Access to learning

Dear Readers,

I am resuming my blogging after a long gap. I couldn't continue writing due to many personal, mostly health related issues. Anyways, I am back, fit as [an old] fiddle !

On my recent trip to my village, Basavapatna, I witnessed a phenomenon that stirred my thinking. I and a few of my friends were in the village participating in a village community activity. We were tearing down a 200 year old house to help build a new community kitchen there. There was a lot of enthusiasm and activism. As the momentum gained we were busy dismantling the tiled roof, and the structure that hitherto had the honor of being called a house. There were close to 50 people, all busy, and all having fun. Young and old alike.

At this time I called out a couple of young friends, studying in their high school. These kids come from relatively well to do families and have been attending "English Medium" schools since their kindergarten days. I asked one of them to write a short essay describing how the tear down was progressing. I was surprised and even shocked to hear their helplessness. One of them courageously said, "uncle we do not know how to do it". To learn that a student would not have the necessary skills and confidence to write a couple of paragraphs on their own is is shocking. That is after 12 years of active schooling and tutoring, mind you. I have known these students for years and can vouch for their ability to express their thoughts verbally. Why aren't they able to demonstrate their learning? For what were those years of schooling then?

When I compare Basavapatna of today to that of the 70's and 80's, I observe the following:

1. The abject poverty existed in the villages 2 - 3 decades ago is not to be seen today. That is good news. People across the social strata have enough to eat and clothe.
   
2. During my schooling, the Government High School in Basavapatna used to attract students from about a dozen near by villages. Kids used to walk anywhere from 3 to 10 kilometers to reach the school. Today, there are schools in almost every village. That too is good news.
   
3. No school in those years offered "mid day meals" to pupils. Now no kid goes home hungry. This is awesome.
4. I hear that the teachers take home a handsome "5 figure" salary every month. Obviously, they should be more motivated to teach and impart knowledge than teachers of our years. But, are they?

Over the decades the Indian governments (both central and state governments) have spent thousands of crores of rupees to ensure every child has access to a school within a reasonable distance. And, the success on that score is no mean. Schools have come up across the country. However, where did the learning go?

During our times, for those of us living and schooling in the villages, a school actually meant "a government school". We did not even know about existence of private schools, let alone residential schools. Studying in government schools did in no way diminish our learning. Thanks to loving and respectable teachers, we learnt, and learnt well. I feel proud to state here that I had the distinction of winning 20+ rolling shields for my school on various debate and essay competitions during my high school in the 80's.

Then, why has increased "access to school" has not resulted in increased "access to learning" ? And, how do we fix this problem? Please let me know if you have any idea.