Free education ensures equality
In this very polarised and emotive debate about reservations, a set of terms that have been used liberally by people on both sides is “equality”, and the “equality of opportunity”.
By TNN |
In this very polarised and emotive debate about reservations, a set of terms that have been used liberally by people on both sides is “equality”, and the “equality of opportunity”.
Equality itself is too rigid a term to use at a point where it sits on the foundation of the stark inequalities of our society, and its use therefore will only fuel the differences.
However, if equality of opportunity had been ensured at the time of Independence, we would not have faced this seemingly intractable situation today. The most effective, least controversial and humanitarian way of ensuring equality of opportunity would have been to have free, compulsory and equal education for all our children up to the secondary level.
The universal appeal of ensuring that every child receives an equal opportunity becomes a mere platitude in the absence of the somewhat bitter pills that constitute the essential pre-requisites. I visited school no. 19 in Moscow in 1981. Whatever the arguments about the Soviet system, there could be little disagreement about the merit in the priority they gave to their children, their schools, and their crèches.
The schools were numbered, so that all children in that locality got the same quality education, resources, and curricula. It might not have worked to plan. But it worked wonders to bridge gaps in Russian society.
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It certainly worked better than the inequality manufactured by our education system, where municipal schools jostle with the schools where most of ‘our’ English speaking children go — to what we ironically and conveniently enough call a “public school.” This is our urban scenario.As for the rural schooling system in India, the less said, the better. It is not that education is not a peoples’ priority. One of the greatest demands of people today is to have their children go to decent schools. Even the poor have shown their willingness to even pay money to send their children to a private school, if it can deliver.
But what is the choice the rural student has? A government school with no facilities, and no teachers; and a private ‘English medium’ school with fees, uniforms, and unqualified teachers who know no English.
In addition, these teachers are exploited by being paid sub-minimum wage salaries in exchange for certificates of teaching experiences. Many of them are forced to encourage their own students to come for tuition, in order to make ends meet.
These years of work and effort by great educationists has led to some change. The numbers of schools have increased. Mid-day meals across the country have boosted attendance and nutrition. Facilities have also improved in some cases. However, the one thing that matters most, continues to be a great void — enough well trained, and dedicated teachers.
The only way, however, to have education serve as a means of fostering equality of opportunity, and a bridge between many differences, is to have adequate financial resources, backed by strong political will, and resolve that we will have an education system that will provide only one kind of education, and it will be the best that this country can give to all our children.
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