Being an educator ,the subject of education is very dear to my heart. Since my arrival here about six weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit a number of government and private schools. In this regard I had a very interesting discussion with a number of educators here. There are two distinct levels of schools -public schools , also known as the government schools and the private schools. Anyone who can afford huge fees and related expenses prefers to send their children to private schools. Private schools are usually well off and have good facilities and resources. However, most of the public schools lack the appropriate resources and adequate levels of staffing.
For example, my ancestral village Pharwala ‘ s school has some three hundred students and ranges from grades one to ten. It has two levels – primary, from grades one to three and high school from grades 4 to 10. The person in-charge of the primary section told me that she has only two teachers and needs two more in order to meet the student needs. Similarly, the person in-charge of the high school section told me that he is short nine teachers. both of them seemed to be quite frustrated with the lack of adequate staff and resources. The school building was also in need of much needed work.The story was the same at another of my Alma maters- Government Higher Secondary School ,Bilga. I did my matriculation there a long time ago.
School in-charge Santokh Singh and his staff gave me a very warm welcome when I dropped in to visit the school. He was kind enough to show me around the school. The shortage of teachers was again a major concern there. Regardless , I found Santokh Singh and his staff to be very passionate and dedicated professionals. The school invited me to be one of the resource people for their upcoming seminar about education ,vocational training and opportunities abroad for students after graduation. That gave me an opportunity to share my thoughts with students as well as studets from some of the neighboring high schools,their teachers and other professionals.
In this context, another development that concerned me was the lack of pride in Punjabi language in schools and elsewhere. As such, I couldn’t help to making a pitch for Punjabi language both for students,teachers and other professionals attending the seminar. At least it got them thinking as a number of students and teachers shared their feedback with me later on.
During this rather limited interaction and observation with students and teachers indicates that Punjab’s public schools could use more resources and staff in order to meet the growing needs of their students. To its credit, the provincial government has been making every effort in order to properly staff it’s public schools. However,it is going to take some time and effort. Certainly, people with a lot of money can afford to send their children to private schools including the coveted convent schools in big cities. Unfortunately,everyone can’t afford the high cost associated with it. On the other hand,public schools welcome everyone ,especially the under privileged,poor and the needy. This is where the government comes in to ensure that no one is left behind. As a matter of fact,public education is the backbone of society. The western countries realized this a long time ago. It is about time for a country like India and a progressive and prosperous province like Punjab to make public education as one of their top priorities. A well educated and healthy pupulation is crucial to the well-being of every nation.
Balwant Sanghera is a Richmond-based writer and activist. He is also a former school teacher.
