Showkat Ahmad Wani
Education Department came out with an order wherein parents were advised to pay the tuition fees to the private schools for the lockdown period, so that management of these private schools is able to pay their teachers their wages and the poor teachers may not suffer. Due to this development new debate has begun on social media regarding this decision of the Government and different versions are put forth regarding the development. In addition performance of private school teachers is being compared with government school teachers and the later are ridiculed and looked down up,not today, but every time such issue is discussed. It is established fact that private schools show better results in 10th and 12th board examinations. The results of private institutions remain more than eighty percent and our Government schools show results round about sixty percent. The contribution of private institutions to the education sector is praiseworthy and can not be overlooked but at the same time Government schools can not be ignored in terms of achievements they exhibit irrespective of the shortcomings in the system which are beyond their control. Let us first try to understand what differentiates the two sides that places them poles apart. Our Government schools have children of lesser God coming from those families which are economically downtrodden and their families lack educational background. Our Government school students often help their families in domestic chores and in far flung /backward areas, children of secondary class miss sufficient no. of school days, for they venture out for working as labour to supplement the dwindling economy of their families. In comparison, the student of a private school comes from an affluent family having educated background and is never supposed to help their families in domestic chores, not to think of their kid going to earn for their family. In Government schools students are always lacking necessary stationary items as their parents seldom afford while as a student of a private school is always in possession of everything that is required for teaching learning. A Government institution has to admit every Tom ,Dick and Harry and can not deny admission to any one , can not admit students on the basis of a written / viva voice test ,and even have to admit those students who are expelled for one or other reason by other schools, whereas our private schools admit students strictly through tests (written /viva) and in many cases even parents are also made to sit in the examination to see if they have educational background. Thus the private schools always ensure that they admit best talent from the society. If we will compare infrastructure , the private schools are having best infrastructure in terms of well furnished classrooms, seating arrangements, laboratories, toilet, electricity and drinking water facilities. There are sufficient teachers and a teacher teaches with satisfaction as he has to teach only 5-6 classes for the whole day.
On the other hand in Government schools, at primary level for five classes, we have maximum of three classrooms and two or three teachers for teaching all five classes, each teacher has to teach 12- 14 classes in five hours and the justice he would be able to do with his assignment is not difficult to conclude.Same is the case with our upper primary Government middle schools where we have five classrooms for lodging eight classes and routinely four to five teachers and each teacher has to teach 10-12 classes daily. The Government teacher has to prove his worth as manager mid day meals , Polling Officer or Presiding officer in election, enumerator or supervisor in census. He also acts as BLO for election commission of India assignment, Supervisor for health audit, socio economic census , examination duty and the latest one i.e covid-19 management duty. Contrary to this the private school teacher has not to perform these types of duties and he devotes all time to his teaching profession.
It is a fact that a lot of highly educated , talented youth join these private schools not as a first choice but as a compulsion to earn a few bucks till they get some Government job or some other means of livelihood, where they can at least fulfill the basic needs of his/her family, educate his/her siblings, which otherwise is impossible in his/her assignment as a private teacher.
The maximum private institutions have amassed fortunes because they get huge amounts from the parents in the name of huge admission fees, annual fees, bus fees, identity card fees, excursion fees and what not. In addition, a parent has to dole out and lighten his pocket for books, (necessary/unnecessary), uniform not single but two or three types, (at places different for Fridays and Saturdays),and stationary items, which at most of the places are also provided to the children from these schools itself, however there may be a few exceptions .Investment in a private institution is purely a business plan with the sole motive of earning money which no one can deny and through above activities such plans are meticulously executed. One fails to understand that when the management of these private institutions earn millions of rupees through different means because of these teachers, why they play victim card at the time of any tragedy like flood, political insecurity resulting in long shutdown, or the situations like the recent pandemic Covid-19, which forces the closure of schools for months together.
They put at front the unemployed educated youth (their teachers) before the society and announce that if people pay tuition fees, these unemployed will get wages and if people do not pay, these teachers will suffer. Paying fees to the schools is obligation of every parent but one fails to understand, could not have the management and unions of these business units decided to pay these educated and talented youth, at least some succor from the earnings they have amassed without playing the victim card. After normalization of situation the parents may have been asked to pay the fees. Mere 4% parents are Government employees , and less than that are dealing with essential services whose income more or less continued and could pay tuition fees to the schools in present circumstances ,but what about rest 90% of parents who may be pondering and struggling to make both ends meet for their families and will not be in a position to respond positively to the humanitarian issue of private teachers raised by the managements of these schools.
The Government schools like Ranbir Higher Secondary School Jammu , HSS Kothibagh , SP HSS Srinagar , District Higher Secondary Schools and a number of others , where there is sufficient staff and required infrastructure come out with praiseworthy results and during the last decade, the trend is changing and the Government schools are grabbing places in first twenty positions of board results. Such things make it amply clear that Government schools can also compete with the private institutions but they have to be provided adequate staff and requisite infrastructure. The administration , the society needs to understand that in-spite of aforementioned innumerable lacunae in the system, coming out with round about 60% results in board exams needs to be admired and appreciated and ridiculing/ mocking the Government teachers often now and then is not sensible. There may be scope of improvement on part of government teachers, there may be teachers who shrik work, but generalizing the whole community is not fair dealing. The problems in the system are not in their control and need to be addressed at higher levels of administration.
(The author is I/C Lecturer Pol.Sc HSS D H Pora Kulgam)
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