School bag

Today, we are going to discuss some growing misunderstanding between government school and private schools, which is becoming a crucial aspect of our lives today. Understanding this is just as important for us as focusing on any other subject because this link, in one way or another, is connected to every single individual. We will begin with rural areas, where the maximum number of children study in government schools from classes 1 to 8, but later, due to certain reasons, they have to study in private schools. 

I was born in a rural area and studied in a Hindi medium school until the 12th standard. After that, I completed my graduation from a private college. I understand the struggles of Hindi medium students very well. I have spoken to many people in rural areas about government school education, and I uncovered problems that every single person should try to understand. In village government schools, you will mostly find children from poor families where the home environment is not very good. Most of these children's parents are illiterate. Those parents who are literate send their children to private schools, hoping that their child will study in an English medium setup. This is because, in today's time, there is a high demand for English medium education everywhere. Even in rural areas, society gives more respect and value to a child who studies in an English medium school and speaks English. 

In my research on rural areas, I found that mostly children study in government schools from classes 1 to 8, but switch to private schools from the 9th class onwards. One reason for this is that government schools are located far away, so parents send their children to a nearby a private school. While some boys still travel to go to government schools, girls are enrolled in nearby private schools. When I asked why girls couldn't go there to study as well, parents replied," no, it is better for our daughter to study in a nearby school. This is because village communities often have an orthodox mindset and do not give girls as much freedom to move around as boys. Now adays, private school have become so widespread that they can easily be found nearby, whereas many people have to travel 8 to 10 km to reach a government school. If we compare the teachers of government and private schools - government school teacher are well educated, while private school teachers are less qualified. However, people say that the quality of education is better in private schools, and they teach in English medium, whereas government school are mostly Hindi medium.

In this image, you can see children celebrating August 15th(Independence day) with their government school teacher. These are the very children who will become the Doctors, Engineers, and Bureaucrats of tomorrow, protecting and securing our nation. Government schools provide free education, meals, uniform, and our government even gives scholarships. However, even today , there is still a noticeable lack of quality education in government schools from grades 1 to 8. Because of this, these children are rarely selected for higher education and prestigious competitive exams like JEE Mains, Medical college entrances or university like BHU and JNU. On the other hand, students from private institutions easily secure admission in to these top colleges. 

Does this mean that student from poor families who study in Hindi medium lack the talent or capability to hard work? This is absolutely wrong. In fact, hard work is often the only resource children from poor families have, and they put in their absolute best effort. But unfortunately, the English language ends up playing a trick on them, holding them back. further more, because their parents illiterate, they miss out on proper guidance and a supportive study environment at home. We all know about the exorbitant fees charged by private schools. They have turned education in to a mere business, preparing a future generation of students who may ultimately become nothing but a burden on our country. when I was doing research in rural areas, I saw a 4 year old child going with his father to sell fish. I asked him, are not you going to educate him? He replied," what is anyone achieving by getting educated now adays? Almost everyone is sitting unemployed, except for a few. I heard the exact same statement from many people, and they also say that even if they think about educating their children, they do not have the budget for higher education. We all know that multiple factors work behind any issue.

 I am not pointing out the flaws of government or private schools, but rather showing a mirror to a problem that we can solve. We all know that everything changes with time and currently the demand for the English language is rising everywhere, so why don't we start teaching in English medium in government schools as well? We all know that private schools survive because they meet the demand of the society; why don't we make efforts to increase the value of government schools at the primary and junior levels as well, so that both rich and poor children are compelled to study there, just like students who work hard for years to get in to highly respected government colleges? We all know it is not possible. May the children in this image , who are celebrating 15th August with such joy and happiness, get more opportunities to move ahead in life.