(A special thanks to Sri Mukund Kant Mishra, aka Munshi ji who helped me to have a face-off with REALITY!!)
Among a ton of things that have
its bearing from school life, a classic memory is that of the eternal essay –
‘Myself’. A chock-a-block composition, of rhetorical stuff comprising, personal
details and famously ending on one’s ambition in life. Mine for that matter
being – to become a doctor and serve humanity; focused and a rather crisp one!
Those dreams however kept changing depending on what circumstances brewed at a
given point of time.
I didn’t know what it is to be an
individual without dreams till I visited this school….
Baraut is a qasba approximately 60 km away from the city of Allahabad. An
assignment on RTE (Right to Education) required me to visit a few Prathmik
Vidyalaya (Primary School) in the outskirts of Allahabad. The experience
revealed the harrowing gap that exists between a government policy and its
implementation.
Prathmik Vidyalaya, Beejapur
(classes from 1-5) despite being into existence since 1963 got its building
only in 1995. Thinking that there would be at least five classrooms if not
anything else I was led into the premises that comprised of just one class, for
if there were other rooms like the kitchen it was locked then. The only piece of
furniture in that room was a table and 2 chairs for the shiksha-mitra (teachers appointed on a temporary basis across the
state of Uttar Pradesh). Pupils sat on the floor the rug underneath defining
the length and breadth of this temple of learning.
It was not a day marked with 100%
attendance as the school had just opened. So there I was interacting with 10-15
students, boys and girls, trying to make out on my part what it is they want to
do in their life. Mind you when one is talking about villages like Beejapur of
Handia tehsil even aspirations come
in small 250 gm packets called ‘means of subsistence’!
So while 8-year old Sunita was able
to recite the whole poem ‘naya savera’
ask her what she wants to become in future and uneasiness is followed by a
blank stare. Only when the masterni ji
eggs on she nods her head saying that she would become like Madam ji. A cheerful Akansha
unfortunately had no clue “aap bade hokar
kya banoge?” while some of her classmates looked at me as if this was a
question straight from Mars! No one had ever bothered them with this and here I
was trying to wring a dry towel!
Sample this even on the strict
parameters of prescribed norms this school didn’t fare any better:
¡ No
boundary wall or fencing as per the RTE norms
¡ Only
one functional toilet used by teachers, children usually go outside into the
fields (separate toilets have to be ensured for boys & girls as per the
Act). This was quite contradictory to the claim of 7 toilets
¡ No
drinking water facility due to defunct hand-pump.
¡ Thin
strength, students mostly sit on floors, no furniture other than chair and
table for the teacher, No light or fan
¡ Shiksha
Mitra (Kiran Mishra) confessed of shortage of teachers and no action being
taken by BRC (Block Resourcement Center)
¡ Aanganbadi workers, Chanda Devi &
Hansa Devi shared the abysmal state of affairs, how students take their share
of panjiri and run away to their homes
It’s more on the
walls than in reality and this school exemplified it like anything.
Hoping to
see a better picture I headed towards a private school in the area just a few
kilometers away from this Prathmik Vidyalaya.
‘Tulsi Sansthan’
caught my attention due to the sheer infrastructure which was far better than
the previous site of visit.
At least students had benches to sit, keep their
books and write. There were specific classrooms for each standard, well-lit
ones and the school was in the process of installing a generator soon. There
were dreams for sure as class 7th students mumbled out words like
IAS, Doctor and so on. Yes there were shortcomings too especially on the front
of awareness. No longer than Sunil (class 7th) said that Indira
Gandhi is India’s President, my shock was overtaken by the haplessness of the
teacher who just a short while ago was boasting about the quiz conducted on a
regular basis solely intended to keep the students UPDATED!
Archived info
and that too flawed one was an eye opener once again bringing forth several questions
about the education system in India.
Fact sheet is as
given below:
¡ No
order has been received regarding 25% reservation under the RTE for students
belonging to economically weaker section
¡ Annual
exam is preceded by regular test
¡ Extra-curricular
activities in the form of games and several Pratiyogita on special days
such as 15th August & 26th January
¡ Pracharya
Maniram Upadhyay and faculty member Ramkrishna Mishra – boast about 100%
attendance; reservation to disadvantaged group as per the norms
¡ Class
7th student Sachin Mishra wants to become an IAS while Meenakshi
wants to become a doctor; dreams fortunately thrive in this private institute
of learning
By the way do
check out the official site http://www.upefa.com/upefa/detail.php?chk=menu&vlmid=104
where the govt. boasts of several of its accomplishments. If only these facts
and figures could match with the harsh realities of ground zero. Even better,
why not devise a new gauge-meter that could categorize primary schools on the
basis of their ability to churn out building blocks making up the much-hyped
Demographic Dividend. Till then let’s accept that Indira Gandhi is indeed India’s
President and all those kids hailing from the heartland want to become like
Madam ji.
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