An Angel’s Visit to a Govt. School

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!!

Govt. Schools – Best Option For Employees And Worst Option For Students!

Few months back I was privileged to attend the marriage ceremony of one of my former students whom I met after a long gap of 15 years. While inviting for the marriage she made an unusual request, “Sir, please don’t tell my husband that I studied in a Govt. school”. Even though momentarily I felt uneasy with her caution, I came in terms with the reality and fulfilled her request. A teacher being invited with such a pre condition may appear odd to you; but my students always express their thoughts frankly to me and it was with that sense of friendliness she cautioned me in advance. As the situation was not appropriate to tell her the importance of being frank with one’s life partner, I have switched over the conversation to enquiries about her higher education and profession. Even now I do not like to discuss about the personal affairs of a husband and wife here; rather I would like to focus your attention to the attitude of our society towards public institutions.

My former student described in the above incident is professionally well qualified and is serving as an officer in the Govt. of Nagaland. Why did she shy away from disclosing a fact that she had had a part of her schooling from a school that is managed by the same Govt. machinery of which she is a part now? She is not alone in this category of people! I still have contacts with many of my former students and I am saddened to say that most of their Social Network profiles have NO mention of them having had their schooling from a Govt. school. They preferred to mention the names of the private schools they attended before joining the Govt. school and the colleges they attended after passing out from the Govt. school. The poor Govt. school that catered their needs for two years at a crucial stage has now become untouchable for them!

If we go through the user profiles of Nagaland’s youth in the social networks, we could easily notice that many of the users have mentioned the names of Govt. Institutions of Higher Education from Nagaland and other states.  So, we cannot say that people have no regard for Govt. Institutions; they only have reservations about Govt. Schools. There is another important aspect to mention here. People are proudly flashing ‘Department of School Education, Govt. of Nagaland’ as their status of work in the social networks, but are shying away from admitting that they have studied in a Govt. school. It seems that Govt. schools are the best option for employees and the worst option for students.

I am not blaming people for their negative attitude towards the Govt. schools; rather I consider this like a pain in our body. We know pain itself is not a disease but an indication of presence of a disease. We must admit that the state of affairs in the Govt. schools is not so encouraging and the system needs to be revamped. Now a days the recruitment of teachers and other posts are mostly done through competitive exams and we are in a position to tap the most talented youths to the department. All we need to do is channelize their talents constructively and protect them from getting infected by the common diseases prevailing in the Govt. sector. I hope the Education department which is reigned by officers who were basically teachers would serve as a role model to the other departments and the coming generation would proudly say that they are the products of Govt. schools.

NIOS Exam Scam – The Untold Story

The recent headline ‘DNSU alleges education scam’ in the News Papers of Nagaland could have NOT horrified many in the education sector of Dimapur as the facts disclosed were a sort of open secret. It is a shame that the well organized crime has been committed by a group of people who are expected to preserve the dignity of teaching profession and safeguard the welfare of the students and the society.  May be no one dared to open the can of worms due to the fear psychosis instilled in the mindset of people. I am happy that the finally the right time has come to wipe out the evil practice from our society. I sincerely appreciate the NGO Child Line and the functionaries of DNSU for exposing the major scam that silently jeopardized the academic career of thousands of students who have been spending years of hard work in schools.

I do not like to go in to the details of many unanswered questions and the roles of officials involved in this dirty game and I am confident that our investigating agencies would definitely look in to all the aspects of the scam. But I would like to high light a very distressing factor of this whole episode to my friends. Whom do you think could have approached these gangsters for indulging in the unethical practices; the students? Never! I am sure that in majority of the cases it should have been the parents and guardians! Many parents of today’s materialistic society knowingly or unknowingly hamper the future of their own children by encouraging indulging in unethical practices. Even many educated ‘over caring’ parents find it difficult to say ‘NO’ to their children and accede to their unreasonable demands.

During my student life, I remember parents of some of my lazy classmates approaching the teachers with requests to detain their son for a year as promoting them to higher class without the required knowledge would not help them to succeed in life. But now incidents of parents approaching school authorities to make their (undeserving) children pass and issue Transfer Certificates could be witnessed everywhere. What kind of future society could we expect if we encourage our children to indulge in unethical practices instead of preparing them to face the challenges of life through honest ways? Attitudes and good morals cannot be developed in the young minds through theoretical class room teachings alone. Parents and Teachers should serve as examples to their children and that would greatly help in inculcating the virtues of honesty in our children. Let me conclude my writing by sharing an experience from my own life.

Few years’ back I went to buy some stationery with my son (7 yrs old). When we went near a shop, he suddenly pulled my hand and said, “Daddy, let us not buy from this shop”. I obeyed and asked him, why? He said, “Two months back I & Mummy purchased some materials from this shop and we had to give him a balance of two rupees as there was no change available. But we didn’t come to this area after that and now the shop keeper might feel that I have cheated him”.  I patiently explained to him, “Of course you have not cheated and the shop keeper might have also forgotten the incident. But you have not forgotten the 2 rupees and you would definitely carry the feeling of guilt for a long time”. I took him back to the shop and made him pay the two rupees and say sorry for the delay. The expression of relief in my son’s face made me happy and I am sure that he had learned a lesson for his life.

Sexual Harassment of Women – Lessons from Nagaland

I have travelled through the lengths and breadths of India and interacted with people from different walks of life. Most of the times, their enquiries about Nagaland exhibits the presence of a wide communication barrier between the North Eastern states and the rest of India. For many individuals, the word Nagaland immediately brings the image of an underdeveloped state in their mind. They could not be completely blamed for their ignorance because even in the national media the negative aspects of North East are projected more than the positives. There is no denial that our state is economically underdeveloped and the people suffer in many ways due the topography, negligence and impacts of armed struggles. But there are many cultural aspects and traditions that the mainland Indians need to learn from the people of Nagaland. In this article, I would like to highlight few of the plights of women in India and tell the nation how developed are the people of Nagaland in protecting their womenfolk.

The number of women suffering from Sexual Harassment at work places in India is much more than that of the sexual assault cases reported in the media. Many women encounter horrifying experiences at work places and the mental agony of such women could not be easily described in words.  There is no job security in most of the private establishments and women who complain of Sexual Harassment against their superiors would most probably be shown the doors in the appropriate time.  So, in most of the cases, where women are the bread winners of families, the victims bear the suffocation of the torture silently.

Even in the public sector, a woman fighting against her superiors would find it challenging. You may remember the case of Smt. Rupan Deol Bajaj, a senior lady IAS officer of Punjab, who fought a long battle of sexual harassment against a former D.G.P of the state. The accused officer had outraged her modesty publically in a gathering and it took 8 years for her and her bureaucrat husband to get a judgment from a court that the D.G.P’s act was a criminal offence. But we must remember that the senior IAS officers could get justice only after knocking the doors of the Supreme Court of India. 

Nothing more is required to highlight the plight of working women in India than the present case of sexual harassment of a former law intern by a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court who was a fatherly figure to her. We bow down our heads in shame as the offence was committed by a Judge of the highest court of India which is the last resort for all the citizens of our country. To whom else could a person complain if the Lords of the Supreme Court themselves commit criminal offences?

From the proceedings of the case you could realize why the victim preferred to air her complaint after the retirement of the Judge. Just imagine, what would have happened to her had she raised the issue before his retirement?

Another important cruelty shown by the Indian society to women is the practice of blaming the victims for the offence committed against them. In many rape cases, women have been blamed for the provoking way of dressing. Even, a woman Chief Minister of an Indian state had expressed such a view publically. I do not support this view mainly for two reasons. First, thousands of children have been sexually assaulted in our country. Do you think those innocent children were wearing provoking dresses? Secondly, how a women dress is her personal right and we must remember that we are living in the 21^st century and not in the ancient times. Rather men should learn to admire and appreciate beauty without tempting to encroach into others domains.

Let me come to the scenario of women in Nagaland. Cases of Sexual Assault against women are very few in the Naga Society and the Naga girls have the liberty to wear the so called ‘provocative dress’ casually without any fear. Rape cases were rare till the late nineties and even today occurrence of such incidents are very few compared to that in other parts of our country. The influx of immigrants, drug abuse and uncontrolled accesses to the internet might be the major reasons for the intrusion of the sexual assault virus in the present Naga society. But we could proudly say that the practice of conquering women by force against their wishes is very rare in the Naga Society.

In regards to harassment of women at work place, I am confident that Nagaland would top the list states with ZERO occurrence of the crime. I have been working in Nagaland for the past two decades and have observed that men and women always maintain cordial and friendly relationship in work places. One could rarely come across reports of inappropriate advances by male colleagues in work places. It is really unfortunate that many good traditions and practices prevailing in Nagaland are not projected well in the national media and Nagaland doesn’t get its due recognition.  Let us hope and pray that under the leadership of our dynamic woman Chief Secretary, Nagaland would emerge as a leader in many more aspects.

Principal Murdered – Principles Buried!!

Few days back the principal of a private engineering college in southern Tamil Nadu was brutally murdered by three of his own students on the college campus while many students and staff were witnessing the horror in panic. The three students had created series of problems that led to the suspension of one of them for few days and the disciplinary action provoked them to wreak vengeance on the slain college head.

The incident which is beyond our imagination has shattered the entire teachers’ community and definitely this is a symptom of the presence of a deadly disease in our present society. Could a principal / teacher ever imagine that one of his students would stab him in stomach and other two would fatally attack with long knives on his head? Unfortunately, the culturally degraded society has made it realistic. 

The murder has ignited a serious of debate among academicians, students and the public. While many people have superficially analysed the case and engaged in blame game, academicians and authorities have cautiously used diplomatic words so that no one would feel offended. It appears that the academicians and intellectuals are not willing to open the Can of Worms in the public. Members of the All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations said such instances are mainly due to academic stress in the students and the management pressure on professors to perform, especially in the private institutions. The Vice President of AIFUCTO said, “Mentoring must be continuous, and not ritualistic to oblige an internal examination requirement. The government should try to evolve an institutional mechanism that provides necessary emotional and pharmacological support to stressed-out learners and middle-aged professors working in challenging circumstances but facing uncertain future.”

I believe that the ‘academic stress’ on the students and the ‘pressure on professors to perform’ should have started from the day the private engineering colleges were allowed to mushroom in our country. Parents want their children to study the most demanded courses even though their children may NOT have the aptitude to study the particular course. The greedy private colleges happily admit these blind folded youngsters solely for money and force the underpaid young professors to bring miraculous results. All the managements need is 100 % result because that alone would ensure the successful running of their business. Unfortunately, many faculty members in the private institutions behave like slaves and seldom have liberty to express their views to the managements. So, they simply turn the heat on the students. This is the beginning of misunderstanding between teachers and students and the result is what we witness now.

It is a well known fact that many private engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu practice the innovative way of imposing unreasonable fines for each and every fault of students. Late arrival, not attending classes and internal exams, failing in Semester Exams etc are few examples that would attract invoking of the penal action of imposing heavy fines. Students from the well to do families may not have problems to comply with this order but the condition of students coming from the economically backward sections of the society is so pathetic. Their parents might have spent the entire savings at the time of admissions and in most cases the students might be continuing their studies on Bank Loans. One may not easily realise the plight of such families unless they witness it themselves.

The accused in the present murder case reported that the college authorities have been imposing fine of Rs.1000/-(one thousand) even for late arrival of 10 minutes, use to summon the parents over trivial matters and insult the students with abusive words in the presence of parents. Whatever it may be, no one could ever justify the gruesome act of the students. But at the same time we must admit that the highly qualified professors utterly failed to understand the psychology of today’s youth.         

A noted Tamil writer (Paamaran) has expressed critical views about the incident and I absolutely agree with his fearless views. Here is the extract of his opinion.

“Instant criticisms and punishing the accused in unfortunate incidents are like taking pain killers without treating the cause of the disease and would never bring permanent solutions to the problems. Today, most of the Educational Institutions are owned by Politicians and Liquid Barons who manage the organizations with the help of political, muscle and money powers. Parents, Students or anyone who raise their voice against these managements are threatened with dire consequences and are mostly suppressed. Those students who rise against the suppression ultimately become the victims of violence.

A section of the teaching faculty is also blamed for the fallout of the situation. Today’s teacher was yesterday’s student and also comes from the same degraded society. He is also influenced by the cultural degradedness of the society and we could not expect sudden behavioural changes once he becomes a teacher.

Today’s education system moulds the younger generation as revenue earning machines and fails to change them into Human Resources with Character and Social Concern. The behaviour of vengeance dominates today’s educated class and the entire society is responsible for the violent nature of the misguided youth. Therefore, in order to bring changes in the younger generation, we must begin changes from the grass root level of the society.”

Even though the Naga Society suffers from the shortcomings of armed conflicts, I would honestly say that teachers serving in Nagaland have been highly regarded by the society and the students. In the days of globalization, we should learn lessons from the incidents happening in our neighbourhood and correct ourselves before our society gets infected by the deadly disease. I sincerely pray that let Nagaland continue to be an example to the proverb ‘Parents are Teachers at Home and Teachers are Parents at School’.