Far cry from reality
Merely multiplying without any quality hardly holds any meaning and this is the case with the education scene in the state today. As opposed to decades past, the number of schools has grown and has become accessible to most of the populace but without the infrastructure and manpower backup, they are hardly making much of a difference in the real sense.
Images of students sitting on classroom floors, roofs and walls barely holding up have become synonymous with government schools. Education in namesake has no meaning and sadly one wonders what kind of future is in store for these children based on such flimsy education. Not negating the fact that are those few who traverse through all odds and emerge successfully but for every such person there are countless who couldn’t make it because of a shaky start.
The apex students’ body of the state, All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union recently termed the government initiated smart classroom program as the most unsuccessful scheme ever and opined that the rupees 35 crore fund sanctioned against it should be used for school maintenance instead. Moreover it also flayed the government on the sorry state of government run schools across Arunachal. The union in saying so has validated an open secret which for long has gone unacknowledged.
In March 2017, Arunachal Pradesh government decided to introduce the concept of smart classes in 264 government-run higher secondary and secondary schools. The classes will be for students of classes 9 and 10 and will use information and communications technology (ICT) to impart education. Under the initiative classrooms will witness a shift from blackboards to digital screens and pens to keyboards.
No doubt, it is a novel concept but the state is in no position to implement the same for optimum benefit of students.Schools across the state are functioning without basic classroom infrastructure, toilets etc and it is every bit laughable when we talk about smart classes. Without electricity and WiFi facility which are the crux, smart classrooms are a far cry from reality.