My views on education in Mizoram

Being born and brought up in Mizoram, I spent all my school years there. The first school I attended did a great job in instilling a zeal to learn among us kids that some of us actually choose to stay back on our own will after class to read the text books of higher classes. Consequently, after some time I was able read Mizo books while I was only in std 1.  I think that’s when I developed my love for reading.

Then from std 2, I attended a Roman Catholic school. I still remember the first exam I gave because I answered the ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ questions on my question paper and I took the question paper home lol. And of course I was allowed for a resit :D . I always liked going to schools because we had fun and life was not always about studies. Though our teachers were very good and dedicated, I do regret to say that sometimes they fail to make learning fun .But I still remember vividly most of Sister Juliet’s teaching till now. She teaches English and SS (It’s a shame she didn’t  teach us Maths ). She is a great teacher, and her classes were fun and awesome(I wonder where she is now, last time I heard she was in Rome).  Mom never forced me to study at home ,instead she would ask me if I have things to learn and if I say I did then she’d help me learn, but if I say I don’t then she would gladly let me play, so I really did enjoy my childhood days.  I knew how to balance my time between studies and other things.

Then, high school happened. This is the chapter of my life where the education system in Mizoram brainwashed me :D . I was caught up in the race between schools to produce good results in the HSLC exams.  I was in the hostel where everything was about studies. We were made to study from 6 in the morning and at night from 6 to 10 everyday. It was so monotonous, it sucked the life out of me. We were never given time to do sports or read books or do any other stuff than eat, sleep and study. I was always told how doing well was so important, and even if I volunteered to do other stuffs, I was told that I was better off studying  my lessons because I have to do well in the board exams. So,  I had been totally brainwashed :D. I slowly believed that studying was the only meaningful thing I had in my life and I gave up reading, sports, music and all my other hobbies as I was  scared that it would affect my studies. I cannot really blame my teachers because it’s what all the other schools would do too( I think :) I’m not sure) .  This goes on for a very long time and extended all throughout college as well. Maybe most people would call me ‘chut’ and I think I deserved it :) .

What I really want to say though, is that now the CCE system has been integrated into schools and this is a big leap for our education and recruiting trained teachers is a good move. But from what I hear ,it seems  these days, the competition among parents have escalated , and most kids would be made to take extra tuition classes apart from school, and are made to study hours on end. While this might be a necessity for some kids who are a bit slower than others, I don’t think most kids would need it.  I’m not saying it’s a bad move, but I would like parents to consider giving their kids some time to be kids, to enjoy their childhood and not always force them to study. What good is a person who knows lot and lots about everything, but who is not capable to face the real world?.  And education is not all about studies, it’s about all round development. Don’t make your child sit and study all the time, instead let them make friends, play games and nurture their other talents as well.

And to all the teachers, please don’t let teaching just be a means to make ends meet. Thousands and thousands of children are depending upon you for their future. Maybe, just maybe, because you don’t feel like teaching algebra that day, and a student fails to understand the concept behind it, somewhere somehow, it might turn into the most dreaded topic in his life. Or just because you want to maintain good discipline and control over students, don’t turn yourself into someone they are scared to approach when they have doubts.  You know as well as I do that there are ways to gain their trust and respect at the same time.  Children are our future, and their future depends on you. The future of the state and the country depends on you.’ You are the builder of the nation’.

 As for me, since I have come to realize that there is so much more to life than studying all the time, I am slowly trying to turn my life around. I started reading books again, began to take part in some sports, I still really really want to learn how to play the piano ( still determined to do this someday) and I am slowly learning to maintain balance in my life again. And I wish someday , we can  bring about a change to our education system in Mizoram .