I tried my best to balance myself on the bricks that were strategically placed in the annoying puddle of sewage that was coming out from the nearby households. The bricks were there to help us cross the puddle without getting our feet dirty. Every morning I had to cross the puddle, whose size grew randomly, in order to go to my school. There were not many student keen on doing this, they had several excuses to not go to the school. And, not many people were bothered. School for many parents was the place to park their kids when the kids were being a nuisance at home and/or they were not old enough to contribute in the agriculture or household work. My family and I both were exceptional. My family sent me school for studying and I never tried to find excuses, like many other kids, to not go to school.
Our village was fortunate to have a primary school as there were no schools in the surrounding five-six villages. Students from those villages walked, with a home-made bag and a old grain/fertiliser sack, 4-5 kms every day to attend our village school. The sack was filling in for lack of desk and bench.
Our school three teachers, two rooms and zero toilets. But we never needed a ‘toilet’, there were many options. But anyway, for us learning was always dependent on teachers and not on the infrastructure.
Our teachers used the school time to pursue their many hobbies (such as reading Gulshan Nanda and Kushwaha Kant novels) and occupations (scouting for good buffalos for their business) but still they found sometime to teach us. All the five classes were held together, as there was only one room that was functional. It was not a big issue as there were no syllabus or routine to be followed.
Surprisingly, amidst all of this we learnt a few things. Of course, not all the students benefitted equally. But some really did well. I am one of those. I look back and find that most of my classmates never studied beyond class ten. A lack of resources, family pressure and lack of understanding of impact of education frittered away all the possibilities of developing the future potential.
Today, in hindsight I understand that a better education system, better teachers and a better pedagogy would be have done wonders to many human lives. And, there can never be a more noble profession than being a teacher. I would surely like to be a teacher.
Our village was fortunate to have a primary school as there were no schools in the surrounding five-six villages. Students from those villages walked, with a home-made bag and a old grain/fertiliser sack, 4-5 kms every day to attend our village school. The sack was filling in for lack of desk and bench.
Our school three teachers, two rooms and zero toilets. But we never needed a ‘toilet’, there were many options. But anyway, for us learning was always dependent on teachers and not on the infrastructure.
Our teachers used the school time to pursue their many hobbies (such as reading Gulshan Nanda and Kushwaha Kant novels) and occupations (scouting for good buffalos for their business) but still they found sometime to teach us. All the five classes were held together, as there was only one room that was functional. It was not a big issue as there were no syllabus or routine to be followed.
Surprisingly, amidst all of this we learnt a few things. Of course, not all the students benefitted equally. But some really did well. I am one of those. I look back and find that most of my classmates never studied beyond class ten. A lack of resources, family pressure and lack of understanding of impact of education frittered away all the possibilities of developing the future potential.
Today, in hindsight I understand that a better education system, better teachers and a better pedagogy would be have done wonders to many human lives. And, there can never be a more noble profession than being a teacher. I would surely like to be a teacher.
Unbelievable - sitting on sacks! Amazing how you survived school - all credit to you for being able to learn irrespective of circumstances.
ReplyDelete@pixelvoyages Unfortunately this is still the case with millions of students who study in village primary schools. Hope things change. Primary education is still the most neglected part of our education system. So far, the focus has been on getting people enrolled in the schools but we are yet to implement effective measures for ensuring learning outcomes.
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