The State of Our Schools

I read a rather disturbing piece in the news recently about public schools in Bathinda. The news item said that the Government schools in Bathinda district had been reduced to being schools for Dalits because the other communities have deserted the government schools and opted for private schools that seem to have mushroomed in the villages. It appears that the private schools are coming up to meet the growing market demand for better quality education than is being currently provided by government schools. This emerging lack of confidence in state schools – and I do not know how widespread it really is - has many dimensional consequences.

It is a shame if education, the one medium that can ensure equity and lessen the social inequalities for which India is infamous, becomes the very medium that indirectly exacerbates the social divide. It is also a blot on Sikhism, which has its strongest roots in rural Punjab, that we can allow government systems to inadvertently bring about a divide based on caste – a notion rejected by the Gurus and alien to Sikh values. If Dalits are the main community left to patronize the government schools it is not because of caste considerations. It is due to the prevailing income inequalities that are biased towards the weaker communities who have no choice because they cannot afford to send their children to private schools that charge fees. But the social implications of this situation should not be ignored.

A key factor that affects the quality of education is the teachers. One hears complaints about teachers all the time. Talk to any one in a village who has a school going child and instantly they will tell you what is wrong. It is common that teachers in village schools send the children off to get milk from their homes and then make tea for them, get “saag” and other vegetables from the fields, to baby sit their children etc. Some years ago the Government actually had to ban knitting in schools. It is common for teachers to mete out differentiated treatment to children based on their economic or social standing in the village. Research also indicates that this is a major cause for children dropping out of school.

Government teachers are better paid than their counterparts in private schools – not only do they get higher salaries but also have a variety of benefits which teachers in private schools do not enjoy. Teachers constitute the largest segment of government employees. This places a heavy demand on Government’s recurrent budget which caters to salaries and benefits of government officials. Of the money government spends on education, at the primary level generally over 90 percent goes towards teacher salaries. So, if teachers are not doing their job, it is a huge waste of state resources and teacher salaries or working conditions cannot be used as an excuse for non performance by teachers.

Private schools are preferred over government schools due to the perception that private schools offer better education. People are willing to pay to get a good education for their children. Thus, there is a strong demand for good quality education which is not being met by government schools.

The image of private schools is of providing good quality education – the child going to a private school in the village has a neat uniform and has something to show for the day in class – an exercise book has been checked and corrected. Parents can see progress everyday. The teacher in the private school probably is less qualified and earns half of what a teacher in a government school earns but is seen to be delivering better results. It is an interesting dilemma all over the developing world – why do teachers in private schools with lower salaries produce better results than their better paid counter parts in government schools? The reason is simple: accountability. In order to keep your job, you have to deliver good results and ensure that the school’s reputation is protected. A private school is run like a business and its clientele needs to be maintained and that can only be done if the children are seen to be happy and learning well.

On the other hand, accountability in government schools is weak– absenteeism, using teaching hours for activities other than teaching and ill treatment of students etc rarely invite punishment. Jobs are secure, transfers can be bought and disciplinary action quashed by paying bribes. Teachers work within the prevailing overall work ethic where lack of accountability seems to be the norm rather than the exception.

In the past, one of the key reasons for the development of Punjab’s villages was the strong link the rural Punjabi had with his origins. Those who left their villages to take up employment in the cities did not disconnect with their roots – but instead renovated and upgraded their village homes in keeping with their improved status. Add to this the fact that the “ruling’ classes – the politicians and the bureaucracy – were drawn in fairly large numbers from the Jat Sikh community that is the back bone of rural Punjab. Their identity was often derived from the village to which they belonged. Many prominent Sikh personalities use their village name in lieu of their surname. It was a matter of prestige to upgrade your village home; to allocate a school; a health center; a bus service; water works etc to your village. It enhanced your own prestige as well as that of your village – a mutually complementary agenda. The early broader thrust towards developing the villages can also be attributed indirectly to this strong link with the villages that the ruling classes had.

Why is it then that the interest in maintaining the quality of public services in the villages has waned among those who can make a difference – the politicians, the bureaucracy, and the village elders? I could be wrong but with the passing of the older generation that was more strongly rooted in the rural areas, the well-to-do are shifting their investments as well as residences to urban areas and land is increasingly seen as a source of bi annual income. Besides, with land holdings getting smaller, the attachment to land is no longer as strong as it once was. Educated Sikh youth from rural areas who have the means are immigrating in search for better education and employment opportunities.

The back-bone of Punjab is its villages. Despite the big hoardings all over Punjab heralding progress, the villages have made little progress in the last 20 years. There are more roads but not necessarily better roads, there may be more grants for schools but the quality of education is not necessarily better. Services continue to be highly personalized – if you know someone, things happen. If not, that’s a whole different story. If you engage in conversation with anyone even for five minutes the topic invariably turns to the rampant corruption. It is interesting to note that almost everyone speaks of corruption with awe and disgust simultaneously so much so it’s hard to tell whether they are condemning it or justifying it. Integrity and self–respect seem to have lost the battle to money. As an occasional visitor, it is distressing to hear that there is rampant drug use among the village youth due to unemployment or lack of avenues to fulfill their hopes and dreams. Attitudes have changed little over the years, parents are still struggling with trying to keep their children in school but able to offer little help being themselves illiterate or semi literate.

The system will not self-correct. There seems to be little indication that there will be any major effort by the State to enforce discipline and accountability. The role of the communities and the village elders has been eroded due to politicization of the panchayati elections, there is no common purpose among the village communities any more. All conversation in the village is about party-baazi. And yet, there is no better watchdog that the communities. Only the people for whom the services are provided can hold the system accountable. The retired, educated people who still have roots in villages can fill the leadership vacuum by encouraging and even mobilizing village communities to take greater bipartisan interest in the service delivery of education, health and other development programs in the rural areas. The benefits to society would be immense. It is a challenge for the idealistic and the inspired to provide the leadership to restore Punjab’s pride and potential. There is no better place to start than in its schools. If we wait for government to intervene we may wait forever.