New Education for new Manipur 8

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E-Pao! Education - Completely new education for a new Manipur - 8

Completely new education for a new Manipur
— With special reference to the hills —
Part 8

By: T. Vunglallian *

"Centers of learning: School/College": It becomes obvious that such selected schools/colleges shall be large (by our standards). They should cater to about 2500-3000 students, if not more. They must have enough land for the new buildings – all the storeyed structures with the third having a CGI sheet roof. etc.)

(k) The officials – from Minister to Commissioner/ Secretary/ Director etc. must discard their OLD STYLE of managing institutions by remote/file control. Actually, if they really want to see changes, and be part of the change, they must move out of their offices and, literally, look at the faces of their teams of teachers, headmasters and principals, instead of "running" schools and colleges through looking only at files.

They would be surprised to know that if they were to make many regular and surprise visits to the schools and colleges under them, it would make a world of difference! That no big official regularly, or irregularly, goes to the schools and colleges is simply most surprising and incomprehensible.

One wonders what school of management would discourage managers of enterprises from going to their factories, offices, outlets, markets etc. etc.! No wonder such distancing by the managers can be seen as a symptom of the disease itself.

(Here, having separate services would help make these visits easier to plan, more meaningful and more focused. And, perhaps, like in schools of yore, a system of actually inspecting/visiting Inspectors/Visitors should be introduced.

(It is also pertinent to point out here that the prevailing old practice of teachers and headmasters/principals, leaving their students and institutions to go to the Secretariat/ Directorate, for pursuing small or big matters should be discouraged, if not stopped altogether.

Rather, the officials are the ones who should - and could - go to the institutions, without any work being held up. This is simply because, as said earlier, they can take their un-finished work/ files to their homes and work on them till late at night or over the weekend!

The teacher, if one may repeat, on the other hand, can only perform her/his duties by being face-to-face with students during timings fixed for the whole academic year. So, in other words, the directorates should go to the schools and colleges, and not the other way round ... for the more important work is between student and teacher, not teacher and bureaucrat!

If all these officials were to really go to the schools and colleges, the scope for all-round improvement is tremendous, mainly because the institutions would be kept on their toes all year round!

Also, the culture of submission of memorandums, with a long list of demands from student unions and teachers, would die out naturally. Because, there is every possibility that their regular visits and interactions would have nipped the problem(s) in the bud!

The above would, however, call for an over-hauling of the whole work-culture in the Directorates and corridors of power. Undoubtedly, a Herculean task, but the upside is that the proposed new directorates - with some imagination, innovation and will - can help usher in the much-needed sea change... the new education in a new Manipur!

(l) It falls to reason that for about 10 years, during which new education in a New Manipur - through the suggested policies of 'two services' and 'lifetime service in one institution' - should be able to set firm roots, no school or college teacher should be given any kind of study-leave at the expense of the student, the institution and the government.

This means, there shall be no paid leave for one's M.Phil/Doctorate degree/ any research or self-improvement course(s) through orientation/ workshops/ seminars etc. ... if it involves taking away a teacher from her/his students for more than two (2) days at a stretch!

Research, self-improvement must go on, but not at the expense of the students' classes. Never! (The suggestion just made may be against all UGC recommendations and norms, and the aspirations of many a teacher... but this writer is more concerned about the loss to students than to a teacher's personal gain, especially in the context of Manipur, at this most critical of times.

A time when Manipur can be made or broken! What is plainly suggested is, if a teacher wants to self-improve, she/he is welcome to do it at her/his own expense. But, never ever at the expense of students.

Also more importantly implied is: If fresh appointments are to be made in Manipur's colleges - under the two Services' policy – Only doctorates should be appointed). If the above CBMs are adopted in to-to, then, as has been the contention of this writer always, the public and students will go the extra mile to fight for their Ojhas to work till 60/62 years.

A grateful society will fight for teachers to get still higher salaries ... All without the need of Ojhas agitating! In fact, even the red-tape tangled government would say amen without grudging age or salary increases to teachers! It means that, everyone grudges benefits going to ojhas because the general impression is that the majority of government teachers are shirkers... and so do not deserve anything more!

Having said the above, this writer prefers that the retirement age continues at 58 years so that fresh young blood – with PhDs minimum – can get employment.

Read Part 1 | Read Part 2 | Read Part 3 | Read Part 4 | Read Part 5 | Read Part 6 | Read Part 7 | Read Part 8 | Read Part 9 | Read Part 10 | Read Part 11 |

T. Vunglallian wrote this article for The Sangai Express. The writer is a retired Lecturer of Churachandpur College. This article was webcasted on November 14th, 2006.

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