[ad_1]
The National Education Policy 2020 proposes foundational studying of 5 years starting on the age of three. In distinction to this proposal, the Odisha authorities plans to shut 14,339 major and higher major faculties. The motive cited for the proposed shutdowns is the low enrolment of scholars. State governments resembling Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and others have additionally closed/merged faculties with a decrease variety of college students in a decade after the approaching of the RTE Act 2009. The RTE Forum estimates that in complete, a couple of lakh authorities faculties have been closed or merged within the nation between 2010 to 2020.
Schools with 20-30 enrolled college students can’t be thought of an optimum utilisation of assets. At the identical time, is it the duty of scholars to get others to reinforce the enrolment information? How many people will ship our youngsters to those faculties with out correct amenities and fewer academics? Pragmatists think about values as situational and relative to cultures and societies, however did we acknowledge the preferences of native communities in our curriculum or different academic processes?
The majority of colleges mapped for closure in Odisha are in educationally backward pockets of the state — districts resembling Rayagada, Mayurbhanj, Kandhamal, and Koraput have a considerable variety of tribal folks. And what ought to be referred to as rationalisation — offering studying alternatives to the youngsters as assured by the Right to Education or diversion of assets from marginalised youngsters?
The dichotomy of our college planning is the short-term reminiscence of schemes and initiatives. After the federal government of Madhya Pradesh launched an education assure scheme in 1997 aspiring to open a major college for each youngster within the state, many different state governments adopted this mannequin of faculty on demand.
The scheme, popularly referred to as EGS, supplied villagers of underserved areas to demand a college if there was no education facility inside a radius of 1 kilometre. The authorities gave a assure to reply to the decision inside 90 days of receiving such a request by the area people. In the EGS mannequin, the group offered land/house and the native panchayat appointed the instructor. The state authorities supplied grants for the instructor’s wage.
At that point, Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh. The majority of the tribal hamlets received one room “school”. Though the standard of academics appointed in these faculties raised considerations, different states, having tribal populations, adopted comparable fashions and ensured entry to education. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the millennium improvement objectives performed a catalytic function within the growth of colleges. If the group had donated a bit of land for the education of their youngsters, ought to college closure not be handled as a breach of belief?
Even within the subsequent 10-15 years, the inhabitants of many small hamlets isn’t going to the touch 1,000 households or they’re unlikely to ship 250-300 youngsters to high school. In this case, what ought to be the strategy in direction of sustaining present faculties? And is it honest to make one dimension match for all? Do we have to recruit extra academics or unfold the variety of academics wider?
Why can’t state governments think about the gradual development of one-room faculties? Teachers aren’t appointed well timed and critical efforts aren’t made to enhance the training setting. Thus, parallel college techniques are allowed to flourish. Then who ought to take the blame for the failure?
If high quality faculties had been developed for the marginalised youngsters, the situation would have been totally different. The low enrolment wouldn’t have then develop into a difficulty main to high school closure.
If assets permit, within the coming years, the NEP will likely be providing a five-year foundational studying framework. Do the central and state governments count on youngsters under six years to stroll lengthy distances for foundational education? They could should reopen the faculties which might be getting closed within the identify of rationalisation beneath a brand new scheme.
Some educationists have written a letter to the chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, urging him to guard the faculties from closure. The chief minister should maintain these phrases of American educationist John Dewey in his thoughts: “Education is not a preparation for life, education is life itself.”
The author is Adjunct Professor TISS, Mumbai
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink