GUWAHATI, Aug 6 - Analysing the present status and future prospects of the government-run schools in Assam, eminent academicians of the State have advocated strengthening the primary education structure, better management and transparency in the teacher selection procedure in the government-run, vernacular medium schools of the State. They were taking part in a discussion held at the Kanaklal Barua Auditorium here today.
Organised by the Guwahatir Vidyalaysamuhar Praktan Chhatra Samanwayrakshi Samiti, a coordination committee of the alumni of schools of Guwahati, the discussion covered some vital points like expectations of parents, required policy decisions, need for sincere efforts by teachers, the rat race for increasing pass percentage, long-term as well as immediate measures for improving the quality of education in the government schools of the State as well the future of such institutions.
Former Principal of Cotton College Prof Dilip Barua pointed out that though the pass percentage of the government schools has gone up significantly, the condition of such schools cannot be called satisfactory. �In 2014, the pass percentage of English medium schools in HSLC was 78.7 pc and for Assamese medium schools it was 62.07 pc, whereas other vernacular medium schools like Bodo, Hindi, Bangla and Manipuri recorded lesser pass percentage,� he said.
He also cautioned against blindly aping the marking pattern of CBSE, which is likely to create a �Frankenstein� in the education system and advocated a countrywide uniformity in the model of question papers giving a level playing field to all.
Former Chief Secretary HN Das proposed some policy decisions with fund allocations for every school from the government in the line of rural development scheme recently announced by the State government, as well as a platform for willing people from society to extend a helping hand to such schools.
Academician Dr Amarjyoti Chowdhury stressed a well thought out plan to nurture and strengthen the government institutions from primary to higher level, including the bodies like SCERT and SEBA. �Quick-fix measures here and there or artificially increasing the pass percentage would not give long-term benefits,� he said, emphasising a holistic approach compared to thrust on superficial reforms.
Earlier, chief convenor of the committee Manoj Saikia explained the objectives of the meeting.
Inspector of Schools Khabiruddin Ahmed said that of late, there has been a lot of thrust on appointing highly qualified teachers in the government schools, but, management of the schools is one of the main hurdles, for which such schools lag behind compared to private schools.
All the speakers at the meeting, presided over by educationist Dr Satyendra Choudhury, also highlighted the need for dedication from the teaching staff and steps from the government so that the education process in government schools is not interrupted due to government events or other programmes and the classrooms, teachers or the students of such schools are not engaged in other activities.
Asking the teachers to become mentors of their students, educationist Basanta Deka said that taking care of the students, proper use of blackboard in the classroom and also continued pursuit for further studies are a must for a good teacher. He emphasised periodical assessment of teachers, extracurricular activities in schools and making it mandatory for the government job holders and even politicians to send their students to government schools for bringing the desired changes within a stipulated time.
Registrar of Cotton College State University Dr Shikhar Sarma also spoke on the occasion.
