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White elephants of governments



There is an amusing report in today’s New Indian Express [Kochi edition, 9 July,2022]. It says that the government schools as well as government-aided schools in Kerala are running short of students. This is not news, really. This has been happening in the state for decades. All the people of Kerala who can afford the fees send their children to private schools for the simple reason that they are English medium and maintain far better standards of education though the teachers there are paid a pittance. This is what amuses me. Those teachers who really slog carry home ridiculous pay packets at the end of the month, while those in the government and aided schools who are paid enormous sums do almost nothing!

I have been living in Kerala now for seven years. My observation is that most government establishments in Kerala do nothing worthwhile. Go to a government office to get some work done and you will feel as if you are a beggar in the state. Government employees in Kerala think they are appointed by none less than God and they carry a divine mandate to harass people like wanton boys do to helpless flies. [I have had humiliating treatments even from the staff who collect taxes and bills in government offices. Now I pay all such things online and stay far from government staff.]

A lion’s share of the Kerala government’s revenue is spent on these employees (to pay their salaries, perks and pensions) who do hardly any work sincerely (unless they are bribed). The most ludicrous irony is that the teachers of the government and aided schools in Kerala don’t send their own wards to their own schools. These children study in private schools. What better proof for the redundancy of these schools where the government invests bulk of its revenue?

Kerala is notorious for such stealing from the public coffers. Every MLA in the state appoints all his relatives and friends and their relatives and friends in some place or another which gives them government salaries for a few years after which they will be entitled to state pensions. Where on earth will an employee get lifelong pension from the state after serving for two years except in Kerala?

I left Kerala as a young man and found a job in Meghalaya because I couldn’t get a decent job in the state as I had no influential people in politics or religion to promote me. [Ok, even that job in Shillong was a gift of some religious friends!] Today the youth of Kerala are leaving soon after school for other countries because they know they have no future in this state (or even in the country which is becoming increasingly sectarian).

Now, though retired officially, I teach in a private school which has over 2300 students while the government and aided schools in the locality struggle to find at least a handful of students so that the well-paid teachers there won’t feel bored without any work at all to do.

This system has to change. Why can’t the government make the state schools efficient? Why can’t the medium of instruction be changed if the people of the state want that? Why can’t the teachers be made more accountable? And there are many more questions. 

With a few former students who visited recently
[Seated are all teachers]

Comments

  1. Deepti MenonJuly 9, 2022 at 2:51 PM

    That is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We have 1800 students in our school which is a private school, and our teachers slog like workhorses for salaries that are below the government scales. Maybe, it has much to do with job satisfaction and the feeling that they are actually making a difference to the children they teach.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 9, 2022 at 8:01 PM

      Job satisfaction is certainly a great reward. But why can't government make that job satisfaction a part of the remuneration? I mean, there's something wrong here.

      Delete
  2. Yamini MacLeanJuly 9, 2022 at 3:29 PM

    Hari Om
    an intriguing conundrum... one wonders if there is anywhere in the world where a state-run/funded educational system actually comes up to full standard. Even here there are issues - but more to do with not enough teachers rather students I think. Not an area I am very 'au fait' with so cannot make much more comment than this... YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 9, 2022 at 8:04 PM

      The situation is different there, I guess. I have seen schools here trying to ape western systems but failing to achieve any of the expected objectives. Education has to touch hearts.

      Delete
  3. Murthy K v v sJuly 9, 2022 at 6:45 PM

    That's what the situation with the both of our Telugu states,say, AP and TS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 9, 2022 at 8:06 PM

      Sad. We can never progress intellectually if that's the situation.

      Delete
  4. Deepak DevarajJuly 12, 2022 at 2:14 AM

    Good Article.
    Yes it's a sorry state of affairs.
    Kerala has a great potential with all the resources and talent but somehow the politics is ruining it.
    One valuable point you mentioned - Why can't the medium of instruction change? This will help the Govt schools to move forward if the Govt takes it seriously.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 12, 2022 at 6:40 AM

      There's a powerful political lobby of teachers at work in Kerala. That lobby gets government to dance to its tunes. Even the aided school managements act in connivance with that lobby.

      Delete

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