Sorry state of schools

Notwithstanding the well-intentioned policies framed periodically to improve school education and high-sounding goals mouthed by officers and political leaders concerned, the situation on the ground betrays apathy. Children of government schools in remote rural regions of both Punjab and Haryana continue to suffer from glaring disadvantages emanating from manpower and infrastructural deficiencies vis-a-vis the big towns and cities. That this crucial sector is plagued by the same old problems year after year reeks of an abject lack of will displayed by the government to break out of the vicious circle in which poor village boys and girls are condemned to an underprivileged life due to denial of equality in their learning tools.

Underscoring this stark reality are two latest stories: First, about only one teacher of mathematics for 601 students of classes VI to X at a village school in Patiala district; secondly, the problem of too few classrooms and too many students in as many as 400 schools of Gurugram, necessitating double shifts; notably, in some cases, the problem has persisted for a decade. With the final examinations due in a couple of months, their results are, sadly, a foregone conclusion. Those responsible for the sorry state will yet again be allowed to get away with a knee-jerk reaction or band-aid application that is conveniently proffered to tide over a situation. Even as there is no magic wand to erase years of neglect, not enough has been done to ensure a consistently conducive ecosystem. In store for the innocent unsuspecting youngsters deprived of proper schooling are adverse lifelong repercussions. Unlikely to be equipped to surmount the difficulties ahead, a fringe existence is likely to be their lot.

It is criminal that this inequitable distribution of resources, prohibited under the Right to Education Act, is allowed to recur in a sector that is mandated to be the nursery of a robust human resource. Who is responsible for the below-par youngsters emerging in hordes annually from our educational institutions, the primary building blocks for the development of society? Has any teacher unduly seeking a prized posting been punished? Or, any official held accountable for succumbing to such pressure?