EDUCATION IN ANDHRA PRADESH

The education being provided by schools, colleges and universities in Andhra Pradesh degraded a lot during the last few years. It is mostly because of the carelessness of the governments and commercial attitudes of businessmen involved in private sector. The losers in this game of education are, ultimately, parents to some extent, and learners to a great extent. This distorted system of education is making students into automated machines; parents into helpless victims of financial burden and managements into comfortable and happy earners of huge money.

Schools

In Andhra Pradesh, there are many government schools. The government collects very little fee from students to provide education from standard 1 to 10. These fees are almost negligible. The facilities like school buildings, furniture for teachers and students, toilets and playgrounds may not be sufficient and comfortable enough to the number of learners and teachers in a given school. Only those, who take themselves as poor Indians, mostly admit their children in these schools. Government schools earned such reputation during the last few years. Most of these teachers are B.Ed. qualified but most of them cannot write even a few sentences in English or Telugu perfectly. These are the standards of B.Ed. colleges and teachers in this state. Mostly, young generation teachers, who entered the schooling system during the last five or six years, belong to this category of low educational standards and values. For them, becoming a government teacher is a source of regular and dependable income and considerable recognition and appreciation in their familiar circle of people. They are not interested in teaching effectively to their students. Most of them come to schools for formality sake but not with serious intention to teach their subject.

As government schools failed to provide quality education to learners, people started resorting to private schools thinking that they are better than public schools in many ways. Rich people entered the field of business of school education in this promising scenario. They can start a school within days bribing government officials at some levels. They don’t check the basic facilities required to starting and running a school in any district but just the amount of money paid to them. Minister for education, district education officers, Mandal education officers…all are aware of the irregularities prevalent in the private school education system in this state. They are the supporters and promoters of this culture. They are least bothered about standards and values in educational system. Assisted copying is prevalent in many private and government schools across the state. DEOs and MEOs support it to show great pass results to the state government ultimately. Teachers facilitate it bravely and proudly.

The managements of private schools collect huge fees from parents of little learners. They recruit agents to get more and more admissions into their schools in the beginning of every academic year. They say a lot about the greatness of their schools during the times of admissions. Once the innocent students enter these schools, believing in the words of their parents and the managements of these schools, they start experiencing hell in many ways, both in and outside their schools. Students have to do what their teachers and parents are instructing to them but never talking back expressing their feelings and suffering honestly and frankly. They continue to be silent victims in this system. Some of the problems students face in this corrupt and wrong system of education are:

1. Long hours of teaching in school with poor facilities.

2. Study hours after classes of teaching.

3. Low quality food for hostel boarders.

4. Six or five hours only to sleep after school every night.

5. Regular tests and exams in school without enough time to understand a subject and prepare on it.

6. Continuous pressure from teachers and parents to get better marks, ranks and grades.

7. Heavy loads of books to carry to and from school every day.

8. External tuition hours after returning from school.

9. Need of taking external competitive exams like Olympiad and NTS.

10. Depending on study material prepared by others but not on actual textbooks prepared by experts.

11. No playgrounds to play and no time to involve in extracurricular activities.

12. Intensive supervised preparation schedules before annual exams.

13. Regular tedious journey to and from school, killing about two hours’ valuable time of learners.

14. No time to talk with parents, relatives, friends or celebrate festivals and functions.

15. Almost no exposure to real lives of contemporary society.

16. Barriers between boys and girls blocking their freedom to mingle with schoolmates.

17. No habit of asking questions but just copying down what is taught or written down.

18. Teachers have no language skills to explain a subject properly to all learners.

19. Managements do not allow students into classroom if fees are not paid in time every term.

20. Managements do not issue hall tickets if all kinds of fees are not paid by that time.

As the number of B.Ed. qualified candidates is increasing year after year in this state and the number of government jobs is not increasing in this proportion, most of them are becoming victims of private educational sector. They are joining private schools as teachers while preparing for competitive exams. Intelligent and hard-working ones may get some government or private job in a few years but what about those that are not competent to face this highly challenging world of jobs and sources of livelihood. They are ultimately becoming and remaining as the permanent victims of private educational sector. The problems faced by teachers and office staff in this bleak scenario of private education:

1. There are thousands of mediocre private schools in Andhra Pradesh. They pay somewhere between 2,000 and 10,000 rupees a month for most of their teachers. Can a teacher live happily with this salary?

2. The managements of almost 95% private schools pay salaries to their teachers somewhere between 5 and 20 of a month for the previous month. Some pay after one month also. Teachers are leading pathetic lives because of it.

3. Support staff like attenders, cleaners and drivers get salaries between 1500 and 5000 rupees a month. They can never ask for increase in their salaries. Their salaries may not be increased for years together in many cases. If they leave that job out of frustration, there are many to join it within days. So, almost all support staff are leading highly pitiable and helpless lives in this state if they are associated with mediocre private schools in any manner.

4. There is no question of unions and collective struggle in the private educational system in this state. So, teachers or support staff cannot demand anything from the managements of schools. They are all a strong syndicate of robbers now. Even state government is unable to tackle them. What can teachers and others do against them?

5. Almost every teacher and support staff work for long hours in schools depending on the commands of their management. There is no place for questions and arguments. Just they have to follow what their superiors say or leave that job. Managements do not allow them to go out in the middle of an academic year. They take their certificates or do something serious to prevent them from moving out. So, once in, it is very difficult to come out of this pit of problems and complications for teachers and support staff.

6. Many mediocre private schools compel their teachers to participate in public campaigns in their struggle to attract more number of students every academic year towards their schools. They move house to house in their familiar areas, distributing pamphlets (filled with beautiful lies) to lure innocent parents of students.

7. The parents of girls are not interested in those teachers working with private schools because they cannot look after their wives with those pathetic salaries and facilities. Thousands of male teachers, working with private schools, are entangled in this complex social crisis now. They cannot marry any girl if they don’t leave these private schools. They cannot get out of this mire unless they get a better job. They may not be able to get any better job if they are not competent. It means they must be ready to remain as bachelors forever. This is the contribution of private schools to teachers in this state. They can’t live happily with those salaries nor move out of that den. If they step out of it due to emotional force, there are many waiting to join it the next day itself.

8. Teachers in private schools live the lives of slaves. They have to do anything if their management instructs them. I can never imagine a teacher talking angrily with the management of a school or principal. They are bonded laborers. The control of government on private schools is almost nil in this state. Teachers do not have any written proofs to fight against the managements of their schools. Everything is almost oral and casual.

The managements of private schools are committing the following crimes in this state now:

1. Starting schools without conforming to standards set by state and central governments.

2. Bribing all necessary government officials to run schools profitably, immorally and illegally always.

3. Threatening parents of students if they talk or do anything against their schools or system of operations.

4. Forcing students to buy clothes, books and other material made by them only.

5. Using terms like Techno and Olympiad schools to take excessive fees from innocent parents of kids.

6. Making parents think that their children become IIT engineers or doctors if they study in their schools.

7. Collecting huge fees from parents in the name of special classes, facilities and other beautiful lies.

8. Lobbying with state government to get things done in their favor every academic year.

9. Sending lakhs of rupees to major politicians and interest groups to keep them calm and neutral.

10. Destabilizing and destroying free and ideal government educational system slowly.

The pioneers of this dirty private educational system in Andhra Pradesh are the managements of Narayana and Sri Chaitanya. They used to be rivals once. They joined hands and formed ‘China’ group of educational institutions now. Thus they consolidated their status as the ultimate dictators and beneficiaries of the private school education system in Andhra Pradesh. Many private schools are following the dirty culture invented by these idiots now in this state. Parents choose to enroll their children into these schools for high quality education. For them, high quality education is available with those schools, the managements of which do not allow their children to stay at home for more than 10 hours a day.  They are selling their children to these private schools. They must make them engineers or doctors. They pay any amount of money to them as part of this deal. They want their children to become efficient money earning machines but not complete individuals with a holistic view of the contemporary society and values. When parents think like hard-core businessmen, but not as sensible and sensitive human beings, managements of schools naturally decide to benefit the best from the mindsets of such nasty parents in these dirty social trends.

Colleges 

I write about two kinds of colleges only in Andhra Pradesh: junior and degree colleges. This is where majority of students pursue their Intermediate and undergraduate courses after leaving school (standard 10). Intermediate students think that they became heroes and heroines after entering a junior college, be it government or private. We can witness almost similar atmosphere at junior colleges also as discussed above. At this stage, many science and mathematics students target various entrance tests like EAMCET, JEE, BITS and JIPMER. This is where they get forced to decide to become an engineer or doctor by their parents. They struggle a lot in private colleges but we don’t find such tense atmosphere in government junior colleges. They go home after college hours and feel free to study when they like. In private junior colleges, they experience hell directly. Their parents and the managements of these colleges run after them making them work hard every day and night.

We call them degree colleges in Andhra Pradesh where courses like B.A., B.Sc. and B.Com. are being pursued. Students are much happier and free at this level of their education because their parents or managements of these colleges do not force them at all towards taking an exam or career path. They are peaceful to a great extent. Many girls would be forced to marry some boy, chosen by their parents, during or after the end of this course. Undergraduate education is comparatively affordable and comfortable for students and lecturers also in this state. Even managements of colleges do not ask for high fees at this stage of their education. They can study happily in government colleges paying nominal fees. If becoming a graduate is their goal, government colleges are the best choices for them. They can opt for private degree colleges if they want a little more care, comfort and guidance as job seekers and life planners.

The managements of Narayana and Sri Chaitanya ruined this level of educational system also to a great extent in this state. Parents are spending thousands of rupees to get their children educated in their colleges somehow. They never bother to assess the IQ levels of their children. They must become doctors or engineers at any cost.

Universities

There are some state and central universities in Andhra Pradesh catering to the needs of graduates and research scholars. Some have low standards as the highest abodes of learning and development. There caste, religion and region play a bigger role than the intelligence and hard-working nature of the students. Distance education is another big branch of chaos and indiscipline. Many do these courses for the sake of qualifications and promotions but not with real interest in and passion for that branch of knowledge.  However, the standards are better at universities compared to schools and colleges. Students involving in political and communal unions and struggles is a drawback of these universities. They must focus on learning and improvement rather than unrelated affairs here.

Solutions                                            

In many cases, we generally find two agents; a criminal and a victim but in this case of educational system in Andhra Pradesh, there are two criminals and one victim. Parents and managements of educational systems are criminals and students are victims in this sphere of complications and pains. I partly discussed and understood the nature and extent of crimes being perpetrated by the managements of private and public educational systems in Andhra Pradesh in the preceding points of observation. I provide a few suggestions to parents of children below so that you can understand to what extent you are wrong in this complex set of disorders of a society.

1. Love the existence and happiness of your children but not just their value as a commercial entity in the present society. Love offers more. Business expects more. You must be distributors of love to your children as parents but not businessmen expecting profits and benefits from their existence and activities as living entities.

2. Know that every child is not born to become a doctor or engineer only. God and nature never make such imbalanced arrangements in this world. Some are born to become teachers, pilots, accountants, drivers, actors, painters, sailors, magicians, directors, scientists, saints…and so on. One can become anybody in course of one’s life. Learn to accept him or her in any of these material manifestations. When you have this broad perspective towards the development of your child, you would allow him or her to become what he or she desires to be or that his or her destiny imposes on him or her. Freedom is the ultimate offer and facility you can give them. Let them grow and develop naturally. They are like vulnerable plants. Support their growth like caring and affectionate gardeners.

3. Before expecting your son or daughter to become a particular achiever or professional, assess his or her abilities also. All are not equipped with the same levels of creativity and intelligence. If he or she got 10% creativity or intelligence only, you should not struggle to make it 90%. He or she suffers a lot in this process. Don’t subject him  or her to that degree of torture and pain. He or she can live happily with 30% or 40% creativity and intelligence also. Train him or her to that degree of competence only, not beyond that. Common sense and general knowledge are enough to live happily in this world but not intellect. Don’t expect your children to be geniuses.

4. Habits and thoughts make much of our life. From the formative stage of growth of your children, train them to be bold and disciplined creatures. If they have good habits and culture, they can survive doing something. A sensitive and patient shepherd is greater than an insensitive and impatient scientist. The shepherd can live happily within his smaller and simpler world without disturbing the peace order around him. The scientist can ruin an entire system of life or occurrences if he does something wrongly being unable to control his emotions or change his lifestyle. Building up the character of your children towards idealism is better than expecting them to be extraordinary.

5. Do not compare the skills and achievements of your children with those of your familiar or unfamiliar ones, who are doing wonders. Your children are unique. Love that specialty. It may be ignorance or intelligence. Accept both alike. Love the realities than struggling to make lies into truths related to your children.

6. Job and education are just a little part of human life. If your children are weak or fail in these aspects of life, don’t worry. There are 1000 or more ways to earn money and make a living. Many illiterate and innocent people are also living comfortably and happily in this world. Can’t you sensitize your children towards this universal truth? Can’t you expect them to live simply and honestly as one of those masses in this world? What if they don’t study well and get a certificate? If money is important to live, they can earn it any way. If knowledge is necessary to live happily, they can gain it in different ways. Education is just one way to acquire money and get knowledge. You can guide them towards getting them in other ways also. Jobholders are trained and automated slaves in the present world of employment and work. If they can live happily doing something different from it, let them do it.

7. Before admitting your children to a particular school or college, check about their standards and values. What are the experiences of students and their parents with those educational institutions? Are they training children as machines of earning capacity or as human beings also to some extent? If you expect your children to become just money-making machines, they treat you similarly when you expect love and care from them. They grab money and assets from you and throw you out. If you bring them up with love and possessive care, they may extend such warmth towards you later. Most of what your children become depends on how you treated them as parents.

8. You can achieve very little through force and anger. Avoid applying them on your children to change them. Sometimes, you cannot change your spoilt children at all. They may become so despite your best efforts to keep them good. Time and circumstances may change them sometime in near or distant future. Let those universal doctors involve in that process of reformation. In some cases, they never change. Accept this bitter reality of world and go ahead. Your suffering and remorse can never change your children to the better. Then why should you subject yourself to such extreme psychological stress and strain. Your son or daughter may grow into an idiot or rogue. You cannot change that order. So, let them live and die so. You cannot change their Karma in every case because you are just a human being and not a great divine force or saint. You cannot make impossible possible always! You are just a speck in this universe with many limitations. If you cannot change someone, leave it.

9. Consider schools like Rishi Valley at Madanapalle in Chittoor District and Kendriya Vidyalayas if you want your children to study peacefully and grow into ideal and creative entities. If you got the will to admit your kids in great schools and colleges, you know how to find them. List out the parameters you want to see holistic development of your child, and choose such institutions only carefully. If you have time to select clothes and gadgets carefully, which are paltry issues of your routine life, why no time and interest to choose the best schools and colleges for your beloved ones? If you have no time and caring attitude towards your sensitive kids, who else bothers about their healthy and happy growth as individuals?

10. Enquiry and research are the best options to find out better alternatives in our lives. Ask as many people as possible before deciding and guiding the academic paths of your children. You should seek the advice of intelligent and ideal subject experts but not businessmen in your family or community. Do not thrust your desires and ambitions on your children. Your child need not be a doctor because you are one. Variety is the spice of life. Give your children relevant information in time through books and other sources...let them choose what they want to become based on their strengths, weaknesses, aptitude and vision. If you provide them with freedom to think and act, they become great individuals one day. Freedom is the facilitator of innovation and choice.

Teaching Profession

1. Those possessing B.Ed. or M.Ed. qualifications need not struggle to become teachers. They should know how to earn money and live happily instead of developing sentimental attachment with teaching profession. If we are unable to live with self-respect as teachers, why should we hang with that profession only? Unfortunately, this is what is happening in this state now. Despite knowing about the standards and values of those starting and running schools and colleges, many are hanging with the positions of teachers and lecturers only. This submissive and slavish attitudes of teaching folks only enabled the managements of schools and colleges to treat them as beggars in this field.

2. Many believe that if somebody chose to be a teacher, it means he or she has no much knowledge or skills as a professional. Why do intelligent and challenging folks become teachers if they are not respected there? It means teachers have little respect in the present environment of academic pursuits. Students are businesslike and selfish. What do you achieve struggling to be a dedicated teacher to such loafers in the Indian society?

3. Teachers are supposed to be the guides of a society but unfortunately they are becoming victims of the present social and cultural trends. Private teachers are remaining as servants to managements of educational institutions. They cannot change the educational system in this scenario. Government teachers are working there for those high salaries and attractive perks. It means they too don’t have any concern for this land or the learners related to them. As such, teachers are also just employees now. They are working for money but not with passion to change the builders of this nation. There are very few ideal and extraordinary teachers in the present educational system.

Irregularities

There are many drawbacks and demerits in the educational system in this state now. I specify some of them below.

1. Teachers have no time to prepare question papers also well for annual exams also.

2. Many ordinary and worthless idiots are also becoming teachers through fake study and experience certificates.

3. Evaluation system is quite disorderly and unreliable.

4. Schools, colleges and universities are not equipped with adequate staff and infrastructure in many places.

5. Education is a business arena now. Everybody struggles to benefit something from it. Students like financially attractive courses only. Managements of educational institutions are also promoting such abodes of learning only. Few are interested in those domains of teaching and learning, which develop humanity and thinking in learners.

6. Many are going to educational institutions to enjoy life casually. They have no purpose or goals of their own.

7. There are innumerable sources of knowledge now but few are interested in knowledge now. All are studying or learning something just out of commercial interest in it but not intuition or passion.

8. What can be learnt in one year would be planned and learnt in 10 years in the present educational system of this state. If I am interested in English, I study other subjects also for 15 years for general knowledge sake only. If I spend that much time on English alone, imagine the kind of mastery I can get on English? So, all of us are spending our invaluable time on many branches of learning, not finding time to enjoy our personal life during this period. This is why our educational system became boring, disturbing and disgusting over the years.