Whither the school education

School days are surely the golden image in our memory. We've heard even our parents and grandparents school life which they always like to share with a smile.We always become nostalgic in case of our own school life. We feel as if we'd have a magical wand in our hand through which we could have gone to those bygone nurturing days. We know it's impossible. Those colourful winged days will remain evergreen in our memory. Perhaps each one of us at some point while observing our own school going children tends to compare own school life with that of today. We wonder and often talk with others that days are fast changing. But in which way we are? Are we developing in the real sense?


Being a teacher of a government school it often comes to my mind that children in our country are living in two different worlds. One is for the poor and other is for the rich. Children of economically backward section go to government schools while those from the middle class and richer section can choose different options like private vernacular medium, private English medium, Public School, International School, etc. In this way a gap has been created among the children of our country. But was it same in our time? No it was not. At that time children studied in the same school irrespective of their economic condition. As a result they could mix up with various classes in a positive way. But the emerging of private schools both in urban and rural areas diverted the flow of middle class and upper middle class towards it.It's not that the govt schools of our time were unique in all ways. They were full of educational faults and those loopholes helped the private parties to flourish.The situation deteriorated fast. Formerly most of the guardians of govt schools were educated and conscious which played a great role in promoting the educational environment.But slowly that section of guardians disappeared from the scenario. Who is to blame for it? Surely, its our age-old,obsolete educational policies.
In the present situation most of the guardians of govt schools are illiterate and the few who are literate are not enough conscious about their child's education.They are not to blame for it.Their struggling livelihood has compelled them to be so. But it doesn't necessarily mean that we don't have anything to do in such situation.For that first of all we have to change our mentality. One or two years back I heard from a so called educated and modern young girl that she didn't have the slightest urge to teach the children of rickshaw pullers and fishmongers in govt. schools.If it becomes the mentality of our young generation what we can expect from them for our country. So now its time to change ourselves and the educational policies have also to be changed not on papers but  to be changed practically in the midst of school environment.