My sister was mumbling to herself one fine evening. Now there is nothing to be excited about her mumbling; for that is a norm rather than an exception—fussing about every possible topic she can think of. The only difference was that on that particular day, she seemed more disturbed than usual.

My sister, a ninth grader, had left her examination hall in an hour. An hour; the reason—questions on the exams were from chapters that weren’t covered by the teacher, even if they were in the prescribed syllabus for the first term. 

This is a major problem of public schools in a country like ours. Teachers, whose primary duty is to teach, do not teach; the syllabus remains incomplete, thus depriving the students of the “quality education” demanded by the “market.” I don’t know what factors lead to this, I know it is wrong. This is how students’ future is shaped and is being jeopardised by our system.

I can see people, and hear that in the Western education systems it is a privilege to study in public schools. Public schools are supposed to be vehicles through which those who can’t afford expensive private educations can still move up in life. But why is that exactly the opposite in our nation? It’s not about comparison but, aren’t duties as important as educating the youth be carried out with utmost dedication?

Moreover, teachers play important roles in shaping the future of the country. And in our country, where there are more public schools than private ones, the teachers are utterly negligent. So how can one expect any progress? Instead what we are doing is discouraging students and extinguishing their thirst for knowledge.

 It’s not just my sister. She moved to a public school hoping that the qualified teachers would be able to give her more of what she needed. Sadly, the irony is that the teachers don’t teach. What is the use of their sound quality and qualification if they do not utilise it! Indeed, if they would practice their everyday lives as hard as they do for tough examinations, our public schools would be producing the great leaders of tomorrow.

As an adage goes, “Teachers are the pillars of human civilisation.” It is just unfortunate that ours are so shaky and undependable.

How I wish the teachers would be a bit more concerned about their responsibility towards the children’s future. A little bit of their nursing would be of great help! Plus, I can see a fault of parents in this issue. Not only the student, but his or her parent should also be equally concerned about this matter. The school management too, should keep an eye on the performance of its teachers; be it a public or a private school—a school is a school.

This is not an individual’s task. If every child and parent unite, then maybe we can see our education system flourish to some extent and we all can set a bright future. Else, surely we, as a nation, are doomed.

Shah is an A Level student at St Xavier’s College, Maitighar