Fight for Democracy
(The following speech was given in the CEC meeting of All India Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti Staff Association organised at Red Cross Bhavan, Bhubaneshwar, Odissa on 03rd May 2018.)
Dear friends,
We work in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya which are considered premier educational institutions in the field of secondary and senior secondary education in our country.
As educational institutions, what do we stand for?
What are we excelling in which the other educational institutions have failed to achieve?
The motto of our organisation 'Navodya Vidyalaya Samiti' is to provide 'quality education' to rural talented children predominantly, to work for the all round development of the children, to achieve quality results in the CBSE exams.
We have seen in the last three decades many children hailing from rural areas getting admission in our vidyalayas and leaving them with secondary and senior secondary exam pass certificates successfully. Some achieving distinction.
Unlike in most schools we have staff that train children in various fine arts. In most schools in India, the availability of an art teacher, a music teacher, a physical education teacher, a computer trainer, etc. is still a luxury. If education education means training children in co-scholastic activities simultaneously with scholastic activities , we are surely on track.
Coming to quality results, we have been achieving very high pass percentages,and subject averages very consistently.
If education and success means, helping our children reach high positions in their careers, we can see a good number of our children doing well in professional exams and even highly tough civil service examinations.
But, the story of the so-called 'excellence and success' is being achieved at a high price - both of the student and the teacher.
We claim that our country is a democratic country.
In a democratic country, the spirit of democracy, which is free and healthy discussion and honouring the decision of the majority, should thrive from the bottom to the top. But think what is happening in our organisation.
There should also be an honest discussion of the function of the organisation at regular intervals. All the stake holders, students, parents, teachers, administrators should meet, take a stock of the situation and chalk out an action plan. We should also involve the progressive minded educationists, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc and take their opinions, discuss and see that most constructive and revolutionary ideas are tried if approved by the majority.
Are these things happening?
Let us initiate a discussion on Perspective Academic Planning (PAP), which now defines the work of each one of us. It is an important document and is being revised frequently. But
1. Who have prepared this document?
2. When the document defines the functioning of the thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff, why no stakeholders are involved in the preparation of it?
Most unfortunately, this undemocratic practice of ignoring the people whom the policies and decisions affect has been continuing in our organisation for decades.
The management of our organisation is probably one of the most autocratic in the country. All the decisions are made at the top and expected to be obeyed silently by all.
Why has the spirit of democracy not trickled down to the bottom?
Why are we always expected to follow and why are we not listened?
Our organisation believes that teachers, non-teaching staff and students are empty heads while the administrators are wise.
The same is happening at the school level. The Principals think that students and staff are empty heads. We treat the children in our classrooms similarly. We are all classic examples to prove the hollowness or our democratic system.
Have we ever asked ourselves what kind of citizens are we training in our schools?
Unfortunately, our children are replicas of our system. They may reach great heights, occupy the highest positions in the society, but they either become dictatorial officers or submissive individuals - everything except true practitioners of democratic values. The democracy of a country is at peril when its citizens lead a self-centred life and do little to stand by the people who are being deprived of their rights to live a life of honour and dignity.
The quality results that we achieve lose their lustre when we produce egoistic individuals - individuals who believe in material success and gains, and blind to their social responsibilities.
The motto of our organisation should change. In the name of achieving excellence in education at unrealistic goals, our children should not be made scapegoats of our irrational educational goals or agenda.
children are unique. Each one is different from the other in his or her interest and aptitude. No child is incapable of learning. Every child learns at her/his own speed because they are differently motivated. We forget the individual differences of children and are diving headlong to achieve goals that are set by the management. As a result, a kind of unhealthy and unacademic and life-threatening atmosphere has set in our schools. We are mad about high averages. Students too are trapped. They don't know their strengths and weaknesses. They too join the rat race for high averages. It is sad to see a student who is good at art, music or a language but nagged by other subject teachers because she/he is not doing well in their subjects. Why aren't we respecting the interest of the child? Why do we compel them to make our ambitions and goals their ambitions and goals. Every year we see children joining science streams whereas their aptitude and interest lies somewhere else.
Let us fight for democracy within our organisation.
Let us say 'No' to the unrealistic and unscientific goals set by NVS.
Let us not sacrifice our quality time in training our children in rote-memory.
Let us not make our children the scapegoats of the organisation's narrow academic goals.
Let us honour the United Nations Convention on the rights of the children which includes the right of all children to express their views freely on all mattes affecting them.
Let us honour the right of the children against corporal punishment.
Let us also honour our girl children and our female colleagues. Let us not forget that our honour is linked with safeguarding their honour.
Let us also pledge to fight against the discrimination of girl children especially, and all other children in general.
Dear friends,
We should fight for democracy.
While fighting for it, we should ensure that the same is not denied to our children. When we succeed in promoting the spirit of democracy in our dealings with children, we will be truly performing the duties of this noblest calling - teaching.
My appeal to you is to discuss, to grow professionally while fighting for and honouring the principles of democracy.
Thanks one and all.
Dear friends,
We work in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya which are considered premier educational institutions in the field of secondary and senior secondary education in our country.
As educational institutions, what do we stand for?
What are we excelling in which the other educational institutions have failed to achieve?
The motto of our organisation 'Navodya Vidyalaya Samiti' is to provide 'quality education' to rural talented children predominantly, to work for the all round development of the children, to achieve quality results in the CBSE exams.
We have seen in the last three decades many children hailing from rural areas getting admission in our vidyalayas and leaving them with secondary and senior secondary exam pass certificates successfully. Some achieving distinction.
Unlike in most schools we have staff that train children in various fine arts. In most schools in India, the availability of an art teacher, a music teacher, a physical education teacher, a computer trainer, etc. is still a luxury. If education education means training children in co-scholastic activities simultaneously with scholastic activities , we are surely on track.
Coming to quality results, we have been achieving very high pass percentages,and subject averages very consistently.
If education and success means, helping our children reach high positions in their careers, we can see a good number of our children doing well in professional exams and even highly tough civil service examinations.
But, the story of the so-called 'excellence and success' is being achieved at a high price - both of the student and the teacher.
We claim that our country is a democratic country.
In a democratic country, the spirit of democracy, which is free and healthy discussion and honouring the decision of the majority, should thrive from the bottom to the top. But think what is happening in our organisation.
There should also be an honest discussion of the function of the organisation at regular intervals. All the stake holders, students, parents, teachers, administrators should meet, take a stock of the situation and chalk out an action plan. We should also involve the progressive minded educationists, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc and take their opinions, discuss and see that most constructive and revolutionary ideas are tried if approved by the majority.
Are these things happening?
Let us initiate a discussion on Perspective Academic Planning (PAP), which now defines the work of each one of us. It is an important document and is being revised frequently. But
1. Who have prepared this document?
2. When the document defines the functioning of the thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff, why no stakeholders are involved in the preparation of it?
Most unfortunately, this undemocratic practice of ignoring the people whom the policies and decisions affect has been continuing in our organisation for decades.
The management of our organisation is probably one of the most autocratic in the country. All the decisions are made at the top and expected to be obeyed silently by all.
Why has the spirit of democracy not trickled down to the bottom?
Why are we always expected to follow and why are we not listened?
Our organisation believes that teachers, non-teaching staff and students are empty heads while the administrators are wise.
The same is happening at the school level. The Principals think that students and staff are empty heads. We treat the children in our classrooms similarly. We are all classic examples to prove the hollowness or our democratic system.
Have we ever asked ourselves what kind of citizens are we training in our schools?
Unfortunately, our children are replicas of our system. They may reach great heights, occupy the highest positions in the society, but they either become dictatorial officers or submissive individuals - everything except true practitioners of democratic values. The democracy of a country is at peril when its citizens lead a self-centred life and do little to stand by the people who are being deprived of their rights to live a life of honour and dignity.
The quality results that we achieve lose their lustre when we produce egoistic individuals - individuals who believe in material success and gains, and blind to their social responsibilities.
The motto of our organisation should change. In the name of achieving excellence in education at unrealistic goals, our children should not be made scapegoats of our irrational educational goals or agenda.
children are unique. Each one is different from the other in his or her interest and aptitude. No child is incapable of learning. Every child learns at her/his own speed because they are differently motivated. We forget the individual differences of children and are diving headlong to achieve goals that are set by the management. As a result, a kind of unhealthy and unacademic and life-threatening atmosphere has set in our schools. We are mad about high averages. Students too are trapped. They don't know their strengths and weaknesses. They too join the rat race for high averages. It is sad to see a student who is good at art, music or a language but nagged by other subject teachers because she/he is not doing well in their subjects. Why aren't we respecting the interest of the child? Why do we compel them to make our ambitions and goals their ambitions and goals. Every year we see children joining science streams whereas their aptitude and interest lies somewhere else.
Let us fight for democracy within our organisation.
Let us say 'No' to the unrealistic and unscientific goals set by NVS.
Let us not sacrifice our quality time in training our children in rote-memory.
Let us not make our children the scapegoats of the organisation's narrow academic goals.
Let us honour the United Nations Convention on the rights of the children which includes the right of all children to express their views freely on all mattes affecting them.
Let us honour the right of the children against corporal punishment.
Let us also honour our girl children and our female colleagues. Let us not forget that our honour is linked with safeguarding their honour.
Let us also pledge to fight against the discrimination of girl children especially, and all other children in general.
Dear friends,
We should fight for democracy.
While fighting for it, we should ensure that the same is not denied to our children. When we succeed in promoting the spirit of democracy in our dealings with children, we will be truly performing the duties of this noblest calling - teaching.
My appeal to you is to discuss, to grow professionally while fighting for and honouring the principles of democracy.
Thanks one and all.
Comments
Post a Comment