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The art of criticism

19 December 2008

The year was 1914. The world cried for war but Bhutan chose education. That was how Haa School was born. Much later, Jigme Palden Dorji, the Prime Minister of Bhutan and Nari Rustomji, the Prime Minister of Sikkim, selected 30 boys from different villages and admitted them to selected schools in India. Progress in education, though painfully slow, moved ahead. In 1960, there were 11 modern schools. Teachers had to walk for days and risk their lives to reach their schools. But they prevailed. They lectured and gave notes. Students copied notes and memorised poems. Quality was not even an issue then.

Today, we have 7321 teachers teaching 192,393 students in 1690 educational institutions.

But even today, many teachers live in soot-infested huts, cook for their students, walk for hours to buy a kilogram of salt, pay Nu.8000 for a bag of red rice and remain cut off from the glamour of urban civilisation for years.

Pitted against odds, sometimes a few of them falter and drown their frustrations in aara, skip classes and visit their friends. But every other day, they plan their lessons, use child-centered strategies and teach 16 different subjects for six days a week. They take half a glass of water and teach their students that the glass is ‘half-full’ although life for them is inclined more towards ‘half-empty’. They practise confidence in an era of despondence. But media peck at them and we taunt them for poor quality of education.

This comes at a time when we have more Bhutanese doctors, engineers, scholars, thinkers and politicians. Are we fair to teachers?

It will be years before teachers will have just 25 students in a class or can afford to take a holiday. They are treated poorly, yet they plod on.

That is why we need to listen to them. The seminar in Paro College of Education saw a congregation of educators and educationists. Of the 21 presentations, an overwhelming 80% talked about the decline of education quality. Yet, many policy makers dismiss the sincere concerns as ‘mere speculation’.

The 23rd Teacher Education Board, May 2003, had a lengthy debate on education quality. The issue went to the Cabinet and then to 86th National Assembly, 2007. The much debated subject was once again discussed in 11th Annual Education Conference in 2008. Ruby Noble’s (UNICEF) study points out that 11,200 children are out of school and 3300 children require special attention.

Some researchers recommend a ‘pedagogical shift’ to bring quality to education. The study also shows that 60% of teachers with Bachelor degrees are willing to quit teaching. The REC’s research indicates that students in class IV, VI and VIII score 30% or less in English, Mathematics and Science. What more evidence do we need that change is urgently needed? Perhaps, the first crucial step towards improving education quality is to accept that something stinks in the education system. Only then can we think of remedies.

When New Approach to Primary Education (NAPE) was introduced in 1985, many teachers voiced their concerns. Nobody listened. The result – we failed NAPE and NAPE failed us. This month, teachers again raised concerns about the quality of education, and we go on making the same mistake of not listening to them. It is high time that we realise it is no weakness for the wisest man to learn when he is wrong, know when to yield’.

By Dorji Wangchuk

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