(Part  I of the two-part article on the author’s schools days in  Navabharath Elementary School, Kurady, and  the transformation of the system)

(KC Kalkura)

“A man’s real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else, is the poor.”

On account of the differences between my uncles Vasudeva Kalkua and Keshava Kalkura, the prestigious Shanthinikethan Higher Elementary School, Kurady, Udupi Taluk, South Kanara District in the Composite Madras State, (at present, Brahmavar Taluk, Udupi District, Karnataka) which won district-wide fame was closed in 1945. Younger uncle Keshava Kalkura had already obtained permission from the District Educational Officer to start his own NAVABHARATH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, (NES)Kurady. Earlier there used to be objections from the British Government to such patriotic names.

By that time the National Movement was vigorous and every step of the Government was being opposed by the people. Not only the educational institutions, but the commercial establishments, including Cooperative Societies, Restaurants, and hair-cutting saloons, also started exhibiting boards: JAI/ NAV/ BHARATH, NATIONAL, GANDHI, MAHATHMA, NEHRU, SARDAR, NETAJI, JAI HIND, etc. Wearing Gandhi Cap was not considered seriously. Navabharath Elementary School was admitted to grant-in-aid. As per the then-existing rules, by the 30th of June of the academic year, a child should have completed six years to join the First Standard.

Preschool curriculum like L K.G. and U.K.G. was not even thought of. Even if there were to be one, there was no possibility of any one of us, brothers, and an overwhelming majority of the villagers pursuing that course. It was the only school in and around a radius of three miles. Therefore children from the neighboring Alaya and Bandimatha were attending this school. There was Mahishamardini Elementary School in Neelavara across the river Seetha. The river is in flood for four months during the monsoon. But for NES all the children in the villages would have remained illiterate, pursuing agriculture or seeking employment in restaurants as child labourers, like my elder brothers, Ramachandra and Govinda.

It is a known fact that The Constituent Assembly of India started framing The Constitution in December 1946 and it came into force on 26th, January 1950.

Constitution of India: 

Article 24: No child below the age of fourteen shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.” The fundamental right against exploitation guaranteed to all citizens prohibits child labour in factories, mines, and hazardous conditions.

Article 45: Provision for free and compulsory education for children: “The State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.”

The conventions of the International Labour Organisation, (ILO) adopted by the majority of countries in the world, are considered to be the most important ones. In brief, these conventions prohibit child labour under the age of 14 and hazardous work under the age of 18.

All these provisions, in the constitution and the conventions of the ILO  were drafted with a bearing on the then-existing academic pattern; Six Plus year admission to the 1st standard; up to fifth standard elementary school; from sixth to eighth, higher elementary school, and three years high school, till the child, attains the age of 17 years.  The slogan for the elimination of child labor is RIGHT PLACE FOR THE CHILD IS SCHOOL. When the child joined the school at the age of six, he completed the 8th standard in his 14th year. He can be employed, with certain restrictions in non-hazardous establishments. However, the Right to Education (RTE) Act came into force only in 2009. Based on the recommendations of the Education Commission (1964-’66- Kothari Commission) in 1968 the school calendar was rescheduled as 4+3+3 = 10 years.

In spite of the Constitutional provisions and international conventions, till the late 90s child labour was rampant, and Compulsory free education was not introduced. I hold the view that Statutes cannot change society.  History records that social evils are eradicated through the efforts of social reformers. This is not to downright condemn the Rule of Law. Criminal is a step ahead of the law and the thief is more intelligent than the police. Only the law-abiding fear the Law. Anyway by the turn of the 20th Century and at the dawn of the 21st Century there has been a large-scale awakening both regarding literacy and eradication of child labour. A number of Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had swung into action. ILO adopted a strategy involving the industries to voluntarily discourage child labour. In April 2009 the Right to Education (RTE) Act was enacted. After thirteen years its performance is encouraging.

Keeping in view the march of time and the provisions of law and conventions, The New (National) Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 recommended that early childhood care & education be developed in a two-part curriculum consisting of:

*Guidelines for Parents & Teachers of students up to 3 years of age

*An educational framework for students between the ages of 3 and 8 years

The NEP talks about the implementation of these recommendations by expanding and improving the quality of the Anganwadi system and co-locating them with primary schools.  The NEP recommended extending the range of the RTE 2009 to include the following education levels:

Early Childhood & Secondary School

This will allow coverage of RTE to all children between the ages of 3 and 18 years. In addition, it suggested the elimination of the detention of children until class eight.

Reforms in the framework of the current curriculum of school education are based on the development needs of the students. NEP 2020 recommends the 5+3+3+4 pattern explained in the table below:

Years   Stage                                   Curriculum

5          Foundational                     3 years of pre-primary followed by classes 1 and 2

3          Preparatory                       Classes 3 to 5

3          Middle                                Classes 6 to 8

4          Secondary                         Classes 9-12

A good move indeed. The previous Kothari and Rajiv Gandhi schemes too were ideal and novel. What makes a scheme successful in a democracy is the political will, a committed bureaucracy, and dedicated machinery to implement it. I sincerely feel that Kothari and Rajiv Gandhi were not given a fair trial. Where is the guarantee that NEP 2020 will drive away Macaulay from the shores of India?

Right from Mahatma Gandhi, almost all the national leaders with rare exceptions like Nehru and Dr. Raj Kumari Kaur studied in the Macaulay system. Teachers of pre and post-independent India were the products of the same system. Most of them were legends. They are remembered long after they are gone. “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” was their slogan. That generation of students feared the teachers’ canes. Parents supported them. The most feared teacher in the school was the most respected in society. They were a breed, a tribe, and a class. Astonishingly the lathi could not silence the students from participating in the National Movement. Rather the lathi holders too saluted the teachers. Is it the reverse now? We snatched the rod from the teachers. Lathi is often invited to the campus. (More about the system in the forthcoming chapters.)

Regarding the status of the teachers, the NEP says: “The teacher must be at the center of the fundamental reforms in the education system. The new education policy must help re-establish teachers, at all levels, as the most respected and essential members of our society, because they truly shape our next generation of citizens. It must do everything to empower teachers and help them to do their job as effectively as possible. The new education policy must help recruit the very best and brightest to enter the teaching profession at all levels, by ensuring livelihood, respect, dignity, and autonomy, while also instilling in the system basic methods of quality control and accountability.” It may take at least a generation to train ideal teachers.

In the introductory part to the NEP it is said:  “Pedagogy must evolve to make education more experiential, holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centered, discussion-based, flexible, and, of course, enjoyable. The curriculum must include basic arts, crafts, humanities, games, sports and fitness, languages, literature, culture, and values, in addition to science and mathematics, to develop all aspects and capabilities of learners; and make education more well-rounded, useful, and fulfilling to the learner. Education must build character, enable learners to be ethical, rational, compassionate, and caring, while at the same time prepare them for gainful, fulfilling employment”.

On becoming the Chief Minister of Madras, after the 1952 General Elections, Rajagopalachari @ Rajaji visualized the above need. A Gandhian to the core, he was a known partisan of agriculture, culture, history, tradition, traditional art, village industries, and handicrafts. Usually, there is a question in the English language question paper: “Frame sentences of your own using the following words.” One of the words in the question paper for Rajaji in the Matriculation examination was ‘botheration’. He wrote: “Matriculation examination is a botheration to the Indian students’ population, whose traditional occupation is cultivation.” Each sentence carried one mark. The valuer gave him two marks; 200%.

Rajaji on becoming the Chief Minister of Madras issued orders bifurcating the classes in elementary schools into two from the academic year 1953-’54. Each child was expected to study for three hours in the school, either in the forenoon or in the afternoon, and assist his or her parents in their profession and learn the ancestral profession. it was dubbed Kula Kalvi Thittam (Hereditary Education Policy) by his critics.

Schools used to have the yearly holidays during the beginning of the monsoon so that the children could assist their parents in their agricultural operations. Rajaji wanted to extend the system to the higher classes also. There was a hue and cry in the whole state. Brahmins criticized it saying that they did not like their children to become cooks, purohits, and pujaris. They would like to see their children as bureaucrats, technocrats, scientists, doctors, and engineers. Non-brahmins condemned it alleging that Rajaji wanted to perpetuate Brahmanism in the State. There was almost a revolt in the congress, to which Rajaji belonged. He was unseated and Kamaraj Nadar became the Chief Minister. Rajaji was reported to have repented the move, for not taking the entire party into confidence.  (to be concluded)

(KC Kalkura is an advocate and social activist from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh)

Read Part II here

How Rajaji’s School Reforms backfired? (2)