Burden of education

VISIT any school, and you will see children carrying ugly load of books on their shoulders as if they are being trained to become porters. You have to open their textbooks to see how our educationists, who design the syllabi, want to make sure that the minds of these students become useless fossils and their creativity is killed.

These experts don’t even know that students are being taught obsolete things in the name of knowledge. However, our educationists continue to live in a world of delusions like a mad man who has lost his contact with the reality and believes in his idiosyncrasies.

Indian mothers are pathologically preoccupied with studies of their children, to the extent that they becoming neurotic. Education in India has ceased to be a source of enlightenment and has become a torture for children and their parents.

For most students, learning means “gulp in” and “vomit out”. Neither any teacher, nor any student has time, intention and motivation to understand things. Most of the information in textbooks is meaningless and obsolete. When our students leave colleges and universities, they find that they cannot apply what they have learnt.

It is unfortunate that those who are not able to join a good profession, become teachers. Most teachers get meagure salaries. They are frustrated and promote tuition culture. Parents have become mute spectators to student abuse by teachers. Most of us fear school authorities and fail to protect the rights of our children. Parents will have to come out of their shell and make force school authorities to change their autocratic style of functioning. Otherwise, more students passing out of this system will join the growing army of unemployed and frustrated youth.

— Dr Rajeev Gupta

All boys’ colleges now co-ed 
By Asha Ahuja

LUDHIANA, Sept 18 — With the introduction of BBA and BCA in G.G.N. Khalsa College for Boys, girls have also been allowed admission to the college. The last bastion of all-male colleges has fallen. Almost all colleges in the city are now co-educational.

A few years ago, the idea of co-education would have raised a furore and, probably, it would have resulted in the girls’ being forced to stay at home. Fortunately, things have changed.

The Principal of a prestigious school said, “I think it is good to have both girls and boys in a class. I studied in an all-girls school. I was very shy and felt tongue-tied in the presence of boys. So when I joined a co-educational college for my postgraduate studies, I would invent excuses for not going to the college. My personality was becoming warped. Fortunately for me, this was checked by one of my teachers who had been watching me. Things that were bottled up inside me came out when she spoke to me sympathetically. She counselled me on the importance of achieving a balance between the two sexes. After a few months, my attitude changed. My grades improved and now I am married to the boy who was interested in me in college. I think in co-educational institutions, boys and girls learn to interact with each other without inhibitions”.

Roop Kamal, who studied in Guru Nanak Public School, says, “It is healthy to be studying with boys. The feeling is that of comradeship and an atmosphere of bonhomie prevails in the class. The onus of imparting right values to the children lies on the parents and teachers.

Sony has pleasant memories of studying in a co-educational college. “We had fun and a good time. We participated together in singing and dancing competitions. We helped one another in studies and shared one another’s problems. We never had a problem talking to boys and having them around did not cramp our style.”

Most of the students who studied in co-educational institutes feel it helped them later to cope with their colleagues at their work places. Some of them got married to their college mates and others found it easy to adjust with their male partners.

But all is not well in co-educational institutions. Pre-marital sex is becoming common, leading to, at times, unwanted pregnancies. There are hardly any counselling centres at the universities. Sometimes those in love are unable to overcome the opposition from their families and commit suicide.

Santosh of Government College for Girls says, “The college is like a prison. Girls are always talking about boys and filmstars. Our attention gets diverted to the exciting things which are happening outside our college. We feel envious of the girls who are studying in co-educational institutions. We are mad at our parents for forcing us to study in an all-girls college.”

Montu enjoyed his life as a student in a co-educational college. He says, “I was of a shy nature. But the college days were very interesting.” Rakesh says, “I still fondly remember the college days and the girls I befriended there. I have even told my wife about them. Whenever I meet them, we have a few good laughs remembering those days.”

Ms Dogra, mother of two boys and a girl, is very happy that her children had studied in a co-educational institution. “Of course, I told my daughter about the pitfalls of premarital sex and unwanted pregnancies. I am so fortunate that my children have followed my advice and are happily married.”

The boys this scribe spoke to were all in favour of co-educational institutions. “It lightens the atmosphere. We are on our best behaviour as we wish to appear courteous and well-mannered. When the girls dress provocatively, they do distract us, but soon the novelty wears off.” Co-education is evidently here to stay.