Schools:

Does public transport help ?

Jayantha Senevirathna

Education: Silhouetted against the sunrise off the city of Kandy, Knuckles Mountain Range offers a panoramic view for the ambitious and adventurous. No wonder that it reflects the magic kingdom in the high hills far away with many secrets for the cheerful young teacher.

He loves the forests and fertile valleys, lush green mountains and gurgling rivers, winding roads up and down, but most importantly, the dotted hideouts interspersed with shiny silvery tea factories. What are these dotted hideouts, looking pale yellow in the distance? According to government classifications, they are distressed schools. He wonders, how it could be.

About an hour's drive from Kandy, with fascinating glimpses into beautiful sceneries, and another thirty minutes walk up or down a country path would be a pleasure. He hears the heavenly music from the distance. Some bubbly juniors sing, "You are my sunshine."

Even though the passions for nature are much appreciated, you would always have been at odds with your parents, friends and even fiance over your longings to travel that far into nature, and paid for something that gives you immense self-satisfaction. Why? You always wonder.

You get up at 4.00 a.m., prepare lesson notes, take the bus at 6.00 a.m., get down at 7.30 a.m. at the foot of the heaven and take a leisurely walk up to school. It's so easy. So you make your mind up against all odds. And on that fateful day, giving a punctual start, you appear at the bus stop well before six o'clock. Trouble starts. You will be told that the bus is under repair.

Timekeeper just laughs your next question out and offers you to take another bus to the suburban city nearby and start from there. Such a thing could happen. But allocating a single old bus to such an interesting location is unbelievable. With a taint of initial gloom and disappointment you, our hero, set off for the next stop.

Congregated masses of men and women of all grades, looks and kinds are there waiting for the bus in the next stop. Suddenly, all starts to stream, as the bus makes its appearance. Then begin the scuffling and scrambling forth of countless heads towards the bus.

Some jump up on the back of others, to attract the attention of the fortunate entrants to book them a seat, while the old, ill, pregnant women and so on shouting to remind that they are there. It is all for a seat, but you are a bit selfish now, and a bit negative as well. A small respite is helpful in preparing for a long and hard journey.

Yet it is one of the most saddening sights! The majority is the local gentry and much respected professionals struggling for a day's journey, in the knowledge that the next journey will be hours late if they miss this. No wonder, you would be looking down on hell instead of up for heaven. For decades, many have been going there, and gone through the same struggle and gone away, generally, without fulfilling the sacred duty assigned.

For the new teacher, it is the first taste of life in a piped dream. A journey to a remote distress school is not an idyll in a fairy tale. Anyway it is not his fault, and it's not even in the education department's reach. But even if it is too late, there is an example worth mentioning.

In 1952, leaders of the war-ravaged Japan opted for public works that paved the way for the landscape to be covered with roads leading to everywhere, bridges to cross and airports for the more ambitious type of entrepreneurs.

Even though such projects were heavily funded by the USA, real forces behind their success were the society and culture that are built on a foundation of harmony. The idea of consensus has a powerful appeal for the Japanese. That is why voters were ready for painful reforms even these days in Japan.

Likewise, in our case, I believe that in this severe transport problem, people's representatives of all hues and colours have a collective responsibility.

But, when the free permits for vehicles are on the tables, they begin the scuffling and scrambling forth to hold their hands high in the air, let alone salary hikes. What a shame! If a well-schooled society is a prosperous and stable society, reforms should come top down.

But for the good or worse, ever-influencing forces of globalization are gradually extending its hands even into such far remote corners that were once pristine terrains. It is nice, see these guys armed with modern cellular phones, compact discs and some even with laptop computers.

In truth, while a single overcrowded busload of government servants move into render their services, several busloads of villagers move out to buy their services to nearby cities. Most of them are schoolchildren and businessmen. Before the free market era, only village headmen and principals who had already tasted the power of the knowledge. They desired to have some influence in much respected fields of medicine, engineering, law, accountancy and so on. And, were keen to ensure that their children will be educated to win places within such respected professions.

Now, the rising merchant class in rural areas invests profusely on their children's education. It is a fact that the majority of educated middle level professionals, both in the public and private sector, are from rural areas. But a question remains. Are they really educated? Do they have a sense of duty or an obligation to fulfill for the betterment of the society? It is a separate topic to argue on but the general public always questions on professionals who are always after the pound of their flesh.

What could be a well-schooled society? As an old boy of several local schools in Sri Lanka, with two school going children, I am still unaware of the exact meaning, but common sense and received wisdom pass on me the idea that a child should attend a school nearby with the protection and guidance of his or her own parents, at least during his primary education. A school should be more about instilling character, culture and morality into young minds as well as passing on skills.

The tide towards the city is mainly due to the utilitarian concerns that are influencing modern curricula. Parents are anxious that by not being able to induce skills such as computing and English, their children will become backward in society and lose a chance of making a decent living. In fact, education is global human right and such parents well deserve their wish.

And, it's the responsibility of the State to extend education desired by the masses. But do they have to travel all the way to the city get hold of this? Provided a good transport service, there are enough teachers with the desire to bring literacy to the rural masses.

There are talented people who can become intimately familiar with each student's education, skills and future goals, and work together to reflect on how they hope to achieve their goals as they embark on their careers. They are able to create a new, more global, and more engaging experience for students.

The resources that can make a real transformation in distressed remote schools are abundant now. With the recruitment of graduate teachers to such schools, some schools even face the problem of finding work for teachers who are waiting in the excess list.

But the problem for such teachers is how to get there, and a sort of compensation for valuable extra time they waste on public transport and trekking along long distances that are not motorable. A properly functioning regular transport system and the difficult service allowance they enjoyed in the past will be a good start. It is the duty of the State to fulfill such basic requirements before addressing the field of training.

This is the only way to make unnecessarily long, boring and verbose lectures on new educational reforms more practical and productive. It is true that building schools, keeping them running and of training teachers are costly affairs.

But due compensation and facilities for the teacher will definitely pay back in terms of economic growth in the long run. It is the only way out to empower the future workforce more literate and numerate.