Education will always remain the core concern for all countries. It is, after all, the foundation of any country’s growth, development, progress and prosperity that would propel it onto the global stage as a political and economic superpower or a major power.
Education will always remain the core concern for all
countries. It is, after all, the foundation of any country’s growth,
development, progress and prosperity that would propel it onto the global stage
as a political and economic superpower or a major power. The imperatives of
education for an individual or a country cannot be over-emphasised. Hence it is
crucial we take a second look at an interesting change of Sweden’s recent
education policy. Fifteen years after replacing books with computers, Sweden is
now investing €104 million to bring back printed textbooks. Swedish officials
believe the digital-first approach has failed to develop fundamental skills
like reading and writing. And, what is education without the fundamental skills
of reading and writing?
Yes, today we live in a digital world but this would not
have come to pass without the basic tools of the 3 Rs ~ reading, writing and
arithmetic. Needless to bring in the history of education globally or
nationally here but the irony is that while education has propelled the world
to digitalisation ~ or towards a highly technology-driven world ~ this world
has simultaneously adversely impacted education. While we acknowledge and enjoy
the benefits of technology, we must also concede to its ‘shortcomings’, the
impact of which we see in our digitally divided and isolated lives and the toll
it is taking on our youngsters, which in turn will affect future generations.
There are arguments for and against Sweden’s reversal of policy to bring back
printed books ~ there are always pros and cons of any policy but this policy
deserves a second look seeing the lowering levels of reading and writing
amongst our own children. No doubt, there are various factors for these
lowering levels, especially in developing countries including India, never mind
the pretensions we harbour.
Our kids today appear to be very informed, thanks to
technology, but are they really informed or full of what the political and
economic class and the media, not least the influencers, unceasingly feed them?
Not to talk of the kids but are their parents also well informed or guided by
social media? What have these questions to do with the skills of reading,
writing and even arithmetic? Well, these are skills ~ the foundation of
education ~ that enable and empower individuals to think and analyse, to take a
pause and persevere to understand, learn and gain information and the ability
to process them and hopefully convert them to knowledge and in time wisdom to
appreciate the mysteries of Mother Nature, human nature, society and generally
the world around us. From what little one knows of the technology available to
us know comes across as spoon feeding and/or the ‘Sure Success’ books readily
available to students to mug up just before exams.
Besides Sweden, Ireland is also reported to focus more on
printed books. This makes sense because technology came late to a lot of us who
grew up with the radio and the dial telephone ~ some of us learnt to read and
write under the light of the kerosene lantern and the Petromax but we learnt ~
although we may never perfect IT-literacy. Technology also came late in our
professional lives but we made the transition however falteringly initially.
This, I believe, was possible only because we learnt to read and write which
enabled and empowered us to cultivate patience and perseverance. It is said
“You cannot teach new tricks to an old dog”; if we hadn’t learnt to read and
write first, most of us probably wouldn’t have learnt the ‘new tricks’ of
technology that we now utilise in our personal and professional lives.
Reverting back to printed books can also be seen as an
acknowledgment of the power of the printed word. While it is doubtful if there
is any survey or research that conclusively proves that digitally imparted education
yields better results, the impact of printed books for centuries is a proven
fact. One is not advocating doing away with technology-driven or
digitally-enabled education altogether but policy-makers must draw up a
balanced approach to empower our children physically, mentally, intellectually,
psychologically, emotionally, socially and culturally to understand that human
beings live in an actual world with real people.
Meanwhile, in Nagaland recently the Department of School
Education introduced an app called Smart Attendance Management and Information
Leaves (SMILE) as a digital tracking system to enhance accountability of
teachers in Government schools. Per media reports, this app doesn’t seem to be
working smoothly with numerous glitches reported by teachers, which obviously
will affect their attendance record. The issues appear to be more severe in our
rural areas, where connectivity is a problem. Ethical issues pertaining to
privacy and surveillance besides professional integrity etc. have also been
raised. The point is while technology-driven governance is hailed as an
effective and efficient breakthrough towards development and modernity,
feasibility factors are often forgotten and teachers’ morale often sacrificed
at the altar of over-enthusiasm to boost technology-driven governance. The
impact percolates from teachers to students thereby creating roadblocks towards
education. While numerous apps are most convenient in so many ways, somehow
‘app-ing’ numerous aspects of our lives also creates distance among people,
especially in the government sector that requires the human approach and the
human touch ~ suggesting a kind of laziness and indifference in administrative
and governance delivery. Now, if education is meant to make better, enlightened,
responsible and more evolved individuals and citizens, how does creating
distances within ourselves as human beings from normal human activities that
require physical, mental, psychological, intellectual and emotional inputs
boosts education? While technology has made our lives too convenient, it has
made living very hard ~ the impact of which we are already witnessing in the
form of physical, mental and psychological health and social issues affecting
people, especially youngsters. So, will reading printed books and writing with
physical pen and paper help to reconnect with ourselves, with people around us
and help enlighten us? Sometimes, Grandma’s recipes are known to have worked
wonders.
Monalisa Changkija
(The Columnist, a journalist and poet, is Founder-Editor,
Nagaland Page. Published in Assam Tribune issue of February 24, 2025)
