Schools are no more the only centres of learning. When a student can learn laws of motion from the comfort of her home, why should she bother attending classes in school?
Hence it is not surprising that dummy schools are popular among so many IIT aspirants. They promise the enrolled students full marks in the Board practical examinations without any physical attendance. The relevance of such schools is reduced to being only the centres for the year-end examination.
The enrolled students thus attend coaching classes which prepare them to master the strategy for answering multiple-choice questions. The way the teacher transacts the subject is in a unidimensional way, robbing the subject of its beauty and joy.
Considering the popularity of dummy schools, the school heads and policy makers need to rethink the purpose of the existence of schools. Do they need to reinvent themselves considering the new challenges and the changing scenario? What is it that they uniquely offer? What are their best practices that justify their existence?
As a schoolteacher for two decades, I can say with some conviction that the milieu that a school harbours and offers to a young impressionable mind is all important. It emerges from the ethos and philosophy of its founders. If the philosophy of the school is to hone the highest number of toppers in the country, it goes without saying that the whole machinery will be focused on this superficial goal. The selection process will cull out anyone who is even a little off the mark. There will be little pedagogical autonomy given to the teacher. She will teach or rather instruct in a precise machine-like manner. There will be very little room for any interdisciplinary or off-topic discussion. Nothing beyond the textbook will ever be part of the lesson plan. There will be more testing than teaching. Will a child who is a creative oddball ever thrive in such a hyper-competitive environment?
Recently, someone who owns and runs a school “successfully” remarked that they have a policy of rewarding the teachers who have the highest number of Board examination toppers in their class with cash awards. What can be more shocking?
Imagine teachers competing with each other to get their respective students to achieve the highest grades. Imagine what the students who do not make the cut go through in such an environment.
The toxicity and manipulation that adults resort to when competition is all that prevails as a shared experience, is a natural consequence of such decisions that trickle down. The coaching institutes that have made Kota famous (or infamous) are a testimony to the fact that a hypercompetitive environment dehumanises students. They become marks-scoring machines and the bragging right of these crammed-up coaching institutes. Is this the overarching goal of education? Is this good news for a society that is already so atomised?
For schools to stay relevant, they must realise that children cannot be put into neat little boxes. The most important role of a school is to provide children with an inclusive, joyful environment. A school first and foremost must be a place that spells acceptance. A place where new teachers are mentored so that the ethos of the school is passed on carefully to them. Students learn the best when they feel no fear of being ridiculed or judged. When teachers do not politicise students’ shortcomings and misdemeanours to hide their own inefficiency or virtue signal to the higher authority, the school becomes a safe space.
It is in such a space that students share a bond with their teachers that goes beyond the class. They learn each day that the freedom to ask questions is their natural right and not a privilege. Teachers use reflective practices and talk about biases that humans harbour including their own. Subjects and disciplines are treated as vehicles of inquiry and not merely as something that should be rote-learned. Scoring high grades is not an all-consuming goal for students and teachers. The students from such a school step out into their college life with a sense of purpose and confidence which is a reflection of the faith that their alma mater has reposed in them. They feel free to tinker and experiment with new ideas.
Hence it should be incumbent on the school management that policies and practices that create an environment of acceptance and inclusivity are actively and systematically promoted. Procedural transparency in the admission process, staff promotions and allotment of duties are a must. It has been proven time and again that a teacher’s influences can be a game changer in the lives of her students. She can brighten up their day with a pat or smile, or ruin it with a snide remark. Her attitude affects her class. She is responsible for the classroom atmosphere and at least to some extent responsible for interpersonal relationships between her students.
Therefore, it is natural that when teachers are overburdened and treated as the lowest rung in the school hierarchy, its effects are pernicious. Teachers work only to check the boxes and retain their jobs. Ultimately, it is the students who are impacted irrevocably.
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