Quality control: Assessment and quality improvement mechanisms are by and large not in place and are not being upgraded regularly or in an institutional manner. There is an increasing need for an independent body that will be able to conduct external reviews, outside of governmental control.

Statewide, only comprehensive reconstruction of the educational system will enable the true reform of education in Manipur. For any undertaken reform to be effective, it needs to be comprehensive in the sense of addressing all aspects of the system.

If new curricula are introduced once more, simultaneous change must also occur in the preparation of teachers, the contents of textbooks and other learning materials, the introduction of technology tools (a must for modern education) and the organization of schools.

No less important is administration and management, and appropriate financial planning must be designed in ways that take into consideration the need for sufficient incentives and financial rewards to teachers so that they will not neglect their work in search of other sources of income.

The quality of education is closely related to the quality of teachers. To improve faculty quality, motivation is required; salaries must be enhanced on the basis of a merit-based system, performance, productivity and research work. A meritorious faculty (of both schools and colleges) is the best asset that an educational institution can rely on.

On the textbooks: A textbook can be defined as one of the tools to enhance the knowledge of students, and it helps teachers know ‘what to teach’ and ‘how to teach’ it.

The term text book refers to materials employed by school or college students as standard works on a particular subject. They are designed for classroom use with appropriate vocabulary, correct spellings, illustrations, etc., etc.

Textbooks are of vital importance in education the world over, and even more so in the developing countries, such as ours, where the literacy rate and standard of education are abysmally low.

In the context of Manipur, the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) is the backbone working for curriculum planning, development and implementation. The textbook committee is a part of the curriculum wing, which works separately while maintaing a list of potential authors for producing school books.

Textbooks have an important place in the teaching and learning process. Ideally, they have many important roles, one of which is to attract the learner and provide him with an incentive to learn by highlighting the important features of any concept.

“Textbooks with coloured illustrations provide an incentive to learning and they provide attraction for the learners.” This is important as by reading a textbook, the learner wants to learn more and seek other sources for further information.

So the textbook is one of the motivational forces to learn and study more. And textbooks are supposed to specify the standards to be attained at a particular level. It sets a direction towards objectives. It also helps the teacher know the content to be taught at each level. This is what makes the work of the teacher easier as the book has been designed in mind.

Only graded books can satisfactorily deliver the goods to the waiting child whose environment, needs, interests, reading levels and learning levels have been kept in mind. These are some of the ideal roles and purposes of the textbook. This is how we have learnt about it. But the scenario has been greatly reversed in Manipur.

For improvement of publication: Textbooks published by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BSEM) contain full of factual errors, failing to generate an attitude of enquiry in students. Reasons for this include the lack of interest of our book writers in designing and producing interesting texts that would generate curiosity in the learner for a particular topic.

Textbooks usually give answers before the students ask questions. That is why they seem so dull and perturbed in the class rooms. It is found that textbooks of various subjects often fail to stimulate inquiry, discovery and problem solving as the process of publication takes so long every time. If any, pictorial representations in the books are insufficient and quite unattractive.

Many of the pictures are often colorless, blurred in print with unclear images failing to do their bit of showing what a certain thing really looks like. Besides, low quality of binding of the textbooks with poor cover designs, all the more, demoralizes the learners.

Roughly printed textbooks with few modifications fail to cater to the needs of the changing times. Here, it is not a healthy trend to pin-point a particular textbook where mistakes galore many a lesson. Considering all these, the writer doesn’t mean that he has the better grip of the situation related to the shortcoming, being fully aware of every sling that has been shot and its rebound.

The fact is that a little creativity in the preparation of textbooks can go a long way in motivating students to learn as well as make them worthy citizens of the country.

Building of a high-quality structure into an educational system that produces quality students and skilled professionals that are able to adapt to change and design the future is more about the people involved in the process, and is about institutions themselves.

People tend to change slowly when it comes to their attitudes, beliefs, and ways of doing things, especially when new practices and ideas without precedents are introduced. There is no reason why a joint public private effort cannot make a major difference towards improving the quality of education in Manipur.

Lastly, there is still the opposite of all these which cannot be ignored. That is, school kids who travel each day across rugged and remote areas of Manipur to attend government schools often lack the simplest modern educational tools needed to participate in the classes.

The youngsters, who are inspired by the dream of a better future, hope to get the tools they need to succeed. Is it possible?

Concluded