Amreekan Desi

Progress, real progress is always based upon the education of its citizens. At the turn of the century, we all wanted to conquer the moon and when man took its first step on the moon the next destination was another planet, Mars. That also has been scaled, no peak is high, no frontier that cannot be conquered.

But, sadly we have such a skewed education system that fails to make the student, the citizens of tomorrow, learn. We, have government schools where students are given a prescribed syllabus, which they learn by rote and give exams. Practical application is minimal and in some cases missing altogether.

This is not sensational media reporting or any exaggeration but just what I have seen, experienced everyday for the last two years. My village is on the periphery of Jalandhar, a progressive town for all matters. Everyone is affluent, all amenities are there for people, and the village is a model one. Children all attend the government high school, that boasts of spacious playing fields, a science lab, even a computer lab. But, the ground reality is far from what is painted in statistics. A percentage of the children who attend my evening school have no grasp over the rudimentary facts of math s, science. All they know is just what they have been ‘told’ to learn. Arithmetic skills are negligible; they can only solve the sums that have been earmarked to them “ that will come in the exams’!

Attendance is a joke, if you want to attend otherwise the teachers cannot force you, punishment is an alien word, no one can check you as you might accidentally hurt the child and damage his psyche. They learn about science in such difficult alien words in Punjabi that cannot be pronounced, let alone ever be used in everyday language.

Then, another aspect that bothers me is they all learn in Punjabi, the medium is Punjabi. How is the child of Punjab going to compete with the rest of the nation? Forget, the world.  Taking pride in one’s language is one thing but to churn out engineers and doctors in Punjabi and from which university, is still a mystery to me. Everyday, as I teach the 85 odd children who come to me with trust, eager, smiling faces, what do I tell them that the future is theirs not to see?

Then, we have this policy where a completely irrational sports game, Baseball is taught and played where children play with all fervor, determination and also play the state championships. And, guess what, this game is not even recognized or applicable for them to get an edge when they apply in colleges. The college makes them try out in track and field, and they lose out on stamina.

Where are the babus; who make this archaic education system playing with the lives of these children just because their parents can’t afford a fancy chancy school.

Forget India shining, or Acche Din, both are spiels, closer home progressive Punjab is also a utopia.

Holding summits, conferences, lauding the progress or having think tanks to discuss the problems and to find solutions and to launch us to the next century are all commendable but the ground reality is till we don’t teach them to be financially independent, we cannot progress.

A nation moves forward, if and only when the village /kutumbh moves.

I still wait for the day when hockey is taught in the same fervor as baseball is, so that we may play our game rather an American hand me down game that has no value! Just imagine if the Americans started playing in Sansarpur and we went and played in the World Series!

A comedy of errors. and the Amreekan Desi would be really born.

Ravneet Sangha