Sapna K Sangra
How I wish to sit down and reflect at the end of each day by penning down my experiences! Each day unfolds a new reality in the form of a challenge that has to be accepted and won over or brings forth a hard fact that leaves you shaken to the very core of your being. Again, the choice is either to accept and go with the flow or to question your inner self to address the same. One may argue we must not allow our sensitivities to come in the performance of our roles and duties for everything nowadays is understood from goals perspective which is to be achieved at any cost but I am neither a student of economics nor management and perhaps that gives me an altogether a different worldview. My sensitivities make me different and make me human. My life’s perspectives essentially come from who I was and who I have become today? If something has disturbed me, it has to be addressed or else I will continue under the gloom of my sensitivities. My form of redressal is largely through my writings these days.
I finished my M.A. IGNOU class one Saturday evening and was dropping the two students at the nearby Bus Stand to help them catch a bus quickly for it was getting a bit dark. While one of them was from Kargil and had to go to his rented place, the other had to reach some border village ahead of Akhnoor. While we drove out of the University, we picked up the conversation surrounding their previous year’s result and their future prospects. The student hailing from Akhnoor shared he has been filling up various forms including those for the teacher’s positions. Very innocently he questioned, “Mam yeh NET ka paper kaya hota hain hamein kuch nahin pata. Hamein kaya fayda hoga issee dene se aur hum kab de sakte hain”? (Mam, what is this NET all about, we don’t know anything. What are the advantages of taking this exam and when can we write the same?) I tried explaining to him how B.Ed is essential for school teaching and how qualifying National Eligibility Test (NET) would make them eligible for teaching in the Higher Education Department etc.
My purpose of narrating the incident isn’t highlighting the lack of knowledge that a postgraduate student had about NET, I was equally ignorant went I entered University and was guided by a senior who was preparing for Civil Services back then, but that was nearly nineteen years back. The scenario should have changed over the years but since it has not, we need to identify what does that mean for us now? There is, perhaps a spark in every child that has to be turned into fire. There is no dearth of talent. It’s all about an opportunity. Who we are today is not because of something extraordinary in us, we were lucky to have had some opportunities, advantages and a bit of edge over the others at some point in time.
More than anything else, children need direction combined with the sense of being appreciated and motivated. Educational institutions are delivering in a time-bound mechanical way which is quite alienated to our structural needs. Students coming from varied sections of the society may have varied needs which cannot be fulfilled by the mere award of a degree. Awarding the degree may well be the manifest function of the educational institution but it’s the fulfillment of the latent functions that must equally become our focus. The involvement of the teacher with the students during her class interaction is at the heart of it all. If a teacher is successful in establishing the connection with the students, teaching is going to be more impressionable. Some students may be good at writing but may lack the ability to express themselves freely owing to language barriers. Some of them may be good at speaking but need improvement in writing skills. Some may be at other disadvantageous positions owing to lack of anyone at homes to guide them with the fact that they may be the first generation to have passed class Ten or reached a College or a University. They could also be at a disadvantage owing to the lack of resources to supplement their learning and seek extra guidance outside the classroom or due to the distance, coming from far-flung areas – the border regions for example. These disadvantages often result in their exclusion in a classroom situation especially when the number of students in the class is really high. The challenge for a teacher lies in making her classroom an inclusive entity. A successful teacher is the one who is able to give space to every child and break the ritualistic barrier of merely maintaining attendance registers and finishing the syllabi. The crucial role of a teacher in our societies has to be recognized and their role performance has to be linked with Mentorship. A good teacher is the one who is able to identify the weaknesses of her students and help them overcome the same while the institution largely fulfils the need to provide them with the necessary degree. Merely providing degrees without necessary mentorship would be raising the individuals who would not be productive in bringing any positive changes in the society for they will continue to deliver the way system has delivered to them. If we are able to bridge the gaps at the level of teaching itself, we can hope for better and changed societies!
(The author teaches Sociology at the University of Jammu and is the State Chairperson of SPIC MACAY)
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