[ Nyatum Doke ]
While I was on an awareness tour of the picturesque Kamhua Noknu village in Pongchau circle of Longding district, I was requested by the school faculties to pay a visit to the school (which has a smart class and a smart board). It was already dark, and as soon as I entered the school the light went off, and it was pitch dark all around. So much for smart education! We smirked and laughed together.
It is said that education is the bedrock of any society and without education no society can flourish. In the case of Arunachal, it has the dubious distinction of being ranked top from the bottom in the index related to education. The government of Arunachal has been trying a lot to improve the system of education. Despite that, some institutional, infrastructural/logistic and policy issues can be seen if we look at the educational scenario closely. These problems grappling the system would be mostly the same for most of the district.
When I was in Longding, I interacted with the DDSE and some principals. They shared that most of the schools are facing acute shortage of subject teachers. Also, they spoke about the various issues related to transfer and posting of teachers. The DDSE told me about the shortage of skilled and trained human resource which hampers normal office administration and leads to slow pace of activities in the district. He then informed about the lack of internet facility in most of the schools in the district, owing to which various online-based activities cannot be carried out on time and effectively.
Another issue that is common for most of the departments in Longding district is the issue of banking services. The lone SBI branch in the district headquarters is overburdened and unable to provide basic services like opening of account for the beneficiaries. Due to non-opening of bank accounts, on an average at least 42.2 per cent of the children are deprived of the benefits of the prime minister’s and the chief minister’s flagship programmes like Vidhya, sanitary napkin scheme, uniform scheme, and other schemes.
On the positive side, it is to be noted that Longding has very healthy enrolment in the majority of the schools in the district in 2023-’24. The enrolment figure is 10,774 (5,093 boys and 5,681 girls), which is comparable to any other district of the state with healthy enrolment. However, in order to ensure that the quantity becomes quality, it is important that we look into the issues and try to address the same. It is good that we adopt smart boards, smart/online classes; but it is equally important that basic infrastructure like power backup and internet is ensured, so that the actual results can be realised. Then, without adequate numbers of trained human resource, any project is bound to bite the dust.
Also, all the programmes of the government are connected with one another like a chain, with the most important link being the banking system. The problems in banking in a district like Longding should be studied properly, and necessary corrective measures must be taken up at the earliest to ensure that the benefits of various schemes reach the needy.
To add, an ASER-like survey, with some modifications, should be carried out throughout the districts of Arunachal Pradesh to understand the needs of the various schools and students. Reforms in the education sector is something that cannot be neglected, ignored, sidelined, or made to wait, as “school is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” Our future will be determined by the system of education that we build. (Nyatum Doke served as DIPRO Longding, and is currently posted as DIPRO Lohit)
