Question:
Discuss about the Collaboration Between Students And Teachers In Speaking An Listening English In Punjab Government Secondary Schools.
India is one of the ten rapid growing economies in the world. In spite of this fact, the rate illiterate citizens are the highest. Education is the most important pillar of a growing economy. This is the biggest challenge that India is facing since its independence. To solve this problem, the RTE or Right To Education Act was introduced in the year 2009. This act has provided the right of compulsory and free education to children between the ages of 6 to 14 years. The main goal of the implementation of this act was to achieve a literacy rate of 100% throughout the country and boost the levels of awareness (Akram et al., 2015).
The infrastructure of the government schools in 13 states of India was found to poor in a recent survey. The facilities that are provided in these government schools are not at par with those mentioned in the act. The problem related to toilets and drinking water was found to be a major issue in these schools. This problem has led to dropouts of female students from the schools. The quality of teaching in the government is not up to the mark (Vishnu, 2015). The students do not the basic knowledge of reading, writing and even basic maths. The development of a country mainly depends on the youth, who are the future of that particular country; due to this providing quality education to the children is the most important duty of the government. This will help in achieving the goal of changing the entire country (Bracken, Driver & Kadi-Hanifi, 2016).
The government schools in Punjab are facing many problems in the recent years. The main problem is the teacher and student ratio in these schools. This problem has to an imbalance between the number of students and teachers and due to this the quality of education provided to the students has suffered. Around 2667 primary and secondary schools in Punjab are facing a lack of adequate number of teachers with respect to students. This report is based on the analysis regarding these problems in the government secondary schools in Punjab (Byker, 2014).
The education systems of the government secondary schools in Punjab are facing many issues in the recent times. The main problem in this case is the quality of teachers in these schools. The quality of teachers in the schools enhances the quality of education provided to the students. The lack of funds provided by the government to improve the quality of teachers is another problem in this case. This problem affects the economic development of the state, which in turn has an adverse affect on the economic growth of the country as a whole. To address these problems government has started taking initiatives to improve the situation (Chandwani & Lata, 2016).
These initiatives include Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which was implemented in the year 2002. This initiative was mainly concentrated towards the management of finances related to the education sector, providing proper training to the teachers and providing resources required by the students. Another initiative taken by the government was the RTE or Right To Education Act, that was implemented in the year 2010. This act stated that the teachers are the most important element of the education system (Desai, 2015).
The main context of this report is regarding the quality of education in the state of Punjab. Punjab is located in the north-western part of India. This state has gone through lots of changes with respect to its physical settings, educational expenditure, demography and educational programmes. The state of Punjab is mainly inhabited by people whose mother tongue is Punjabi. Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana. Punjab is a densely populated state with male literacy rate of 81.5 and female literacy rate of 71.3 percent. The literacy gap has decreased in the years 2001 and 2011 (Ganaie, 2015).
The rural population has decreased and the urban population has increased in the recent years. The growth of population has also decreased. The funds that are allocated in the education sector have increased in the recent years. The expenditure that is made on different education programs and schemes has increased after the year 2002. Some of the programs that have been implemented in the education are the PERVESH Project, The Parho Punjab Project and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (Snilstveit et al., 2014). The Mid- day Meal Program was implemented in the government primary schools to provide free food to the students in the schools. The Parho Punjab Project was implemented in the years 2008 to 2012, with the aim to remove the problem of the difference in the level of learning and the goals of the students (HAIDER & KHAN, 2016).
The Primary Vidya Sudhar (PERVESH) Project was implemented following the Parho Punjab Project to enhance the quality of education provided to the students in the government primary and secondary schools and mainly focus on their learning of maths and language. An amount of INR 50 crores was invested in these projects (Samson & Vyjayanthi, 2013). There is a lack of facilities provided in the school premises in Punjab. Some of the problems include lack of toilets, and the number of classrooms as per the number of students. The issue of the lack of girls’ toilets has led to many dropouts from the schools in primary and secondary levels (Haider & Hussain, 2014).
The percentage of female teachers is more in the government primary and secondary schools as compared to the percentage of male teachers. The teachers who are appointed in the government schools in Punjab are a varied group of people in terms of their background, recruitment process, educational qualifications and other factors (Kumar & Kaur, 2012). The ratio of the teachers and students is not up to the mark in the schools in Punjab, with the ratio in primary schools being 27:1, upper primary schools is 21:1 and in secondary schools in 23:1. The problem of less number of teachers is one of the biggest challenges in the education sector of Punjab (Huma, 2014).
India has a diverse culture and many different languages are spoken in different states of the country. However, English language has been accepted has the other official language in addition to Hindi. In spite of the presence of English language in India for a long time, only few people can speak English. However, English acts as a link between people in the national and international levels as well. English has now become a second language in India and this trend has an effect on the quality of education being provided in the government secondary schools. English is now not just a language that is taught in schools, but it has become a medium of teaching process (Jena, 2013).
The English language is now becoming a mode of communication between students and teachers in the government schools in Punjab. The teachers who are appointed in these schools need to be trained in such a way so that they have a great command over the language, which is not their mother tongue. In this manner, the teachers will be able to provide good quality education to the students. The medium of education mainly used in the rural areas of Punjab was Punjabi. The importance of English language has increased in the recent years owing to the reason that the world is turning into a small global village. English has become the most important language in the recent times (Jena & Gahlod, 2013).
This language has totally gone inside the system of the education in India. In spite of this, the rural areas of India are facing problems regarding the learning of this language. The schools in the rural areas need to accept English as such a language, which they can use to speak their minds. This is a big issue in the government secondary schools in rural Punjab (KAUR, 2017).
This problem can be solved with successful collaboration of the teachers and the students of these schools. The teacher who has taken the responsibility of teaching the students should be aware of the language. The teacher should be proficient in speaking, writing and reading this language. They should be equipped in such a way that it becomes easier for them to impart this knowledge to the students (Kumar & Kaur, 2012).
The students in the rural areas of Punjab and their respective parents need to understand the importance of the language for the future of the students. English is introduced quiet late in the curriculum of the rural students, due to which there is a lack of confidence in speaking English. The students in rural Punjab are heavily dependent on their mother tongue and English is taught to them quiet late in their school years. The students are unable to score passing marks in the English exams, and they do not understand Basic English sentences. English is taught to these not like a language, but like a subject (Malik & Yadav, 2013).
The students have a casual approach towards learning English and due to this; they have a weak vocabulary and poor levels of translation. The students therefore are slow in learning the language and they realize the importance of English in the later years of their career. In this manner, they do not receive the basic knowledge about the language and later when they realize the importance of learning English, they learn it with the help of some courses, which provide only surface knowledge to the students. The low ratio of students and teachers has an adverse effect in this case as well. The needs of the students are not catered properly by the teachers in the government secondary schools in these rural areas of Punjab (Ramamurthy, 2015).
The schools do not receive adequate attention from the higher authorities so that the quality of education can be improved and the number of teachers can be increased. Therefore, it can be said that teaching this language in the rural government secondary schools is massive task for the teachers of these schools (Haider & Hussain, 2014). The potential of the students in the rural areas are wasted due to this reason. One of the biggest problems in the schools in these areas is the absence of punctuality and regularity among the students. There is a huge lack of awareness regarding English education in these areas (Rana, 2017).
This is the point where the collaboration between the students and the teachers comes into play. Teachers are the main pillars of the education system of the schools. The problem related to the lack of interest and confidence of the students, can be easily tackled by the teachers. The teachers should also receive rigorous training so that they can impart the correct level of knowledge to the students. The teachers are the ones who can motivate students so that they can get interest in the language, learn it from the foundation of their studies, and use it in their future career (Samson & Vyjayanthi, 2013).
The teachers of the government secondary schools in Punjab are considered the main pillars of the education system. The teachers are the people who are interpreters or mediators of the educational system. The teachers play an important role in the development of a nation or bringing change in the society. This is the reason why the teachers need to be properly trained. The system of in-service training of teachers in the government schools in Punjab facilitates this ability of the teachers (Smyth, 2013). In-service training of the teachers includes the following components:
This type training is important for the teachers in the elementary schools, so that the attention can be kept focussed on the requirement of improvement in quality of the performance of the teachers, which in turn improves the quality of the students (Bracken, Driver, & Kadi-Hanifi, 2016). Thus, type of training helps to maintain an environment in the schools, which will facilitate the learning quality in schools, so that the teachers are committed and they can develop their competency, which is required to pursue the options in their careers. The enthusiasm of the teachers towards the profession is maintained and they are always motivated to provide the correct level of knowledge to the students (Snilstveit et al., 2014).
This type of in-service teacher education programmes are arranged in Punjab under the SSA or Sarv Shikhsha Abhiyan Scheme. This programme has proved to be effective according to a recent research that has been conducted. The programme was found to be effective from the point of view of infrastructure, planning and monitoring. The role of the teachers in this entire programme was found to be the most important. This programme had a huge impact on the teaching style of the teachers. The programme helped in the professional development of the teachers. This programme helped the teachers in learning many new techniques of teaching and handling new teaching equipments (Thakur, 2013).
The main concern in the state of Punjab is the quality of English teachers in the government-aided secondary schools. The need of teachers in the large number of schools has been an issue for the Punjab government. The government is facing many problems and obstructions due to the shortage of funds. The quality of the language in this area helps in determining the quality of teachers who are appointed to teach English in the government schools. The number of teachers with respect to the number of students is less, due to which the students have to face a large number of problems. Sometimes the quality of the teachers is compromised to meet the shortage of teachers. Training has been provided to the teachers to address the issue of quality along with quantity (Usman, 2012).
As there is progress in the modern society, the need for English education is increasing day by day. The English language is introduced in the early days of the students. English is being included in the curriculum of upper primary schools, so that the students have a strong base by the time they reach the secondary schools (Chandwani & Lata, 2016). However, the implementation of English language has sometimes happened in a rapid pace and this caused problems for the students. In the year, 2009 English language was introduced into the curriculum of the students in Punjab. This process was followed by the training provided to the teachers about this knowledge. This preparation was taken so that the inadequacy of the learning of the teachers does not affect the knowledge that the students were imparted (Vishnu, 2015).
After the launch the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Program in India in the year 2001, in the recent years there is a huge increase in the enrolment of students in the government schools. This phenomenon is prevalent not only in the urban, but also in the rural areas. In many states, the enrolment of students in government is much more as compared to private schools (SOLANKI & BAROT, 2017).
The teachers of these government secondary schools play an important in the lives of the students. The qualification and quality of the teachers determine the knowledge levels of the students. The academic achievements of the teachers have an impact on the achievements of the students as well. The level of knowledge of the teachers is affected by their fellow teachers, which in turn has an effect on the quality of the students (Bracken, Driver & Kadi-Hanifi, 2016).
The dedication and the commitment of the teachers towards their profession is another factor that affects the knowledge that is imparted to the students. The professional qualification of the teachers also ensures the knowledge that is provided to the students. As per the observations in recent studies, the students that are taught by well-experienced and qualified teachers perform much better in comparison to those taught by inexperienced teachers (Chandwani & Lata, 2016).
English language has played an important role in the educational system of India or rather in the state of Punjab. English is a global language and it acts as a link with the rest of the world. The usage of English is increasing day by day in the government secondary schools. However, there are still many challenges in the secondary schools in the rural areas of Punjab. The infrastructure of the schools is not up to the mark (Malik & Yadav, 2013). The students in the rural areas of Punjab are not aware about the importance of the language in their future careers. The students take English just as a subject they need to pass in, and not like a language to learn (Haider & Hussain, 2014).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the level of English medium education in the government secondary schools in the state of Punjab has improved in the recent years. The quality of teachers imparting knowledge to the students matters the most in this case. The teachers are considered to be the main pillars of the education system. The teachers are the ones who shape the lives of the students and in turn bring change to the society. Keeping this in mind, the teachers are provided extensive training related to the English language.
The challenges are much more in the rural areas of Punjab. The children in the rural areas are not aware of the importance of English language in their future careers. The infrastructure of the schools and the quality of the teachers are some of the major problems in the rural areas. Many initiatives have been taken by the government to address these issues. The lack of funds in the government secondary was also a major problem, due to which the infrastructure of the schools did not show any improvement. However, owing to the initiatives taken by the government, these issues have been taken care of and lots of investment is being made in the education sector.
References
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