By Imliwabang Ao
It is nothing new that every year after the declaration of the HSLC examination results, the hurling of accusations and blaming govt. school teachers for every student’s failure begins. The teachers are accused for the poor performances of the students. As a teacher I do humbly take a part of the blame but here I would also like to ask some questions and clear some misunderstandings about generalizing this issue of blaming all the government school teachers for every student’s failure.
1. Did every govt. schools in the state produce nil or say poor results?
2. Did an assessment on the number of students enrolled, appeared and how many passed/failed taken in each and every govt. schools of the districts of the state done?
3. Did ever a proper assessment was done on those government schools that produced many students who achieved distinctions in various subjects?
4. Did only government schools produce poor results or were there some private schools too? Weren’t there any private schools that produced poor results as a matter of infact?
5. Is educating and teaching the student only a teachers’ duty? Isn’t it the duty of the parents/ guardians too? Isn’t it the duty of the whole community too?
6. Did a proper understanding about the students’ background and a fully analysis been taken into account like what type of nurturing and feeding the student received in their early schooling days?
7. Is an assessment ever taken on how many students passed in first and second division from the government schools in the state?
8. Have they ever thought about those teachers not taking any break even during the Christmas and the New Year holidays sacrificing even their quality time with their families for those struggling students?
9. Are all government school teachers lazy and indifferent and keep proxies? Remember we too have a conscience and we try to give our best no matter what type of blame some people always try to give on teachers.
10. Doesn’t education involve all round development and not only about books and academics? Doesn’t the first and the foremost education start from home during the child’s first five years which are said to be the most important and the crucial stage for a child’s psychological, mental and emotional development and parents have the most important role to play? If the parents understand this they will never point their fingers on others for their children’s’ weakness.
Many people in our society without knowing the reality jump to conclusions after hearing only one side of the story. Instead of always accusing teachers for every failure and disappointment, let us all reach out to one another by visiting those schools and give them a helping hand, correcting them if there is need to be. Let us also encourage and help one another and support each other and build a better society for our children. Our society today needs more people who can work out from the grassroots level rather than shouting from roof-tops. Let us go to those schools, go to those villages, and straighten them rather than hurling wild accusations in the newspapers and social media at every possible chance on poor teachers. Then only it will prove that we all are doing something for our society.
