MOCKERY OF EDUCATION
Basanta Panchami, also known as Saraswati
Puja, is celebrated on Magha Sukla Panchami to pay homage to Goddess Saraswati,
who is revered as the embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, learning, music, art,
and culture. The day heralds the onset of the spring season. It holds great
significance for all students and art lovers. Many young children are taught
alphabets with the belief that they will do their best throughout the journey
of education.
Many private schools, daycare centers, and
Montessori schools announce the new admission in the midst of an academic year
to lure parents and children. The celebration has been a kind of fashion in
many institutional schools. However, the local-level bodies turn a deaf ear.
There is a cutthroat competition among all private schools for collecting
children.
I would like to share a poignant experience
that a destitute mother had to face to enroll her son at a popular school in
Pokhara. She also entered the school with the hope that her son would
definitely get rid of poverty if he got a chance to study at a reputed school.
However, their dress-up became the first
impediment to getting admission. The child had bare feet and ragged clothes;
hence, nobody came to hold him. On the other side, the children from affluent
families were playing joyfully, and their parents seemed busy posting photos on
various social media platforms to show others. The teachers distributed
admission forms for newcomers and spoke in English. The confused mother
couldn’t comprehend their words, so she spoke in Nepali. But the teachers acted
as if they did not understand her language.
On the other hand, upon seeing various
playing materials, the boy was extremely happy, as if he could also use them.
Yet he was unaware of his poverty. He approached them, but one of the school
staff pushed the boy back, lest he leave dirty marks on those items.
Finally, the mother was told to leave the
school. Nobody gave her forms for new admission. The heartbroken mother left
the school premises with a heavy heart. The principal belittled her, saying his
school was unable to accommodate her son.
I tried to console her to lessen her awful
experience that she received on such an auspicious day. She told me that she
was a daily wage earner. She wanted her son to get an education along with
other children. To alleviate her frustration, I told her the stories of all the
successful people who received their education in state-owned schools.
Sarasawti Puja is celebrated with the
belief that the goddess blesses people with knowledge if she is paid homage.
But looking at people’s attitudes, it seems that the goddess provides knowledge
to the children who are born with a silver spoon.
I wonder, and therefore, I want to ask a question: only rich people have the privilege to get knowledge. Now the time has come for our government to wake up and work sincerely to provide quality education to every child in the country.
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