Few days back I was sitting in my
office and drafting a report. A beautiful lady entered my room asking, ‘May I
come in Sir?’ I nodded with a smile, showed her a seat and said, ‘Yes, please.’
She asked with a soft voice, ‘If you are not very busy, may I take few minutes
of your time?’ I replied, ‘Sure, What can I do for you?’ She said, ‘I would
like to visit all the classes of your school.’ I politely asked, ‘May I know
your identity, Madam?’ She looked with such a look that completely mesmerized
me and said, ‘I am an Angel, coming from heaven.’ Something strange made me to
believe her words; I silently stood up and glanced at her with a child’s
fascination and said, ‘Angel, I am blessed to have you here in this poor school.’
She raised her eyes and asked, ‘What did you say, poor school? The monthly salary
bill of your school is nearly 15 lakhs; how do you say your school is a poor
school?’ I replied, ‘Angel, all of my students are from economically backward
families. Moreover, see the schools’ infrastructure; that’s why I said poor
school.’ She smiled and said, ‘Strange! When communities compete in
constructing big churches, Govt. school buildings are becoming more and more
deplorable.’
We walked towards the class rooms and
she keenly observed the children and the teachers. Teachers in most of the
classes were teaching sincerely and expressions on her face indicated that she
was impressed with it. Suddenly there was a change in her face and I looked at
the class rooms; there were no teachers in few classes and children were
playing happily inside the class rooms. I said, ‘Few teachers are on leave
today.’
We went to the staff room and I
introduced her to the teachers as a researcher. She interacted with them
casually and few teachers painfully explained how the non-detention policy
under the RTE hampers the very basic of the education system. She asked with
curiosity, ‘How is that only the students of Govt. schools suffer due to the
non- detention policy?’ One teacher explained, ‘Madam, most of the Government school students belong to the poorer
sections of society and from rural backgrounds, whose parents are mostly
illiterate. Therefore, to train them up at par with private schools is not an
easy task’.
She said with a smile, ‘I agree with you to some extent. Govt.
schools may not be able to produce qualitative results like private schools.
But at least you could produce an average result of simple passes.’ There was
silence in the room. She calmly looked at the teachers and continued, ‘I have
visited the Evening Section of Assisi School in Dimapur, which is a private
school managed by the catholic missionary. There are nearly 1000 students studying
in the evening shift and almost all of them belong to the social category you
have described now. Even majority of the students are working as domestic helps
and are involved in doing menial works. The teachers are of comparatively less
qualified than the Govt. school teachers and are also underpaid. But the
general performance of those students is above average and there is no
complaint from the school authorities regarding the RTE act!’ I said, ‘Madam, private
school teachers are answerable to their employers and continuance of their job
depends on the work output. But, we, the Govt. servants developed a feeling
that we are the masters of public and not answerable to anyone. So, expecting
sincerity and dedication of private school teachers from us is not wise.’
We came back to my office and the time was
around 12:30 p.m. Students from the high school section were returning home and
she asked with a surprise, ‘Is your school time from 9 a.m to 12:30 p.m?’ I
said, ‘No, the actual class hours are from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. But, mostly we end
the classes for the high school section by 12:30 p.m. as 2 to 3 teachers use to
be on leave every day.’ She asked, ‘May I see the teachers’ attendance
register?’ I silently gave it to her. She glanced through the pages, expressed a
strong wave of disapproval and said, ‘I believe a Govt. servant is entitled for only 12 C/Ls in a year;
how is that many of your teachers have exceeded the limit?’ I said, ‘Angel,
when an employee exceed the leave limit, first I give verbal warning, followed
by written warning and then force them to apply for other kinds of leave such
as Earned Leave which causes financial loss to them at the time of retirement. Even then, few teachers continue to be
irregular and the next option is to send complaint letters to my superiors for
initiating disciplinary action against them. Before this cycle is completed, I
would be transferred to another school and the case would end there.’ After a moment
of silence she asked, ‘Don’t you apply the rule “No Work, No Pay”?’ I said, ‘Time
to time we come across those terms in news papers. But practically this rule
might have never been applied anywhere in Nagaland.’
Now, she looked at my eyes and said, ‘I
have seen hundreds of students reaching your school after travelling 6 to 7 kms
on foot. They were resting in 2 to 3 places during the journey to get relief
from the heat & sweating and the same hardships they would face while
returning home. Here, you are teaching them just for 3 hrs per day and take
home a handsome salary; don’t you think what you are doing is a sin?’ Uncontrollably
few drops of tears emerged out of my eyes and I said, ‘Yes, Angel, I know; on
each day of my service, I go on adding sin in my account. At times, I ask
myself, what is the meaning of calling me as a Principal if I can’t deliver
justice to the poor children whose future are entrusted with me? I really don’t
know where do I stand and what should I do?’ She rose from the chair, held my
hands with compassion and said, ‘Don’t worry son, God knows you well and sent you
here with a purpose. He will protect you from all the odds; carry on your duty
without fear’. In a moment she disappeared like a flash of light and I stood
there as a statue. I heard bells ringing from the nearby church and suddenly came
to my sense. My God! What a wonderful dream during the short Sunday nap after a
heavy lunch!!
