A viral video from a Bihar government school has raised questions about the standard of education in rural India. Government schoolteachers, who clear multiple competitive exams to get the job, make Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 per month. They are entrusted by parents with the responsibility of making their children a success both in studies and in life. However, this faith has been disrupted after a video clip emerged in which a teacher was found struggling with extremely basic arithmetic problems. The experience has left everyone wondering how well educated and equipped such teachers actually are.
Government schools are supposed to educate poor children and give them an equal opportunity of learning, but teachers like these cast a strong doubt over the quality of learning in government schools.
Government Teachers With Fat Paychecks Struggle At The Basics
The video, posted on Instagram, starts with a man seeking information from a government school teacher about where she works, and she tells him that she is a Shikshan Sevak, a contract teacher employed for a limited period of time. He then soon presents her with a basic math problem to answer. But instead of answering correctly, she fumbles with the problem and keeps making basic errors. Each time she goes wrong, the man points it out, yet she continues to repeat the same mistakes.
Reacting to the post, a user wrote, āIām sure she got the position through reservations.”
Another commented in agreement, “Not only are some institutions awarding B.Ed. and M.A. degrees in exchange for money without student attendance and exam forgery.”
“Deserving candidates are stressed/depressed working in private jobs and individuals like her are getting fat govt paychecks without elementary education,” one comment stated.
One person commented, “How do they get employed too?”
One more said, “I know a teacher from General category (Jain), an English teacher of govt school. He doesn’t even know the language correctly and tense properly. I asked him how he got the job, and he replied ‘Exam diya or pass ho gaya pata nahi kaise’.”
One more added, “The kids will be employed with some hands on training, which will let them to be hired in some sector, in future.”
Earlier Bhopal Incident Sparked Outrage
There was yet another incident earlier that went viral on social media where a school teacher from Mahatma Gandhi Higher Secondary School in Bhopal demonstrated a female teacher sitting on a chair while a student was massaging her feet. The teacher withdrew her foot only after realizing that the episode was being recorded. After the incident, the teacher was suspended from school in Bhopal.
