Whither education? Whither values?
I write this with a sense of sadness, bordering on despair.
The billions of dollars poured into the so-called education programme in states like Bihar is of no use.
When the system is corrupt and the teachers are dishonest, what can be expected? Except for those who have the 'good fortune' to study in private schools run by missionaries or other societies, those left to scrape up an education from the government education sector learn nothing but how to become corrupt.
In Miller school, ironically renamed after the youngest of the 'Martyrs' whose statues are raised in front of the Bihar secretariat, the teachers abet and encourage the students towards corrupt practices.
Just think. A boy studied the whole night in preparattion for his Class 11 examination, only to find that, in the morning, several of the students walking around with photo-copies of a question paper... which later turn out to be the one that has been set for the exam!
Now it gets better. Students bring in guess books, chits, and freely copy from them, and the older teachers discourage the younger ones from taking action. against the wronmg doers.
The treason of course is that the teachers haven't even completed a quarter of the syllabus, because for the first three months of the year, they have not taught a thing. Their excuse -- we were not sure about the 'new' CBSE pattern syllabus.
"What is the use of studying?" asked a boy who was thoroughly discouraged by being in a room where the ideaks of integrity, honesty, and courage have no value, despite the picture of Mohandas Gandhi suspended from a hook on teh wall.
In reality, Gandhi and his ideals has been suspended long ago. These vultures disguised as teachers grow fat on increased salaries. There is no accountability. In a better world, they would have been put before a firing squad and shot!
Will those who trumpet about bringing changes to Bihar kindly start with seeing if they can clean out the Augean stables of Higher education?
The billions of dollars poured into the so-called education programme in states like Bihar is of no use.
When the system is corrupt and the teachers are dishonest, what can be expected? Except for those who have the 'good fortune' to study in private schools run by missionaries or other societies, those left to scrape up an education from the government education sector learn nothing but how to become corrupt.
In Miller school, ironically renamed after the youngest of the 'Martyrs' whose statues are raised in front of the Bihar secretariat, the teachers abet and encourage the students towards corrupt practices.
Just think. A boy studied the whole night in preparattion for his Class 11 examination, only to find that, in the morning, several of the students walking around with photo-copies of a question paper... which later turn out to be the one that has been set for the exam!
Now it gets better. Students bring in guess books, chits, and freely copy from them, and the older teachers discourage the younger ones from taking action. against the wronmg doers.
The treason of course is that the teachers haven't even completed a quarter of the syllabus, because for the first three months of the year, they have not taught a thing. Their excuse -- we were not sure about the 'new' CBSE pattern syllabus.
"What is the use of studying?" asked a boy who was thoroughly discouraged by being in a room where the ideaks of integrity, honesty, and courage have no value, despite the picture of Mohandas Gandhi suspended from a hook on teh wall.
In reality, Gandhi and his ideals has been suspended long ago. These vultures disguised as teachers grow fat on increased salaries. There is no accountability. In a better world, they would have been put before a firing squad and shot!
Will those who trumpet about bringing changes to Bihar kindly start with seeing if they can clean out the Augean stables of Higher education?
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