Citizen Reporter: Role of schools in the present age is to construct new road maps which can connect our rural society with the hi-tech world. The government, department, school themselves and other auxiliary agencies concerned with their progress must make a sincere effort to equip the schools with all modern facilities so that those who are learning can build up the competence to vie with the very best in the ruthless world of cut-throat competition.

The pedagogy of learning has already undergone a sea change. After the advent of ultra modern facilities due to boom in science and technology, the traditional teaching aids like chalk and blackboard are slowly but surely going to be complemented if not replaced by contemporary audio visual aids which can enable the learners to grasp abstract concepts with more ease and precision in a child friendly environment.

The benefit of much needed computer education must be allowed to venture inside the four walls of our classroom (down to the lowest level) in a phase wise manner. Such facilities if properly utilized may possibly boost the zest of our students and make them vibrant and focused in their approach. We should not forget that classrooms are potential workshops for molding proficient, dependable and skillful human resource of 21st century.

Media, being an important agency of education can play a prominent part under the present circumstances. It’s high time that they also become child friendly to a definite extent.

The print media of our state may perhaps take the initiative to dedicate a portion of their publication on education related issues keeping in view the local needs and constraints.

I feel that a lot improvement can be brought in English language if widely circulated newspaper like Sikkim Express, which is regularly subscribed by most of the schools around the State, starts regular feature on vocabulary, idioms and phrases, synonyms and antonyms, cross word puzzle, essay writing, scrabble, quiz and even cartoon series. This would motivate the students to go through these sections thereby inducing reading habit from an early age.

They can also rope in competent professionals to answer certain queries of the adolescents which they otherwise find difficult to divulge with their parents, peers, family members or teachers, duly assuring that their identity will not be disclosed. This would go a long way in reducing the number of dropouts and unfortunate cases of suicides arising out of stress and strain.

The audio visual media can come up with relevant shows which may guide the students to take up their career seriously. An interschool quiz competition would have done a world of good. The launch of Guru Gyan programme by local cable, Nayuma is a welcome sign and the whole unit deserves appreciation for their fresh idea.

With various FM stations thriving on vast adolescent participation, they might take the trouble of imparting invaluable guidance and counseling to their listeners, as a part of their social responsibility. I believe that a word of advice uttered by the RJs, with whom they are so open, would be far more effective then the alleged ‘sermon’ they receive from their teachers and elders.

Talking about guidance and counseling, we are badly in need of a team of experts who could visit our schools from time to time and facilitate the school administration in psychological handling of students. They would also empower the schools in preventing the students from falling prey to the vicious circle of drugs and alcohol, which has become a growing menace.

We can boast ourselves of being a part of the society where gender bias is practically unknown, thanks to the relentless effort of our Govt under the aegis of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling to uplift the status of the fairer sex. Social evil like dowry cannot dare to raise its wicked head but we cannot rest assured if we don’t discourage the alarming rise in marriage by elopement among the teens, a very dangerous practice which accounts for a large number of school dropouts, broken homes and resulting implication on the society, rise in infant mortality rate, improper parental care leading to fatal childhood diseases and mental retardation which ultimately hampers our overall progress.

We all are fully responsible for what we are today. It is up to an individual’s work ethics to nurture the innate capacities already existing in him/her towards a happy, contended and prosperous life through hard slog, meticulous planning, healthy competition and positive attitude.

The students of today are indubitably the architects of our society. A lack of thirst for knowledge/studies among them is a cause for serious concern.

No doubt, it is the foremost duty of the school and the teachers to take care of the well being of the students but we must relieve off of the misconception that it is the sole liability of the school and teachers to lead them on the right track. The society, media, parents, PRIs, NGOs and community should be equally concerned and vigilant.

The demand of the times is a joint effort among the various stake holders through what we usually call community participation. School is called a miniature society in itself and one of its important goals is to produce socially acceptable citizens of the future. In this long term objective, the support and involvement of the general public is indispensable at each and every step. When the Govt is doing so much to reduce the pecuniary burden on the parents by embarking on a number of welfare schemes, they should grab the opportunity with both hands to make the educational system effective, accountable, answerable and prosperous through their proactive participation and interest in the school affairs.

Case studies of states like Himachal Pradesh show that they have been able to make rapid progress in the Herculean task of imparting quality education due to mass participation at the grass root level. A revolution has to be launched in our own state through the initiative of Panchayats to bring a similar kind of public partaking.

Another need of the hour is to formulate a comprehensive and tangible state specific plan devoid of any loophole with precise instructions and guidelines in all the policy matters leaving no room for ambiguity, excuse and overlapping. Let the function of each and every echelon and wing in the hierarchical system of the department be clearly defined along with their domain so that everybody is fully answerable and accountable for their deeds.

HRD Department of our State may consider the idea of having its own distinct logo, motto and slogan by initiating a procedure similar to the democratic process of mass participation encouraged and adopted by Sikkim University in the recent past to decide on its own. Let the priorities, goals and earnestness of the department be put across through these symbolic indicators.

Sekhar Ch Chettri
Melli, South Sikkim