The long path to learning

Anshu Meshack

Ruby’s favorite anecdote – and most astonishing discovery – relates to an incident shortly after she came on transfer to a Government Middle school, and was puzzled about why nearly every student in her class did not do the assigned homework. The apparent disinterest of the children puzzled and annoyed her. On a hunch, the new teacher asked the class one morning about how many children did not have electricity at home. She watched in complete disbelief as sixteen of the seventeen students stood up in response. “My first thought was – ‘What kind of place is this?!’”, she recounts.

Ruby teaches in the primary section of Government Middle School, Tugapur, in North & Middle Andaman district, one of three districts in the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. She is hoping for a transfer at the end of this academic year back to the capital of Port Blair, where her family lives and where the availability of basic facilities is not a matter to worry about. She has never been posted to such a remote school before, and the prospect of having to spend another academic year here is daunting. Perhaps her husband will find someone who will put in a word for her and arrange for her transfer.

Tugapur is a sleepy hamlet about a half hour’s drive from the town of Mayabunder, capital of the northern-most district in the Andaman group of Islands. An uneven narrow dirt road off the main road to Mayabunder leads to the school buildings, an old wooden structure designed in the old architectural design with stilts where the primary classes are held, and a newer concrete structure that houses the secondary school.

The Teacher-in-Charge, Geeta, greets us warmly. She has only been here a few months and does not have any ‘reach’ to arrange for her transfer at the end of the year. She is certainly here to stay, for another two years at the least. She has her own favorite anecdote to share with us. “The children would often leave behind their school bags in class when they returned home after class,” she explained. “Intrigued, I asked them why they don’t take their books home to read and do their homework. The response left me stunned. Many of these children walk long distances, often over an hour, to reach home. On the way they walk across nallahs, or streams, which in the monsoons are impossible to cross. On such days, the children wait in groups near the nallah waiting for the water to recede. Their parents wait on the other side to ensure they cross over safely. In such a situation, how can the exhausted children be expected to carry a heavy bag of books on their shoulders?”

The same stories are played out in other schools in Mayabunder. In Mohanpur, a girl of Class Eight mumbles shyly when asked how long she takes to reach school, “One hour by bus”. The teacher adds, “That is after one hour of walking on a narrow forest track.” All these students are keen to complete schooling and are encouraged by parents who themselves may not have attended school.

The most amazing instances are those of students from the Secondary School at Chainpur, where students come from very distant settlements like Sippi Tikri and Hanspuri. In addition to over an hour’s walking, reaching home requires an additional hour’s journey in a small boat. In the absence of any housing facilities, parents opt to place their children with families residing near the school. Some children may go home over the weekends, but many cannot.

Anima, who hails from Sippi Tikri, chose to attend the Secondary School at Chainpur by living with a family near the school. Anima has a State-issued certificate that certifies that she is “75% hearing impaired”. Although this has resulted in her inability to speak, Anima’s class teacher shares her wonder at the child’s tenacity to overcome the disability and learn. “Anima has the best handwriting among the students in her class and understands what is being taught in class,” she explains with pride.

What does the much-lauded Union Budget 2008-09 announced last week have in store for these children? A 20 per cent increase in allocations for the education sector to Rs 34,400 crore, of which Rs 13,100 crore is being allotted to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan alone, the national flagship initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and Rs 4,554 crore to secondary education. The SSA, which aims to achieve universal elementary education of satisfactory quality by 2010, will utilize a large portion in building infrastructure for schools and giving students access to computers.

Despite these nationwide efforts, the National Sample Survey Organization pegs the rise in literacy at a mere 1.5%. India, with a present literacy rate of 64.8%, is unlikely to meet her commitment to achieve universal elementary education by the 2015 deadline set for the Millennium Development Goals. Without the availability of basic facilities like electricity and infrastructure like roads and bridges, even accessing the schools will remain a daunting challenge. What the children find on arrival at the school is the next obstacle on the long path to learning.

(Charkha Features)