Dimapur, Nov 16 (MExN): Keeping in view the poor performance of government schools in the state, state education officers today had a very interesting and thorough discussion on the topic of ‘improving the quality of education in the government schools in the state’ at the two-days Education Officers Conference held at Highway 39 Restaurant, Pudum Pukhri here.
The discussion hour in the afternoon session on the first day saw some lively discussion with enthusiastic officers giving clear and precise opinions about the ills in the education department and suggesting measures to ‘treat’ them.
One headmaster of a government school, in an emotionally-charged speech said that politicians should not interfere in educational matters. Politics should not come into education, said the headmaster and cited some examples where politicians got involved in the transfer and posting of teachers.
He suggested to fellow officers that they should write jointly to the politicians not to interfere in the dealings of the education department. “Who will bell the cat” he said implying backlash from politicians if approached with that suggestion individually. He also said that it was best to write jointly to the politicians about their opinions about interference especially with the transfer of the teachers in the department.
Others were more cool and composed; one education officer opined that many people tend to compare government schools with the private schools and termed it as very unfortunate.
He said that teachers in government schools were also very qualified; he instead put the blame on the recruitment policy of teachers on linguistic lines and said that because of it children from government schools cannot speak and write good English.
His view was that since most government teachers are appointed from a particular tribe for a particular district or town keeping in view linguistic factors in mind, the appointed teachers tend to teach in their own mother tongue in the class which directly or indirectly affects the quality of education.
To the officer English is the best medium of instruction to impart education and that if a person possess a good command over English, he would excel in other subjects. He cited a most common example of private schools’ medium of teaching, English. The officer suggested that people from different tribes should be appointed for different schools in the state so that they cannot teach in their mother tongue.
Still another officer called for streamlining the three sections of primary, elementary and secondary divisions under different heads for better functioning. He called for not only educating the students but also parents as they are mostly illiterate and ignorant ‘unlike their children.’
Termination of unqualified and incompetent staff, studying carefully the national curriculum, redeployment of teachers from those schools having excess teachers to those having less teachers and re-introduction of weekly and monthly class tests for students and most importantly introduction of compulsory coaching classes for HSLC students were some of the suggestions and measures put forward by the gathered education officers.
Augau I Thou, Mission Director of SSA also gave a very practical measure towards this end; she gave a strong message to the officers not to encourage ‘proxy teachers,’ she asserted that by sending of unqualified teachers in place of the qualified teachers by the appointed teachers, it reduces the chances of imparting qualitative education to the students. However, one very keen observer of the whole discussion hour, on condition of anonymity remarked, ‘It’s very good to discuss ideas like this but I wonder if quality education is only about teaching the children and making them read and write good English. Surely quality education is more than good marks in exams and good HSLC results. Surely quality education is not only about having a good certificate. To achieve quality education, first you must define what it means to you,’ he added. While another remarked, ‘It’s very encouraging indeed, to discuss and share ideas like this’.
