This Children’s Day, Let’s Watch ‘Taare Zameen Par’

Two different cases in two different cities nearly 1150 kms apart in the recent past tell us the one bitter truth we have ignored for far too long: our school children are under great stress. In the first, a Class XI student of Ryan International School in Gurugram allegedly killed Pradhyumn Thakur, a Class II […]

Odisha To Establish 3 Eklavya Schools In Sambalpur

Two different cases in two different cities nearly 1150 kms apart in the recent past tell us the one bitter truth we have ignored for far too long: our school children are under great stress. In the first, a Class XI student of Ryan International School in Gurugram allegedly killed Pradhyumn Thakur, a Class II student of the same school, for nothing more sinister than to get an examination and a Parent Teachers Meeting (PTM) scheduled for the day postponed! In the other, a Class IX student in Surat, in connivance with a class mate, got himself ‘kidnapped’ – and even demanded a ransom of Rs. 50, 000 from his parents – because they frequently scolded and pressurized him for not paying enough attention to studies!!

There was a time when school used to be fun. But now, students - especially in urban, English medium schools - dread school. In our desire to mass produce robotic know-alls, we have burdened our children so much that the fun element has gone out of learning. It has instead turned into a chore that has to be endured by the child no matter what. Studies after studies have told us about great psychological damage that the burgeoning size of the school bag and the growing frequency of examinations and tests are doing to our children. But we remain blissfully oblivious of these findings and continue to press our children to ‘perform or perish’. We keep pushing them to the limits to fulfill ‘our’ desire to make them engineers, doctors or management professionals without once stopping to think if they would like to pursue a career in the humanities, art, sports or something else. We refuse to acknowledge the simple truth that not everyone is capable of scoring a 9 plus CGPA or cut out to study science or become an engineer or a doctor.