Sapna Sangra
Innumerable thoughts this Teacher’s Day! How do I go about penning down some of the issues that have been bothering me of late? Let me take these in parts and delve upon in my subsequent writings. So, the first thing first! While accessing the website of the University of which I am a part, I came across some of the circulars that left me completely baffled. For e.g. Pledge taking ceremony to commemorate the great events and sacrifices of our revered freedom fighters during freedom struggle and another one, impressing upon all the students of the University to pay due attention and respect to the National Anthem while it is being played during academic functions/sports event organised by the University. While I was a part too, of not all but a few of the activities of such nature; I wondered as to what is the larger objective of the University education? I always thought Universities had a greater role to play in nation building by directing the young minds towards research, innovation, science and technology leading to the production of informed and responsible citizenry. The role of the universities in allowing critical thinking to flourish in free environs has always been there. But looks like there is a sudden shift, the shift that almost all of us are feeling but not ready to talk about and take on. When I say so, I don’t mean the reverence for the freedom fighters and National Anthem and our mission to make India clean cannot complement our journey towards fulfilment of goals of higher education; my argument is revolving around the focus. To put it explicitly, the manifest function of research and its application for the welfare of society and attaining common good has been put on the back burner while the latent functions are taking the centre stage of our evolving higher educational policies which may not pay any dividend in the long run.
Much of what is being taken up and stressed upon in the universities these days was very much a part of the school life of my generation. I studied in a Missionary School but was imbibed with very secular values. I don’t think I need directions of any court today to show respect to my National Anthem. I don’t think I need to take a pledge about Swachhta for cleanliness is a habit which was imbibed in me very early on. Each section of every class had a cleanliness duty on rotation basis that we performed very diligently after the lunch break on our turn and had a delayed class that was followed by recess period. We would contribute weekly for the ‘poor box’ though I always had issues calling the ‘poor box’ as ‘poor box’ and always wondered why we couldn’t call it a ‘charity box’ as the term ‘poor’ to me has always been derogatory and labelling. Our teachers would make us bring rags from home and we utilized free period almost every month polishing our desks and working hard and competing for the lustre of our wooden desks. We would eagerly wait for our last period for we could request some of our teachers for meditation. The Morning Prayer, a word of gratitude before breaking up for lunch, the afternoon prayer and a prayer before leaving the school was a norm.
The point that I am making is that the schools may differ in certain practices but their larger role continue to be the same and that is, imbibing in the child a sense of duty and responsibility towards the society and nation at large. The school prepares the child for the greater roles that one takes up in later life be it at the college, university or societal level. Our roles at every stage are clearly defined but looks like the reversal of the same in the educational system. To me, teaching university student about Swachhta and respect for National Anthem and reverence for freedom fighters means and adult is being fed with a milk bottle. What needs to be the focus of the school education is something that is continually becoming the focus of the Universities. The schools have to focus on the holistic development of the child and the curriculum and the policies should be such that when the students finish their school education, they have internalised the basic values which would forever be the part of their personalities and on the basis of which they would step into the world playing their roles in different capacities and contributing towards the nation building. I am not a psychologist but on the basis of my sixteen years experience in education department running from school teaching to college to university does bring home the fact that while we are learners at every stage, what we learn in our schools form the basis of who we become as adults. We may be learning and unlearning all our lives but what we learn as a child is impressionable. So let schools be the focus and catch our children when young and imbibe in them those values that we want them to display as responsible adult citizens.
There has to be a clear distinction between the educational needs of a child who goes to the school and an adult who goes to the college or university. While the school children require continuous monitoring, counselling and support with an elaborate system of rules and regulations, college and university students require freedom to be able to manage their affairs independently in the absence of coercive methods. So let Universities be Universities and Schools be Schools! No matter what, a student in the university is going to turn up for a class not because a teacher has an attendance register in her hands but because she delivers in the class. The student is going to put off the lights and fans, keep the Parisar Swachh and stand up for National Anthem not because there is a circular but because that’s a part of his/her habits they feel strongly about, and they are going to feel strongly about what has come naturally to them as a part of their growing up process because of the continuous synergy between their families and schools of which they are a product. So let Universities stay focused and contribute more meaningfully through research and innnovation!
(The writer teaches Sociology in the University of Jammu and is the State Chairperson, SPIC MACAY)
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