Assault on innocence

Educationists need to assess their contribution towards moulding children, writes J.S. Rajput

WHAT has happened in Gurgaon School on December 11 is no less than the warning of an educational tsunami that is building up. One is shocked and sad at the loss of a precious life and the damage that the system will inflict on the other two budding lives. There are sufficient reasons that the trend if not responded to professionally and seriously, may become uncontrollable in coming years. No society can ignore such clear warning signals.

At the initial stage, people may be inclined to share the view that this level of violent reaction amongst recent entrants to the category of teenagers was unexpected. Three classmates, within minutes get transformed in to one dead and two arrested for preplanned cold-blooded murder. There is no repentance on the faces of the ‘accused’. They speak out innocently all the details of their suffering at the hands of the ‘bully’, their peripheral patch-up before the principal, the persistence of their anguish and anger and the resolve to ‘kill’ their classmate. Normally, children would like to share the happenings in the schools with their peers in the family or with parents or other relations. If parents have paucity of time or are unconcerned some other relative fills in this vacuum. It is shocking that the parents of the two accused children were missing for days together after the ghastly accident when the two needed them the most. If the gun was kept securely, things could not have taken such a tragic turn.

What are we providing to our children beyond textbooks, examinations and percentage of marks? Practically nothing else! Gandhiji wanted education to draw out the best out of ‘body, mind and spirit’. It is also alternatively described as achieving a symphony of ‘self. society and nature’ or of ‘head, hand and heart’. In the world of intense competition before the youngsters in schools, the pressure is purely on the percentage of marks in the Board Examinations and everything else is ignored. Teachers’ achievements are also measured in terms of the success rate in these examinations. In such a situation, issues like anger management, conflict resolution rarely get handled professionally or even seriously. There are specific provisions for the availability of guidance councillors in schools, their numbers depending on the number of children. Rampant corruption in the education departments allows schools to get away. Wherever such councillors are in place, they are given routine classroom duties as the system refuses to acknowledge the importance of guidance and counselling till such an accident occurs. Everything gets routinised within a couple of days.

Solutions to such situations cannot be found only in schools, which do have a role, and responsibility but the society too has accountability. Children read, see and watch violence and aggression all the time, as it is so easily available in abundance from practically all sides. The print media has, exceptions apart, changed its format and its supplements are major distractions for the adolescents. Films, television, computers are by now easily available sources which attract teenagers and in return heap on them the cruelty, violence, murder and thrashing of friends and foes alike. Children love to dramatise; they love to copy what they had seen being enacted and being appreciated! If gun, revenge and abuses are a family trait, children are bound to acquire these. If teachers’ or/and parents smoke, no efforts can stop children from not trying it themselves. If a child brings in a pocket money of couple of hundred rupees every day, tragedies are bound to take some shape some day. It is a materialistic world in which eternal human values; family values and social norms are declining at a fast pace resulting in seclusion, isolation and loneliness being experienced by young children in growing measure. It leads to frustration and aggression follows. If not detected and channelised in time, it erupts.

India’s teacher preparation system is in a mess. Our schools and teachers have to be prepared to shoulder new roles and responsibilities. Every one interested in education and its progress would recall that one of the most important assignment given to select teachers in schools is that of "class teacher". He/she is supposed to be close to all the children under charge, know them, their parents, interact regularly, guide occasionally but keep a watch on behaviour patterns regularly. The class teacher is also supposed to share observations with other teachers and note the progress in such instances where guidance was provided earlier. The role of class teacher has to be performed with utter sincerity and in all seriousness.

Putting the children in juvenile detention homes or booking the parents of the deceased child for not putting their licensed gun in the proper place are the requirements of the law. These offer no solution of the problem. Not only that, its links to socio-cultural ethos, materialistic pursuits, consumerism and other consequences of globalisation have also to be analysed before a long-term comprehensive strategy could be evolved. Are the policy makers listening?

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