| Stemming the rot
The unwritten rule till now is to send the report cards of students by the respective schools to the parents of guardians, to keep them informed how their wards are faring in the examinations from monthly to yearly examinations. But now there will be a role reversal at least in one college in the Eastern State of West Bengal. This time the teachers who have been taking the pains in preparing and sending reports on the performance of the students, will now be receiving the report cards on their own performance. Who will prepare the reports? Who else, their students.
The idea was developed by a
North Bengal college called St Joseph's College with a view to improving the performance of teachers to ensure quality education. The decision to let the students express their opinions on the performance of their masters in their classes was taken by the teachers themselves. The students of the entire college took part in the exercise and the reports have been classified. However, the contents of the reports will be made known to the concerned teachers. That is not all. The report prepared by the students will be compared with one self- evaluation report that every teacher would have to submit. The principal Fr P Joseph Victor is hoping that comparison between the two reports will help them understand themselves better. It remains to be seen whether this new experiment will yield any good results, but what is noteworthy is the sincere attempt by the school authority to improve the performance of the teachers.
Such innovative ideas and initiatives by the school authorities is shockingly lacking in almost all the educational institutions in our own State. The private institutions are slightly better than State run institutions. It may not be an exaggeration to say that almost all the State owned schools are having a slow death, if not already dead. A joke will illustrate the present state of education system in Manipur. A school inspector asked students during one of his routine visits who smashed the Mughal Empire. The students said in one voice that none of them did it. Shocked by the answer, the inspector went to the head master. The head master too defended the students saying that his students would not commit such acts. The whole atmosphere is getting murkier and murkier.
The just concluded matriculation examination saw blood letting. A teacher was killed while many others were shot on the charge of encouraging or assisting unfair means in the examination. The situation has deteriorated so much so that guardians and parents have supported use of unfair means and mass copying in the examinations. While the teachers, guardian and the authorities should share the responsibility for the sorry state of affairs, the prevailing corrupt system has also contributed to it. As long as jobs are sold and bought, the education system will continue to rot away. The society should provide a space for the hard working and outstanding students who pass examinations with flying colors. Our schools can learn a lesson from the Bengal College. The teachers in that college are not complaining.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
|
Welcome! 
International
Features
