Convention on education to focus on academic issues

FROM OUR  Special Correspondent

Silchar, July 20: On the 126th death anniversary of one of the pioneers of reissance movement in India, Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, on July 29, All India Democratic Students’ Organization (AIDSO) and All India Save Education Committee (AISEC), Cachar units, are going to organize a convention on education at the Gandhi Bhawan in Silchar. With the introduction of a different type of education under British regime, Vidyasagar gave a new dimension and direction to the academic system that infused in every Indian great sense of patriotism and tiolism.

 It was this patriotic feelings which inspired the students and youths to get involved in the freedom movement and become ready for supreme sacrifice for the sake of motherland. Vidyasagar wanted to implement liberal, democratic and scientifically based education system. But, despite the self sacrifice of thousands of patriots, as Gour Chandra Das, secretary, AIDSO, said, “We have to fight for bringing about complete change in the existing education system with emphasis on secularism and democratic fabric.”

 According to Das, even after 70 years of Independence, two types of scholastic system are running. In the state run schools for poor and downtrodden students, the system of pass-fail till Class VIII standard has been abolished with the introduction of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), he pointed out. The result is that a student, who gets automatically promoted to one after another class till the VIII standard, can hardly write his me correctly. This tells poorly about the system. The recently published results of matriculation examitions are reflective of the quality of education, making a mockery of the system. There are schools in the district of Cachar where not even a single student can pass matriculation.

 Though the state government statistics speak of great improvement in the academic standard, the ground reality, pointed out Subrata Chandra th, convener, AISEC, is totally different. The posts of huge numbers of teachers and employees are vacant. In the Government Boys’ Higher Secondary School alone, 44 posts are lying vacant. This is the picture in other schools also. The number of primary schools without teacher is 12. There is great mismatch between the number of teachers and students in a school.

 Subrata Chandra th said in 60% of the schools, only 1 teacher is looking after all the state of affairs. Quite unfortute, the TET qualified unemployed boys and girls have been agitating for a long time for appointment. But, there is no hope of employment for them. There is acute shortage of teachers and employees in every college under Assam University. After the introduction of semester system, students face lot of harassment in respect of the publication of their results. As a rule, results are to be walled up within 45 days of the examitions which is hardly being followed by the authority of Assam University.

 Not only that, in many cases, mark sheets carry glaring inconsistencies. Assam University is contemplating to introduce Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) which, according to AIDSO, will only create more complications in the existing infrastructure. With a view to deliberate over these issues in the larger interests of students and education as a whole, the convention of July 29 has been organized. It will also be the occasion to pay “our deepest homage to Iswarchandra Vidyasagar”, pointed out Gour Chandra Das.