Pete, Dubai/Mangalore

3. We all hated schooling at one point or the other. We all went through a lot of tuff times and as well of good times. We all have faced hurdles and through them learnt lessons that we have endured for the life ahead. Strictness, beating, etc. is a time or a phase in our life which we all hate and very few might say like. But, the hateful moments of our schooldays is all "fun" when we grow up and meet our classmates and share stories of schooling and laugh it out.

Pete, Dubai/Mangalore

2. Kids hate schooling at some point of time or the other. There nothing we can do about it. Even if we bring suitable changes as you suggested it will still remain a problem as these swings of fun and not fun continue. This is a time when we have to be grateful to the teachers whom we don't even remember, who taught us with such patience, the letters and alphabets and made us all literates. Mind you this was all done without your approval. By force, we can say and despite your crying and cribbing that you wanted to go home to your Mom or Dad. If the teachers had let you go home to your Dad/ Mum you wouldn’t have written this article in the first place. Ha Ha HA! I am just kidding here. But, the point is that we are dealing with children here and they can't choose, learn, and decide on their own until a certain point of age. Till then they need guidance and help.

Pete, Dubai/Mangalore

1.Raising children is one and educating is another. The writer needs to understand that a teacher deals with a large number of children and the quality of education that you are expecting can't be generalised. Teacher's job is to educate but, they also concentrate effectively on the moral upbringing and disciplinary issues as well. This becomes quite difficult to teacher sometimes and they finally use beating, etc. for the larger good. Even our parents too beat us right. In this way it is good but everything else like abuse/unreasonable punishments should primarily be the parent’s responsibility. They also need to closely be in touch with their children and behaviors. They are the ones who should know about the teachers who handle our kids. You have been critical on the teaching but you are not clear if it's either pre-schooling or primary or higher primary.

Mohan Gatty, Mangalore - Muscat

It is amazing that the first comment by Norbet and few following comments by other contributors have condemmed the author of the article. This complacency is the reason why the past generation and many short sighted people in our society have accepted all wrongs as rights and have never sought to correct the system. A journalist / blogger writes an article to exoress their views and many, like me actually agree with the author. Therefore the comments asking question like "why dont you contribute, change the system, why send your kids to school" etc etc is a lame arguement. A very backward view of if you dont like it leave it.

Well, I guess the internet allows all sorts to contribute. Our education system has brought out parrots who can recite theories and text books but pratical application is limited to a few bright people. Teachers have no training. In any case you cannot have sympath on those who abuse their power, especially abuses against children. You shame those who stand up for the weak? Shame on those who criticise what they do not understand. Read your bible, better yet read the news, teachers, priest and nuns are not all holy and no matter their position in the school or church, you deserve jail time if you abuse kids... Just see what I would do to the one who does ill treat my kid. BTW Norbet would you allow your child to suffer abuse?

Gabriel, catching to the west is necessary especially where basic rights are defended is not a bad thing.

norbert, Mangalore

Teaching is one profession about which anyone and everyone can write and preach. It would have been a great help if the writer had suggested a concrete alternative. First of all if those five and half days of attending school every week are a waste, why do you send your children / child to the same school system? Moreover why didn’t you become a teacher and change the system?. Exceptions are there in every profession that does not mean that the entire system and all the teachers and nuns are bad. Its a pity that you had to go to a school where you weren't treated well. The writer and the readers should note that majority of the successful people all over the world attribute their success mostly to their teachers. So it is better to analyse the problem in a very scientific and logical way and arrive at rational conclusions. Just by lashing at the teachers by keeping one or two teachers and examples does not augur well for any civilized person when none of the parents want their child nor the children interested to take up nor teaching as a profession.

Melwin Pinto, Mangalore, Rome.

While Ashuntha has raised quite a few valid points, we cannot always indulge in bashing teachers... Who wants to be teachers these days... All parents who have children who score good marks and are performing well in academics want their children to be anything but teachers...! Teachers are the least paid professionals in a sick society like ours. Who is to be blamed for this? If you want to pay them well you have to charge higher fees.. If you charge higher fees, people are up in arms... They speak ill of schools. How can we find good teachers...? You pay peanuts you get only monkeys..! I have been a head of a school for a decade and a half in Karnataka ...Its easy to sit back and blame institutions and the Government. While we ask who should stem the rot, I suppose we need to know we are all responsible.

Br. Victor Crasta, OFM Cap., Mangalore/Chikmagalur

Dear Ashu
Excellent article indeed. You should have been a teacher, Headmistress or a Principal. Congrats!

Paula, UK/Dubai

Dear Ashunta,

Thank you for this article, I found your recollections enlightening but very disturbing.

I completely agree that all children should be able to go to school without fear of any kind of abuse or humiliation.

Schools, and educators, should all strive to ensure that children are engaged in their learning and well prepared for the future.

School should be a place for children to develop both their knowledge and their personalities, in a safe and encouraging environment. I'm sure, like many, that the practices you mentioned will soon be a thing of the past.

Gabriel, Mangalore/USA

In the west it is common to blame everything and every personal failures on some kind of abuse in childhood by parents, step parents, siblings, teachers, coaches, priests or arch bishops at the behest of psychiatrists.

Looks like India is catching up.

A. S. Mathew, U.S.A.

Great article shedding light on a very outdated and dark system.
How the children can be relaxed and
learn better, if they are feeling like going to a chamber of torture?

At first the educational system of India must give special training to all the teachers to be loving-caring human beings before posted into the teaching career. The TTC or B.Ed-M.Ed etc are not giving any specific lesson on those urgent human characters. Some of the teachers come to school with a load of
personal problems from home and
dumping on the innocent and already tense students. I do remember with pain, how some of those teachers in the middle school caused me migraine headache on a regular basis. IT IS TOO LATE, MAKE DRASTIC CHANGES IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, SO THAT THE CHILDREN WILL BE HAPPY TO COME TO SCHOOL AND STUDY BETTER.

Yeyaar, Pakala/DxB

Good Attempt Ashuntha,yes Education system needs to streamlined but meantime discipline in Educational institutes is also Important!

vivian, dubai

Those days childrens had Moral values to give respect to elders/teachers and dnt had dare to complain about teachers...but now generation gap even if teacher shout also they make suicide.no moral values..only competition ....

Mark, Udyavara

Very good article. Good comparisons. With all this and the fear of teachers, etc, I could still progress much in life. This is mainly because of the right attitude that my parents inculcated. Most of what I am is because of my set goals in life. Initial punishments are a sort of lessons to build upon.

These least of the worries that I grew up with. Most intriguing and mental torture that I went through life (going on still) is what the high level education within the country where students from premier institutes come out and join hands with the bandwagon of corrupt governance. What's baffling is that premier institution like IAS, IPS, LAW & order within the country has only promoted most corrupt mentalities in the country. This is apathy that I face even today.

Write & educate more of this. That is the hour of need.

francis (Joe) Martis, Barkur/USA

Ashuntha,

Your article is very interesting and true.

I have had my own experience,while I was at elementary school. I was not good at studies nor a smart student. I was often beaten up mercilessly for minor errors or not giving attention to studies, besides my parents were not rich. Those days it counts. Yes, I had witnessed many a times a teacher pinching girls behind their butt or even touching private parts too. Yes those days no student would complain to their parents with fear of more beatings from them. it was then, now things may have changed to better, still a lot more could be changed in education system.

savitha dsouza, mangalore

very good article.. and am truly agree with the writer. The shame, which we faced during childhood is still not cured in our lives. we had a nun in the school who used to pick a few dark skined girls and tell with other teachers ' sea these black angels.' and also remebered the experience of tagging a answer sheeet of failed marks and going to class to class and also to staff rooms..college life is better than school life. Teachers must be trained also to be a human they shouldnt insult children. Thank God finally now they stopped the cruel punishments in the schools speacialy in karnataka.

Ted, Mangalore

Teachers don't have any right to physically punish students for any reason or Sexually harass students. The parents of children who have been physically punished or sexually harassed should file a criminal case against such teachers.

Kavitha, mangalore

Very nice article. Just few days back I had this experience. My kid has not taken her notebook and teacher beat her on her back which was unexpected for her. She was so emotional, bcoz it was a shame for her infront of other kids. Next day I went to the school and told the teacher, she dare touching my kid in future.

Bulsam, Mangalore

Education is the pragmatic application of knowledge for the betterment of people, society, and self. Education sustains our present and insures our future. Unfortunately, the education scenario in India is very disturbing. The ‘EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010’ (UNESCO), ranks India 105 among 128 countries, and it continues to figure alongside a cluster of African and a couple of Asian countries, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, in the group of countries with a low educational development index (EDI. The out rates in India, at the high school level are also on the rise (50%) in spite of increased educational expenditures by the states. Moreover, the infrastructure facilities in schools are pathetic. According to the latest statistics available from the Flash Statistics and Analytical Reports on Elementary Education in India, published by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration in 2009-10, there are only three classrooms per primary school in India, on an average, and only three teachers per school. About 14% of the schools have only one classroom each, and single-teacher schools constitute a similar proportion. While the standard national pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools is 1:40 (one teacher for every 40 students), 30% of the schools have a ratio above this. In Bihar, while the standard ratio at the State level is 1:59, there are 92 (1:92) students on an average per classroom. All this indicates a poorly organized system of education.

SUNDAR KARITHOTA, HALEANGADI

'Shikshak' is the person who punish and teach. But there should be a limit for punishment. Punishment should be in the form of reading for an hour, writing a page etc.etc. Teachers who are Beating, sexualy harassing etc. are criminals. They should be put behind bars. There should be an International Standard of Education system in all scools of India. English teaching is very important in all schools from 1st standard.

Bulsam, Mangalore

Education in Finland starts with preschool at age 6. The preschool emphasis is on fun and THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING. Preschool is followed by nine years of compulsory basic education. From 9th or 10th grade one can go to the Upper Secondary school (like senior high school) or a 3 -year vocational school, but the curriculum is so heavy in either of these that one can cross from one to the other, or finish one and then go to the other for emphasis on trade skills. Either branch can lead to a university for a masters or PhD degree or to a Polytechnic College that focuses on trade skills with the possibility of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

The education system is set up such that they earn people’s respect every day by the way they are centrally managed in the country to the highest standard in the world and by the level of authority that is given to the teachers. Teachers are also very well trained. Keeping both teacher competence and school quality the best is a national mandate in Finland. Although the great majority of Finns finish their education by age 25, later than most other nations, education is looked upon as a life-long process in any job.
In Finland, all parents understand that education is very important for their children and would never second-guess a teacher’s decision. The children have enormous respect for teachers, but call them by their first names. Teachers and the children eat lunch together, which is free to all children.
How about that in India?