Self denigration: A national pastime

Here are two disturbing stories. “Empty classrooms show flaw in our education system,” says one. The other screams from a foreign newspaper, “Indian schools are failing their students!” While one can understand criticism from others, why this passion for self flagellation by our own media?

Reputed television channels in India, viewed across the world, send a sad message when they indulge in mindless mudslinging at our institutions and programmes. Far from feeling proud of our achievements, we take pleasure in belittling ourselves — especially when our readers/ viewers are foreign.

Yes, our schools are shabby, our politicians corrupt, our society intolerant. But, is that all there is to it? Don’t we have scientists whose work deserves public recognition? Writers and artists who do the country pr-oud? Corporate leaders who can match global standards? Why, the very same schools and universities that we decry have produced world class scholars, doctors, engineers, industrialists.

If a Satya Nadella, who came from these same “shabby” surroundings in Andhra was recognised by a giant software company in America; or, a Venkata-raman Ramakrishnan, who studied in a nondescript village school in Tamil Nadu went on to win a Nobel Prize; or, our own Karnataka cartoonist, K K Raghava, who lectures in New York University and is invited to world class salons in Europe to exhibit his work – why don’t we talk to them or about them instead of inviting phony politicians and garrulous “personalities” to air their hackneyed views on stale topics?

As for our schools and colleges, let us not forget that it is these same educational institutions that have gifted some of the best brains to reputed universities abroad. Despite their poor facilities and inadequate infrastructure, they have generated professionals of high calibre in the fields of science, medicine, engineering, law, information technology and more. And, that is not all. Our school system — despite the large unmanageable numbers — has made remarkable strides these last 68 years when it had to rebuild itself from its very foundation.

This may have been the land of Takshashila and Nalanda. But, 300 years of colonial rule reduced primary education into an upper class avocation meant to produce obedient clerks for the British rulers. The idea of universal elementary education took roots only in the beginning of the 20th century. It has been a steady uphill task since then until a constitutional provision was made in 1950 that “the state shall provide free and compulsory education for all children” in the country. The rest is history.

The latest UNESCO report has declared: “India has made impressive progress in the provision of primary education and is struggling to do the same for lower secondary education.” The country is also one of the few to provide financial resources to help children with disabilities. In addition, primary school teachers are trained in inclusive education, while resource centres support clusters of schools.

Laudable initiatives

Again, when countries committed themselves to the global education goals, we have reduced our out-of-school children by over 90 per cent and almost achieved the goal of universal primary education. Maybe, we are one of the few countries in the world having an equal ratio of girls to boys in our elementary schools, which means tremendous progress in girls’ education, too. Let us not forget the progress made in other directions to enhance the quality and reach of our school education.

In 1994, we launched a District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) to provide access to primary education, either through the formal system or through alternative schooling. Children belonging to economically and socially deprived groups were provided with free textbooks, notebooks and other incentives to attend schools. The District Education Revitalisation Programme (DERP) was another major effort assisted by the UNICEF to improve primary education in the country by opening 1,60,000 new schools, including 84,000 alternative education schools for 3.5 million children.

These initiatives, along with mid-day meals in different states, have been a big boost to elementary education. Now, with the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009, our primary school system which is supported by governments, both at the Centre and the states, and manned by 58,16,673 qualified teachers, is the largest provider of free education in the country.

All this does not include the Navodaya Vidyalayas which are alternative schools for gifted children. Affiliated to the CBSE, and established in rural areas, they identify and provide talented children with residential educational facilities on par with the best urban schools.

With these innovative programmes for elementary schools, India is said to have one of the largest educational initiatives in the world. When the UNESCO itself has declared that “India has made exemplary progress in helping children gain access to pre-primary and primary education”, surely, we too can appreciate our own efforts in this direction?