Save education, bring back old glory

School has a wider function and so it is called a home away from home. Teachers who are working in it are said to be equal to parents of students. But it has lost its meaning completely after the birth of corporate and concept schools. Once schools were called temples of learning but now they have become commercial centres and the teachers are mere promoters of business ventures.

It is proved once again in a Punganur school recently. A lady teacher in the school punished six children, studying 3rd and 4th grades inhumanly by disrobing and making them stand in the scorching sun. In this sad episode, the students' fault is coming late to school and incompletion of homework. The so-called teacher who was supposed to extend motherly affection towards the children utterly failed to understand their late coming - it may be parents mistake or transport problem. Moreover, she must know that corporal punishment has no place in RTE.

As long as schools are competing madly, the teachers will lose their balance in acting and behave irresponsible. Even some parents also provoke the teachers to discipline their wards. Recently educational institutions have come to limelight not for accomplishment of their basic tasks but for negative issues like sexual abuse, inhuman discipline, no permission to speak Telugu in English Medium schools etc. So, there must be clear-cut guidelines in running the schools. To realise such guidelines, there must be a provision of counselling for all the stakeholders. Then only the educational institutions will regain their past glory.

- Pratapa Reddy Yaramala, Tiruvuru, Krishna dist, AP