With dedication and strong foundations, even the most secluded schools can rival urban institutions in academic prowess
The other day, I had a chance to visit Higher Secondary Khag (Budgam) along with my cluster head, Principal Girls Higher Secondary School Narabal, who also held charge there. It was the first time in my life that I got a chance to visit Khag. While in the car, I kept thinking about the remote area, a hill. What can education be like there? The thought at the back of my mind was: there will be nothing at all in this remote area.
Though beautiful, lush green, serene – everything was filled with a complete poetic frenzy. The market was crowded with people all around.
Here comes the Higher Secondary. The gatekeeper opened the gate, and we were let in. The madam asked me to enter the classes and check. When I entered Class 10, it was like heaven – a jam-packed class. The students were neat and clean. The classroom was fragrant, filled with a breeze coming from open windows that touched with a gentle balm. Away from the city rush and suffocation, it reminded me of the stifling atmosphere back in urban areas.
Now came the turn to check academics. Here was my question about chemistry, Class 10. Boom – came the answer from all corners of the room. Their level of study instilled curiosity in me, as I had underestimated the higher secondary to begin with. I asked my friend, “Now it is your turn to check the mathematics of the students.” My friend started checking maths. All the students answered beautifully.
I thought it was only lip service, so I asked my questions to the students one by one. To my surprise, all the students answered the questions. The students were very strong in academics. I have not seen schools I visited even come close to their academic prowess. We kept checking the class, intending to find any loopholes in academics, but I could not find any.
From the window, I could see a beautiful campus decorated on all sides, with beautifully coloured walls. One specific room caught my eye. We went there – it was a chemistry laboratory with decorated walls, chemicals placed in the right positions, and students busy performing practicals, having hands-on experience.
At lunchtime, we were in the grounds of this beautiful higher secondary school. The students surrounded us from all sides and started asking questions related to their careers. We said whatever we knew. They were so bold, so intelligent that they could compete with any high-profile school or urban-area school. I could see some students playing chess, some playing football on a big field, and some playing volleyball, along with charming physical education teachers.
What we observed there was a lesson we learnt for years to come:
The students of this institute had delved deep into comprehension, meaning their foundation was strong. This indicates the students of this higher secondary had learnt the basics from the surrounding primary and middle schools.
Some of the students were found during lunchtime picking up torn-out papers from the paths of the campus and throwing them into the dustbin, showing social ethics. While moving a few steps, we could see some of the students in the library, calm and quiet, reading. Developing a reading habit is a valuable asset for personal and intellectual growth. My friend asked one student who came out of the library, “Why do you read during lunchtime?” The student replied, “Reading helps in cognitive enhancement, language development, knowledge acquisition, stress reduction, emotional well-being, and so on.” The students were very conscious of what they were doing.
On the ground, we noticed a few students gathered in a beautiful circular manner. We went there and watched from a distance. They were discussing something in English, perhaps trying to improve their language. Then we went to the staff room, where everybody was waiting for us. I could see the staff members of the institute jubilant and happy, not even an iota of bad emotion on their faces.
I whispered into the ear of one of the staff members, “You are so happy and jubilant.” He slowly recited a few lines of Rumi on the “Dove”:
People want you to be happy,
Don’t keep serving them your pain!
If you could untie your wings and free your soul of jealousy,
You and everyone around you would fly up like doves.
He continued, “When we leave our homes, we leave everything behind and carry our responsibility in keeping the environment of our school educative and happy.”
We left this beautiful institute in a remote area and carried the lessons we learnt with us.
With happiness flows knowledge
Psychology research suggests that when people are happy, they are more likely to be engaged, curious, and motivated to learn.
On our way back home, we were all thinking that this higher secondary can match any institute working in the city – it can even do better.
The writer is a teacher and academic monitor at Boys High School (BHS), Narabal
Muntashir Kifayat
mu**************@***il.com