Bureaucracy- Spoiler of School Education in India

Khagendra Kumar

Chief Editor

There is urgent need to rejuvenate general school education in India. The situation is so grim that nobody except those who cannot afford private schooling send their children to public schools. The people have atleast some faith even in unrecognized private schools. Few decades before there was strong linkage between the teachers and the community. But the linkage was gradually spoiled by the excessive bureaucratic interference. In fact different levels of education officers  and related bureaucratic machinery have done great harm the school system in the country. In fact they have no role to play in the system. Expenditure incurred on their salary is a loss to the public exchequer. we often hear about teachers poor capacity to teach.In some cases it is true. But I am sure the capacity of almost all bureaucrats are worse than a worst teacher. It never means that I am defending teachers with poor capacity but what I mean that do away with the rotten bureaucracy with no understanding of the system and make each school accountable for their success and failures.

It is very important to mention that one of the most important functions of bureaucracy to get connected with the masses. But they believe in keeping distance from the public atlarge. In fact school teachers are the best state apparatus to take most of the welfare and awareness programmes to the people. In fact Teachers connect the state & cental governmentsboth with the people efficiently and fills the gap created due to inefficiency of the bureaucracy. Most of the non academic works imposed on teachers are generated due to bureaucratic failures to connect with the people.      

The state must generate resources for better salary and life conditions of teachers at all stages of school by doing away with bureaucracy involved in school education and minimizing bureaucracy involved in other institutions allied to school education. Unless teachers get high salary and better service conditions we can never draw talets to our public schools.

If it is true that without quality school education any society cannot achieve goals of development then state must take measures to provide best life conditions to the teachers in comparison to other employees of the state. Until teachers are best paid and put above other employees in protocols, we cannot see best talents in our classrooms shaping the destiney of our children.