A Critical Examination of Paulo Freire's 'Pedagogy of the Op
A Critical Examination of Paulo Freire's 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed' and the Movement Against Backdoor Appointments in Nagaland
In the recent NPSC CESE 2024 interview, a scholar friend shared her interview experience. The subject expert asked her, "Who used the term ‘banking’ in Education?
In the recent NPSC CESE 2024 interview, a scholar friend
shared her interview experience. The subject expert asked her, "Who used
the term ‘banking’ in Education?" She joked that she almost replied,
"My husband." We all laughed, but it reminded me that we did study
the ‘banking’ concept in Education, though we might not have fully grasped its
implications, or how it relates to the current movement happening just a few
blocks away from the NPSC Office. The controversy over the backdoor appointment
of 147 Assistant Professors and Librarians in Nagaland has sparked widespread
debate, highlighting deeper issues of corruption, nepotism, and systemic
injustice within the state’s public service sector. Paulo Freire’s seminal
work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, offers a powerful lens to analyse this
controversy, providing critical concepts such as conscientização (critical
consciousness), the fear of freedom, false generosity, sectarianism, and
liberation through dialogue and praxis. These Freirean ideas can help us
understand the deeper societal structures and psychological barriers that
maintain oppressive systems in education and governance.
Freire's concept of conscientização refers to the process of
developing a deep awareness of social, political, and economic contradictions
and acting against oppressive elements.
The series of protests led by the CTAN and NNQF, along with
the public backlash against the illegal appointments of the infamous 147
Assistant Professors and Librarians, including condemnation from civil
societies and student bodies, as well as active coverage by local media,
signals a growing “critical consciousness” among the people of Nagaland.
Citizens, especially the young, conscious, and well-educated, are no longer
willing to passively accept corruption disguised as a necessity. Instead, they
are demanding transparency, accountability, and justice. This awakening aligns
with Freire’s vision of education and political engagement as tools for
liberation. When individuals recognize systemic injustice and mobilize against
it, they reclaim their agency and begin to dismantle the structures that
oppress them.
Freire contends that the oppressed often fear true freedom
because it demands responsibility, critical reflection, and courageous action.
It is easier to conform to the familiar patterns of subjugation than to
confront the discomfort of transformation.
Generally, Nagas exhibit a fear of challenging unjust
practices like backdoor appointments because anyone in your neighbourhood,
church, community, friends circle and even ‘teachers’ could be on the other
side of the fence. There is a collective silence or hesitant compliance, rooted
in fear of retribution or loss of favour. The beneficiaries of the illegal
appointments, as well as their sympathizers, may subconsciously resist calls
for accountability because genuine reform threatens their sense of security,
entitlement, and elitist clique they hold so dear. The broader public, too, may
hesitate to demand change because they have grown accustomed to a system that
normalizes favouritism and irregularities. Freire explains, “The oppressed,
having internalised the image of the oppressor, adopt his guidelines and are
fearful of freedom” (Freire, 1970). This reluctance to confront oppression
reflects the very fear Freire describes- a fear that, if not addressed,
prevents genuine liberation and growth in democratic institutions. It
underscores how individuals in Nagaland may resist confronting the systemic
corruption that sustains the status quo, given the culture and ‘banking’ system
of education.
3. False Generosity: Humanitarian Arguments That Perpetuate
Injustice
Freire describes false generosity as a superficial kindness
that serves to maintain the status quo rather than dismantle injustice. Real
generosity, he argues, involves confronting and correcting the structural roots
of oppression. Some supporters of the 147 backdoor appointees argue that these
individuals deserved to be absorbed and should be allowed to continue in their
posts because they have served for years, built families, and have no other
means of livelihood. While these arguments appear compassionate, they obscure
the fundamental injustice done to qualified candidates who were denied a fair
recruitment process.
Freire warns, “… the dispensers of false generosity become
desperate at the slightest threat to its source. True generosity consists
precisely in fighting to destroy the causes, which nourish false charity… True
generosity lies in striving so that these hands - whether of individuals or
entire peoples - need be extended less and less in supplication, so that more
and more they become human hands which work and, working, transform the world.”
False generosity is not generosity; it is a concession. And it is the
responsibility of the oppressed to overcome the false generosity of the
oppressors. This narrative of false generosity attempts to mask systemic
failure with emotional appeals. It sustains a corrupt system under the guise of
compassion and overlooks the broader harm done to meritocracy, institutional
integrity, and public trust. True justice would involve rectifying the flawed
process, not validating it through moral relativism.
4. Sectarianism: Groupism and Political Allegiance Over
Justice
Freire warns against sectarianism- both right-wing
conservatism and left-wing dogmatism- as barriers to authentic dialogue and
societal progress. Sectarianism promotes blind allegiance to group identity
over rational, inclusive discourse.
The controversy has exposed deep-seated sectarian
tendencies. Support for the illegal appointees, lack of protest, silence,
delayed action, etc., falls along tribal, familial, and political lines,
creating a polarised atmosphere where truth and fairness are subordinated to
group or even personal loyalty. This bias obstructs efforts at systemic reform
by reducing the issue to a battle of "us versus them."
Freire argues, “The divide-and-conquer strategy, imposed by
the oppressor, is internalized by the oppressed and becomes a source of
division among them” (Freire, 1970). Such sectarianism undermines the
possibility of a just resolution and reflects a society that prioritizes group
identity or personal ego over collective justice. Freire would argue that this
dynamic must be overcome through radical openness, honest reflection, and
inclusive dialogue.
5. Liberation through Dialogue and Praxis
One of Freire’s most profound insights is that the oppressed
must not only liberate themselves but also their oppressors. He writes “In
order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to
regain their humanity (which is a way to create it), become in turn oppressors
of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both. This, then, is
the great humanistic and historical task of the oppressed: to liberate
themselves and their oppressors as well” (Freire, 1970). He argues that the
humanity of both the oppressed and the oppressor is distorted in an unjust
system. Only the oppressed, through their struggle for justice, can restore the
full humanity of all involved.
Contextually, this idea calls for a transformative and reconciliatory
approach to resolving this issue. In the present context, the oppressed-
qualified candidates who were unfairly denied their opportunity must continue
to raise their voices to restore integrity and fairness. Their struggle, which
is grounded in truth and justice, and not arrogance, can help awaken even those
who have benefited from or perpetuated the unjust system through dialogue.
Dialogue is more than conversation- it is a means for action and reflection,
rooted in love, humility, and faith in others.
Praxis is the combination of reflection and action for
change. Without reflection, action is activism; without action, reflection is
verbalism. Freire notes, “The oppressors, who dehumanize others, must also be
liberated” (Freire, 1970). At the same time, those who were illegally appointed
or supported the flawed process must be encouraged to reflect critically on
their complicity. Their eventual acknowledgment of wrongdoing and willingness
to reform can become part of a broader movement for systemic healing. They can
together reform, for example, the criteria and mark weightage in the NPSC CESE
recruitment process (where there is no weightage for research, publications,
teaching experience, etc). This mutual transformation and joint action echo Freire’s
vision of liberation: a dialectical process where oppressor and oppressed work
together toward a more humanized society.
Conclusion: Toward a Freirean Transformation
The illegal absorption of the 147 Assistant Professors and
Librarians is not an isolated administrative failure; it is a symptom of deeper
issues within Nagaland's educational and governance systems. Paulo Freire’s
Pedagogy of the Oppressed helps illuminate how fear, false morality, group
loyalties, and apathy can entrench systems of injustice. To move forward,
Nagaland can embrace Freire’s vision of liberation through dialogue, critical
reflection, and collective action by re-modelling the education system that
stifles creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking. Freire proposes problem-posing
education, where students and teachers engage in a dialogue to reflect and act
upon the world critically.
Freire emphasizes, “Liberation is a praxis: the action and
reflection of men upon their world in order to transform it” (Freire, 1970). As
idealistic as it sounds, true reform will require courage from citizens -
educated or not, school and college students, Teachers, Research Scholars,
aspirants, and even from public servants- to break free from the cycle of
silence, complicity, and deceit. Only then can Nagaland's institutions begin to
reflect the democratic ideals they claim to uphold. Ultimately, the path to
justice lies not only in correcting wrongs but in transforming relationships,
institutions, and minds toward a shared humanity.
