It was early hours in the morning for yet another academic visit to one of the remote elementary school districts in Budgam: MS Nowpora Payeen (Kawoosa). We parked our car on the roadside and proceeded on foot through the paddy field. When we reached the school, I directly went into the classes for 5th and 6th, accommodated in the same room with two separate sections and separate whiteboards. I asked for the markers and requested all the students of the 5th and 6th grades to turn towards me. I began questioning the students, expecting that they might not be able to answer. I wrote some lengthy English words on the board. To my surprise, all of the students read them one by one without any mistakes. I felt as if I were in a high-profile private school. The students had overcome negative psychological hurdles such as fear and shyness. They were so confident that they started discussions with me.
The educator standing in the classroom asked me to pose some questions to a girl from the 6th class. I asked the educator, “Who is she?” He replied, “My daughter.” I admitted that all my children are enrolled in this government school where I work. When we, as government teachers, do not trust the system, how can we expect others to do so? To change society’s attitude towards government schools, we must first change ourselves. Human attitude is malleable. By making our attitudes more positive, open, and tolerant, we can spark a different dynamic.
By enrolling our own children in government schools, we can create opportunities to increase enrolment and bring more people to us. After admitting our own children, the school’s enrolment almost doubled, he continued. We speak to parents by sharing examples of our own children who study in the same government schools. We need to start believing that people will trust us only when our children study here. The school education department and government teachers must understand this. The simple logic is: charity begins at home. A door-to-door enrolment drive will succeed only when we, as government teachers, admit our wards to government schools and trust the system we work in. He quoted Rumi:
When you learn a craft, practice it.
That learning comes through hands.
There is a fountain inside you.
Don’t walk around with an empty bucket.
You have a channel in the ocean,
Yet you ask for water from a little pool.
The horse is beneath the rider’s thighs,
And still you ask, “Where’s my horse?”
After leaving the classroom, I visited almost all the classes with curiosity and found that this school is on par with the renowned private schools of District Budgam. At lunchtime, all staff members served the children. I saw a female teacher holding her six-month-old baby with one hand while serving the children with the other.
When I asked the female teacher about maternity leave, she replied, “My child is not more important than the sixty children in this school. How can I ignore them? All the children are sons and daughters of the universe, including my son.” Then she left, holding her baby against her bosom. Schools with educators who treat children as their own are bound to progress. They have dispelled excuses often made by many government school teachers, such as poor infrastructure, lack of parental care, workload, and so on. Their willpower is praiseworthy.
During the academic visits I made with my cluster head, I observed that, out of four government elementary schools situated in the same village, with similar rehabilitation, economic backgrounds, and infrastructure, why are only one or two schools are performing at the level of primary schools, while the others lag behind in foundational literacy and numeracy. It is the educators who must accept the facts and take responsibility.
Some observations crucial for uplifting government schools at the elementary level are:
– Teachers should enrol their own children in government schools as a priority. This will help us win society’s trust. The School Education Department (SED) has often recommended this, but it should be made mandatory. No excuses, such as why children of government employees from other departments should not be accepted. If we do it, others will follow naturally.
– The beautification of schools should be strictly enforced, as it leaves an everlasting impact on society.
– Continuous monitoring of elementary schools should be conducted to identify learning gaps. These monitoring programmes should occur at cluster, district, and divisional levels.
– Resource persons at all levels should be selected by top educationists at the national level. It should not be the case that once someone is a resource person, they remain so indefinitely.
The writer is an educator and academic monitor
Muntashir Kifayat
mu**************@***il.com