Sir,
This has reference to the writeup’ When passing matriculation meant a lot’ by BD Sharma (DE, Feb 18, 2024). It was interesting to go through the said writeup. The writer, going down the memory lane recollects the fond memories of the olden days when literacy rate was very low and there only a few schools in the erstwhile J& K State. It is interesting to read that there were only 11 High schools in the then Jammu province and that only 471 students appeared in the Matriculation examination in 1940 and 367 of them passed.In those days or decades later, ( I passed matriculation in 1979), use of ‘Takhti’/ ‘phatti’ was compulsory from class one to class 5 and it was a regular practice to wash it, apply parola on it, dry it by swinging it in the air, sometimes singing rhymes in chorus. The teacher would ask the students to write something on it using a reed pen called ‘Kaani/ Qalam’ and when the teacher appreciated the students by marking a tick on the written content,the students felt elated. Use of inkpot- dissolving tablets/ granules in water or chelpark ink often soiled the hands. Using iron/stone slate and chalk to write multiplication tables or solve mathematical sums was also compulsory.The last period generally used to be of multiplcation tables in which one student would speak the tables and the others would repeat after him / her. Use of Ink pen, even the fountain pen was discouraged lest handwriting of a student should go worse.
As a student passed fifth class to join the 6th, he/ she was allowed to use fountain pen and a rough book. So this transition marked a significant phase in their life. In the 6th class, the English alphabet was often taught and in the 7th and 8th, parts of speech, use of tenses, change of voice etc were taught in English which helped in translating the given passage/ sentences from Hindi/ Urdu into English etc and vice versa.. Often, superintendents were appointed from outside the complex to conduct exams or students of Middle schools had to go to the nearest High school (which was often too far) to appear for the 8th exam. In the 9th and 10 classes, syllabus for English,Mathematics and Social Sciences was too much. In English, we were taught besides, narration, using same word as different parts of speech, analysis of a sentence into the Principal Clause and the Subordinate clauses etc.
‘Easy Prose’, ‘Story from Day to Day’, Daring Deeds, a book of poems ( Perhaps, A Treasury of Verses)etc used to be the text books to be taught in the 10th standard Students had to do a lot of practice in English and Mathematics to get through the Exam. The’ Golden ‘ History and ‘Sartaj’ Geography’ used to be bulky books having a lot of content which would give a glimpse into wide range of knowledge. A candidate getting first division was considered to be bright and generally one or two candidates from a class of 20 would get first division.
Results were announced on radio after 2.30 PM and it was a treat to the ear to hear one’s name on the radio which was owned just by one or two households in the whole village . I think standard of education in those days was in no way less than in the present times. Generally, a matriculate could draft every type of letter including sale/ purchase deeds of animals if he was asked to do.Those were the times when teachers would take extra classes to ensure that the percentage of result in their subject could be better.Now students are dependent on ready made notes and online learning. But self study which was the necessisity in those days proved useful as knowledge gained as a result of self study is long lasting. Everything changes and so have times and methods of teaching but one can’t help feel nostalgic of those times.
Ashok Sharma
Udhampur
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