amended from time to
time). Books and uniforms are to be
purchased from the schools itself or from
the agencies specified by the school
authorities in advance. Why so? Every one
has an answer to this question in this
land notorious for kickbacks and
commissions. School transport for which
huge fees are charged are overcrowded
without any regard to the safety of the
children. What is happening in the
private institutions presently shall
shame even "Shylock the Jew"
too.. Libraries and laboratories have
become a thing of the past in these
schools let alone physical education, art
and crafts and games. So the need of the
hour is to keep these schools under the
surveillance of the Government.
May I
have, therefore, the honour of entreating
our young and dynamic Education Minister
to address to these affairs to bring the
Private Educational Institutions on a
balanced keel.
Yours
etc...
Predhuman K. Joseph Dhar,
Catholic Journalist.
Via E-mail.
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