(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 roadfood, 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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