(30 Aug ’09)
There was a huge debate
at office about the happenings in Australia. The attitude was “how dare they
treat us like this”. In Sanskrit there’s a shlok (can’t for the life of me
quote it) which says that the one in need is always the stupid one. The giver
is the smarty-pants. Our ancestors understood the ways of the world better than
we.
Why are we sending our
young to Oz? Because they have better ‘opportunities’. Means? Actually more
money. But, it means better colleges, schools, hospitals. So why is it that we
don’t crave for the same thing here? What it is that stops us from building
world class institutions? Whatever quality we do have, we clamour to dilute it.
It begins in
kindergarten. The West has realized that children with enormous potential must
be identified when young, and their talents tapped. They are the really
‘special’ ones for they will be the leaders of the future. Be it in art,
science, sports, whatever. The slow-coaches, the ones who are mentally retarded
or challenged or backward or stupid (if you want a more politically correct
word, please yourself) need a different kind of education. And the bright
sparks need a different kind. Which until now our IITs and IIMs were giving,
but what about the schools and colleges?
In my childhood, there
were special divisions for bright children. The ‘dumb’ batch was, well, duh. It
wasn’t like the label was permanent. If you lost out on marks, or gained some,
you could be laterally transferred. By the way, later in life, many of the duhs
actually did better than the bright sparks: will debate that in another column.
Competition was edgy, but fair. Today, with ‘integration’ happening, and the
movement that no one’s to be discriminated against…. Works against the gifted
children. No one’s fighting for their rights. I haven’t read of any parents
agitating for higher benchmarks, higher standards. No one’s demanding better
quality anything. Customers want rights. Not responsibilities. If we want to
teach Oz a lesson, we aught to have better universities, better colleges,
better courses, and make their rich feel that their children should be educated
here. Can we do that? Nyet? Then our young must face this ‘second-rate
citizenship’ status in the developed parts of the world.
See the
four-generations-old schools, specially the good ones that were built during
the British times. They have space, and more importantly, they’re good-looking.
Homi Bhabha, when TIFR was conceived, made sure the place wasn’t just
functional, it had the best sculptures, paintings, gardens, furniture, so that
the scientists could give their best. Prettiness is conducive to intellectual
activity. Yes, you can run teach children on a railway platform, and the odd
child might even do well. But it’s only the odd child, not the herd.
Check out discipline.
My own school, which is in my neighbourhood, which is right across from my
place of work, was well-known for its discipline. Yes, the cane was used. We
were called ‘dunderheads’ when we did something idiotic and without fear of
media or repercussions. Making us behave was part of the curriculum,
well-ingrained in the genetic make up of our teachers and decades down the
line, we’re grateful for it. It’s lacking today. The principal’s afraid to tick the parents
off, the teachers don’t think it’s important to check the students’ behaviour
outside school limits/hours. No wonder I read on Facebook, ex-students saying
school sucks. From current students I’d expect that, all of us felt that way,
but from ex-s? I see children not rushing even when they can hear the Assembly
bell. I see parents sloppily slurping on road-food, unmindful of oil dripping
on their clothes. No pride in the appearance, no pride in the manners, no
healthy home-cooked snacks after school. Perhaps my audit sample is
insufficient and there are better scenes elsewhere. I hope so.
I’m told the vocational
institutes are better, but I have no experience of them, hence won’t comment.
Unless we pressurize and demand quality, unless we provide and supply quality
education, unless we insist on accepting nothing less than the best, we will
have to be at the receiving end for a long time to come.
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