Education in Manipur — An Utter Clutter!

Recently, we have come across many news and views about how education in Manipur is in such a clutter. I have found out some reports why education is in such a stinky situation in our state.

Why ludo is the favourite ‘sport’ of the teachers?

I have studied a few fraudulent traits about majority of the government teachers. These teachers are the sincere lots who want to educate and share their experience with children who have enrolled in the government schools. The students are lazy enough to attend classes in such schools. However, who are responsible for creating an unhealthy education atmosphere in the first place?

The education ministry, in all these decades, has implemented its best measures and strategies to ensure proper education to students all across the state. Officials in this department have not taken even a single penny as a bribe while recruiting eligible staff for various schools. Their sincerity is unquestionable.

We had a fallacious understanding about the government schoolteachers who have been indulging in their hobbies, such as kata lonba and ludo saanaba. We cannot blame them. Who would not want to bask in the sun in this cheerful weather, sitting on broken benches at the school grounds?

If students are negligent about their education, the teachers cannot force them to cultivate the interest of reading and studying. They have to kill their time at the schools, which is why they indulge in one hobby or another.

How could I forget to mention the encouraging steps taken up by some teachers who never show up at their schools? Most of these teachers loiter around the leikai, visiting the homes of every single student of their school, advising them to focus on their education. Some of them are successful in convincing students to pay a friendly visit at the school; some of them fail to do so.

In my insincere opinion, they have done the best that they could. Hats off to them! Their unselfish attempt to restore a good education system in our state is laudable! They have provided innumerable number of counseling to the parents of those students, who are not good at ‘waarak waatemba’ of their kids. Now the first report ends here.

Facts do not feign

Let us completely forget the above report and get to the second report. As per one of the recent news sources, in Manipur, 66.7 per cent children in the age group of 7—16 were enrolled in private schools while in Tripura, 96 per cent of children in the same age group were enrolled in government schools.

This survey should be a matter of shame for the government schools and the related ministry provided they are at least concerned about it.

Education, profession and aspiration

I consider teaching is one of the noblest professions. It is such a beautiful art of imparting knowledge and adding essence to life. We have always considered our teachers wiser and even more thoughtful than our own parents. Whether we admit it or not, teachers influence our lives more than our parents do. They are forbearing. They have mountains of patience. They are the banks of knowledge and wisdom. From the social context, teachers play a major role, while shaping the mind of students from the pre-nursery classes to the university level.

As a kid, I always wanted to become a teacher. When I grew up, I have eventually found out what a remarkable profession it is indeed to be a teacher. As a teenager, I used to take private tuitions of some local kids and cousins, from time to time, as a means to earn myself a decent pocket money.

Looking beyond the realm of a leikai or kolupki tuition oja, I could not dare to dream about becoming a real teacher. Considering my own flaws, I dropped the idea. I do not have any of the qualities to become a teacher. I never intend to shame the very profession by becoming a teacher for namesake.

I wish all the ineligible teachers had the same thought that I have. Caught in the wrong job, it is too late for them to realize because only the salary matters. They have not chosen the profession intentionally. Let us better leave them alone.

There are of course many ideal teachers from government schools. They are like the brave warriors, who keep fighting despite the fact that they have lost the battle long time ago. I have my sincerest regards for all those teachers.

“Education is the most powerful weapon,” Nelson Mandela once remarked, “which you can use to change the world.” If all of us believe that education is a means to fight the socio-political craps and bring a desirable change in our state, we should share our ideas to bring a positive change in this sector.

We know that education in Manipur is an utter clutter. Let us lend our hands to clean up the mess. I encourage the volunteers to come up, discuss the issues, and possibly find probable remedies to cure the badly infected system.

This article was published on 17 Feb 2013

Full Mark For Surrogate Teachers

We have heard about surrogate moms. We have also heard that teachers are surrogates for parents. Have you then heard about surrogate teachers? You might have or might have not heard about them earlier but I can honestly guarantee that you know at least one of them in your friend circle, family or among your relatives. Their dedication is commendable for the very fact that they are ready to take up a noble job at the cost of a petty salary through which they can meet both ends or support their families. Hats off to them! They are the deserving ones who should be accredited for shaping and influencing the lives of many students in the schools where they teach.

In a State like ours where unemployment is a common woe among maximum number of educated individuals, being addressed as a surrogate teacher is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, it is survival first, sustenance is secondary. In the battle of survival, there is no ‘chilhao thiba’ among some desperate individuals who are ready to take up a job as long as it provides a regular monthly income. These teachers also belong to that guild of hard working and dedicated individuals but alas they don’t get any credit for what all things they do because of the very fact that their profession is not really theirs. It can be said that they are owned, redefining what it means to be in someone else’s shoes.

So here’s the ‘siki’ worth question: Who are the employers of these surrogate teachers? Should the employers be appreciated for arranging such provisions for the unemployed lots in our society? The employers play ‘ani-chabi’ games, availing full salary without compromising anything. Some of them even take up a second job thereby earning a double income. I am not sure whether they should be respected for what they do. If I analyse their mentality on ethical grounds, I feel like ridiculing them. On the other hand, I really want to thank them for utilizing the surrogates who earn a livelihood from that meager income, shared or gifted by them.

The whole month or even the year, they would never take a class yet avail of the salary. Their career is secured as much as their bank account. Maybe it’s because of that bundle of note they handed to the selection committee after the name-sake interviews that were held to select the right candidates. They shamelessly flaunt themselves as teachers without any slightest idea of what is the role of a teacher in a society like ours. They are supposed to be the ones who should shape and mould the lives of young students. They are the ones who are supposed to influence the young minds to grow up as promising youth in the future. (I think I am not making any sense trying to add some of my classical philosophies all the way sounding like a pseudo reformer, eh?)

It is more than an open secret that the concept of a right candidate is very questionable as far as the scenarios in Manipur are concerned. Those who can afford an amount between five and 10 lakhs have high chances of getting selected for the post. For those who cannot afford the money, the job is never meant for them. Qualification is the last criterion for any candidate to be selected for most of the posts in the state. Corruption is like an agony aunt who will never stop nagging us till ‘who-knows’ number of years. We can run, we can hide but we cannot avoid it. It will keep prying in every walk of our lives at least in a state like ours.

From my peer group, I do know a few people who love to flaunt themselves as ‘oja’ when in reality they do not deserve an iota of respect as a teacher. They are damn proud to tell everyone that they have a secured career as theirs is a Gobber-men Job errr… sarkargi thabak. They spend time doing all the domestic chores at home. In a textbook approach, they keep surrogates for them to whom they provide a slice of their monthly salary. For example, out of 16K a real teacher would get as salary, 2K would be allotted for the surrogate teacher for taking classes on his/her behalf. Most of these fake teachers love to be posted at the far-off corners of the state, especially in the hill areas.

I, at times, have minced oaths and have wondered: What the heck do they think of themselves? They think teaching is like broker-ship. But on second, third, fourth and fifth thoughts, I suppose it is OK as long as the unemployed lots in the society can at least earn an income even if that’s peanuts, which we locally refer to as ‘heikru manada yomaga fangba’ type. As long as they are OK with it, we do not have any right to meddle in their noble profession, their duties. Let the trend of surrogacy continue. ‘Chaminaba haobani’—TOLOPSU.

This article was published on 12 Feb 2012