Ministers’ beliefs lay waste to the goals of school education

UP’s education minister finds two English nursery rhymes unfit for consumption. He thinks ‘Johny Johny’ teaches fibbing, and ‘Rain, rain, go away’ selfishness. So, he wants these knocked off the KG menu.

They’re against Indian values, he says. Once upon a time, there was a naughty little boy, in India, who sent his neighbourhood into a tizzy, flicking delicious home-made butter from homes, and cheekily denying his actions.

Takeaways from those stories have endured the test of time, life lessons taught from childhood. UP’s education minister, likely, hasn’t heard these tales. But that isn’t the point. The single point is that this futile chase of nursery rhymes is a colossal waste of his time.

On a different note, and even more problematic, was Bihar’s education minister questioning the need for education for girls. This is not just distressing, but shows again, a minister’s colossal waste of time.

Both statements reflect the ground reality – short shrift is made of education. As it is, teachers are made to prioritise all manner of govt tasks – everything is important except imparting an education.

Behind this is the narrow, limiting, straitjacketed top-down approach to schooling, disinterest in education an inherent part, with no meaningful local engagement. After all, what can a village do about an absentee teacher?

Little – everything’s decided in the state capital; there’s no local avenue for redress. Only decentralisation of schooling can help – where local govt and administration are responsible, accountable and thus invested.

In remote Bihar, a 2023 survey showed private tuition was nearly replacing school, where kids go for midday meals alone. Vacancies, absenteeism, DBT instead of textbooks, no real learning, certificate fraud, excessive corruption, have all hollowed the school experience in large parts of India.

That’s worrying. Ministers should be overhauling this system, to make education matter. Not fretting about nursery rhymes, or why send girls to school.

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