Teacher's Day

I am a teacher. But I wasn't always one. Anyways, now I work with Teach for India. I teach class 2 students at a government school in Delhi. Before my teaching job I used to think why most of government school teachers are not serious about their job. On this hallowed day for called ‘Teacher’s Day’, I would like to share a few experiences that I have had during my teaching stint. As a result of these experiences my perspective towards government school teachers has not only changed but I can empathize with them more than before.

In this post I will talk about INCIDENTS that happened and the related questions that have popped up in my mind.

INCIDENT 1 - One day I asked a 5^th grade student what she liked and disliked about studies. I was in for a shock when I realized that the girl was not even familiarized with English alphabets or numbers till 100, leave alone her likes and dislikes. I asked a fellow teacher what could be the reason for this appalling situation. She pointed to the government policy that “No student can be held back until the completion of elementary education.”

I DOUBT – I confirmed that this is the provision under RTE Act and the logic given is if a student does not perform well it is not the student who fails but it is the school system which fails. What a wonderful thought! But then I thought that why after elementary education this logic does not work? (May be the students are grown up now and they should be held accountable for their learning). For 8 years no one can hold back a child even if he/she does not have grade 1 level knowledge. In the 9^th year if the same child cannot learn all things of past 9 years he/she is supposed to held back or leave school. And then you call it a drop out while I call it a strategic push out. Now if I go back and ask if a student never fails till elementary and it is the school system which fails then what are the consequences for a school to fail? Or a school which fails on more than 50% of its students? Certainly none. Because even after 66 years of independence our education system does not focus on output (learning of students) but input (number of students in a school). I believe this policy is in place to

•  Get more votes by fooling uneducated parents of first generation learners that their children are getting good education. 
•  Show these numbers in school to organizations like WHO, UNICEF and beg for more funds.

INCIDENT 2 – In my 2 months tenure I found that a few students listed in the class register never came to school. When I checked with the school Principal why we haven’t informed the parents or checked if they wished to continue their child’s education the Principal pointed to another surprising policy “Any child who comes to school for a minimum of 3 days in an academic year cannot be asked to leave the school.”  

I ASK – This rule is leading parents to get registered in a Govt. school, get benefits like free books, free uniforms and free stationery. As strength per section of a class is limited to maximum 40 students this is affecting a lot to those who want to come every day and learn. I ask why this kind of rule is there? I again believe this policy is in place for getting votes and to play the number games.

INCIDENT 3- On a lazy afternoon I asked my school principal you are in the education sector for the past 30 years, what are the things that have changed in the three decades? She replies “All these free books and stuff was there 30 years ago also, our education system is deteriorating at a faster pace, there is no motivation for teachers to teach, not a great reward system in place, earlier when there was not much check on corporal punishment some teachers used to pull result with stick now even that is not there.”

 I THINK – I confirmed the deterioration part of our conversation and yes according to ASER report by Pratham (An Education sector NGO), number of students in school has definitely increased but learning levels have gone down drastically especially in past decade. Strict measures have been implemented to abolish corporal punishment but do we have a similar stringent training system in place for the teachers to get results from students without inflicting any punishment. The recognition and motivation system for teachers is another interesting story. Yes, teaching is a noble profession and teachers should work selflessly but I believe like any other profession teachers too deserve an appreciation, recognition and celebration for the efforts they put in. There are approximately 70 lakhs school teachers in India, how can any rational mind imagine all of them or say even half of them to work without anyone appreciating or recognizing their efforts. Not possible. The Principal told me that when every year nominations goes for best teacher in a zone, generally concerned authorities do not even come to check classes of nominated teachers. They simply give awards to someone they know or someone who offer them something in return. Like every sector nepotism and corruption is a significant factor here also.

INCIDENT 4 – School principal was shouting on janitor that why does not he come on time and then it waste our teaching time when he cleans late. It is happening from many years. One day I asked Principal “why don’t you complain about him and get him suspended”. She replied “In the nearby school once a principal suspended one of his teachers and 3 days later some goons beat the principal after school.”

I QUESTION – Why are people so scared to take bold steps in the Government sector, be it education or health or any other? I know some people will argue that the Principal should be daring enough and not scared because of one incident but these baseless motivational lectures do not work in day-to-day life. When you know if you sack someone you can be harmed and no one will be held accountable for that then why would you do that? When there is no law and order then why would you risk your safety and your family’s security? 

INCIDENT 5 – We got a printer/scanner donated by a TFI fellow. As I had to scan some documents I asked Principal "May I connect it to school computer?" To my surprise all USB ports in the computer are disabled and except Gmail nothing is accessible on the system.

I WONDER – Gmail is accessible to send daily attendance of students. This makes me wonder whether it is a computer or a high speed letter box. Why is internet not accessible? Why ports are disabled? Does the government not trust their experienced Principals? Can’t we train them to use this computer for better? But then it needs a real commitment to actually make school systems efficient.

INCIDENT 6 - I called up one of my students’ father for the 3^rd time in a month to discuss how he could help me on improving his daughter’s studies. All he had to say was , “Sirji aap itni tension kyu le rhe ho bas ise school aane do baki paise, kitabein or 1 time ka khanna toh sarkar de hee rahi hai (Sir, why are you bothered so much just let her come to school rest government is giving money, books and 1 time food).”

I SCREAM – Are you listening political masters? Yes, this is working.

There are many other things like no media allowed in school, school building construction going on from past 3 years, a waterlogged playground. I can go on and on. I agree that we should not generalize things based on one case and there are better government run schools and at same time there are lakhs of poorly managed schools too. But the point is, the general sentiment today that teachers do not work intentionally in government schools is over exaggerated, mostly it is the government made situations and motivations which force them to work in a certain way. Yes the intention is lacking but less on teacher’s part and more somewhere else, may be some people do not want to educate masses. May be for them education only means to recognize an election symbol and push the button.

I APPEAL- Make your teachers accountable but first empower them.

Happy Teacher’s Day.