I dunno as to how the monkeys are gonna react to this statement of mine. And I've made it in connection with the education system currently, prevalent in our country. There are many private players along with the government institutions, vying for honours and I daresay that the presence of the former category has enhanced the quality of education - at least, in Kerala from the statistics about their performance.
But having said that, there has been a dangerous slide into converting the entire set up into a money making racket. Teachers are hired and fired, many a time, to suit the whims and fancies of the management or at times, even to force 'free thinking' teachers to submission. The students' all round growth and welfare seem to be the last priority. Let me cite the goings on at a co-ed school that's in my neck of the woods.
From the last five years' performance, the school has had good results in the competitive examinations and the institution was being ably guided by an efficient and a no-nonsense gentleman, as its Principal. He'd ensured a sense of discipline among the students and their teachers and laid emphasis on the all round development of the school's fraternity.
Well, he's been sacked recently. Many teachers have been dismissed citing 'division fall' - a situation when the strength of the students dwindles, necessitating the reduction in the number of divisions per class. Fair enough, if the axing is based on the vintage of induction, starting from the recent and if you're to ask me, more importantly, the performance. But the sacking - in this case - has been arbitrary and smacks of nepotism because of the following factors:-
(a) The vintage of induction was given the go by.
(b) A particular teacher, in the good books of the management, seems to have influenced the decisions. The
details had come up thanks to an investigative media, in that, the teacher was smarting because her rival
could get a chief guest of the school's choice for the 'Annual day' thanks to her family connections! She's
been able to 'fix' her rival by having her booted out!!
(c) The parents-teachers association has been clamouring for the teacher's reinduction!
How can the students grow up to be decent and responsible citizens if brought up by wily teachers like the one narrated above? And how did that teacher get recruited in the first place? That needs a thorough look see!
Such cases are not in isolation. A court has asked a school in Thiruvananthapuram to reinstate the teachers that it had sacked citing similar reasons.
Tailpiece.
People into decision making in the education sector seem to forget the fundamentals viz:-
(a) Teachers have a very important role in society as they mould the country's human resources of
the morrow.
(b) The quality of people being inducted into this profession has to be excellent and there can't be a
compromise.
(c) To attract the best talent into the pool, they've to be offered an attractive remuneration.
(d) If there's a climbdown, one's gonna get monkeys...... for peanuts!
PS.
I'm reminded of my teachers who'd a great contribution in the way I've reached where I am. They'd shown me and my friends that a teacher's job was not a '9 to 5' one, but one that began from sunrise to the silent hours - during the self study period - before we hit the sack. Of course, it was a boarding school all right but the cardinal point was that each one of them was genuinely concerned about our growth - in the right manner!
But having said that, there has been a dangerous slide into converting the entire set up into a money making racket. Teachers are hired and fired, many a time, to suit the whims and fancies of the management or at times, even to force 'free thinking' teachers to submission. The students' all round growth and welfare seem to be the last priority. Let me cite the goings on at a co-ed school that's in my neck of the woods.
From the last five years' performance, the school has had good results in the competitive examinations and the institution was being ably guided by an efficient and a no-nonsense gentleman, as its Principal. He'd ensured a sense of discipline among the students and their teachers and laid emphasis on the all round development of the school's fraternity.
Well, he's been sacked recently. Many teachers have been dismissed citing 'division fall' - a situation when the strength of the students dwindles, necessitating the reduction in the number of divisions per class. Fair enough, if the axing is based on the vintage of induction, starting from the recent and if you're to ask me, more importantly, the performance. But the sacking - in this case - has been arbitrary and smacks of nepotism because of the following factors:-
(a) The vintage of induction was given the go by.
(b) A particular teacher, in the good books of the management, seems to have influenced the decisions. The
details had come up thanks to an investigative media, in that, the teacher was smarting because her rival
could get a chief guest of the school's choice for the 'Annual day' thanks to her family connections! She's
been able to 'fix' her rival by having her booted out!!
(c) The parents-teachers association has been clamouring for the teacher's reinduction!
How can the students grow up to be decent and responsible citizens if brought up by wily teachers like the one narrated above? And how did that teacher get recruited in the first place? That needs a thorough look see!
Such cases are not in isolation. A court has asked a school in Thiruvananthapuram to reinstate the teachers that it had sacked citing similar reasons.
Tailpiece.
People into decision making in the education sector seem to forget the fundamentals viz:-
(a) Teachers have a very important role in society as they mould the country's human resources of
the morrow.
(b) The quality of people being inducted into this profession has to be excellent and there can't be a
compromise.
(c) To attract the best talent into the pool, they've to be offered an attractive remuneration.
(d) If there's a climbdown, one's gonna get monkeys...... for peanuts!
PS.
I'm reminded of my teachers who'd a great contribution in the way I've reached where I am. They'd shown me and my friends that a teacher's job was not a '9 to 5' one, but one that began from sunrise to the silent hours - during the self study period - before we hit the sack. Of course, it was a boarding school all right but the cardinal point was that each one of them was genuinely concerned about our growth - in the right manner!
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