The early 1900’s brought students from other states and neighbouring countries to Patna for education, will the 21st century see the resurgence of Patna as a destination or quality education? The jury’s out on that one, writes Frank Krishner
Every June, outbound trains and planes carry significant numbers of freshly graduated high school students towards colleges in other cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and even to towns such as Indore and Gangtok. These youngsters leave home and wing their way to mainstream and vocational courses, battling it out in competitive examinations, braving inhospitality and swallowing their pride because they believe that colleges, institutions and universities outside the state will give them a better deal.
Observers say that times are changing and that this tide may soon be stemmed. They point to the many ‘franchisee’ schools: the ‘big brands’ of private education that have set up shop in the State capital. Vocational courses that lead to better paying pay-packets are no longer exclusively available in the Metros. Bihar can boast of several players of national and international repute that promise world-class education right in the heart of Patna. Be it media studies, animation, radio and television, foreign language courses, business management or fashion designing, there are institutes that offer these courses right here.
Observers say that times are changing and that this tide may soon be stemmed. They point to the many ‘franchisee’ schools: the ‘big brands’ of private education that have set up shop in the State capital. Vocational courses that lead to better paying pay-packets are no longer exclusively available in the Metros. Bihar can boast of several players of national and international repute that promise world-class education right in the heart of Patna. Be it media studies, animation, radio and television, foreign language courses, business management or fashion designing, there are institutes that offer these courses right here.
TRYST
“Patna’s tryst with modern education started way back in the 19th century. Schools like St. Joseph’s Convent and St. Michael’s have traditions that span over 150 years,” says Anne D’Costa, who taught at the latter school for over 25 years and who now lives with her equally famous footballer and teacher husband Rocque D’Costa in Mumbai.
Patna College dates back to 1912. Patna Medical College and Bihar National College gave India and the world some of its brightest luminaries. The American Jesuits started St. Xavier’s, and the American Bishop Sullivan started Patna Women’s College in the tempestuous years of 1939-40. They read the signs of India struggling to break free from British colonialism and encouraged their students to prepare themselves to take on great responsibilities in the New India. Students travelled from Bengal, Orissa and neighbouring countries to schools and colleges in Patna.
“Patna’s tryst with modern education started way back in the 19th century. Schools like St. Joseph’s Convent and St. Michael’s have traditions that span over 150 years,” says Anne D’Costa, who taught at the latter school for over 25 years and who now lives with her equally famous footballer and teacher husband Rocque D’Costa in Mumbai.
Patna College dates back to 1912. Patna Medical College and Bihar National College gave India and the world some of its brightest luminaries. The American Jesuits started St. Xavier’s, and the American Bishop Sullivan started Patna Women’s College in the tempestuous years of 1939-40. They read the signs of India struggling to break free from British colonialism and encouraged their students to prepare themselves to take on great responsibilities in the New India. Students travelled from Bengal, Orissa and neighbouring countries to schools and colleges in Patna.
PASS WITHOUT ENGLISHIn the seventies and eighties, Patna saw several upheavals, not the least in the field of education. There emerged a new category on the Matriculation certificate, “Pass without English”. The venerable Catholic / Protestant aristocratic English medium school ethos: stolid and elitist, underwent a drastic change as the Jesuits shifted gears and opened the floodgates to Dalits in their new-found ‘option for the poor’. Upper class Patna watched aghast as trusted traditions were thrown to the winds and first St. Xavier’s, and then St. Michael’s reversed gears and became Hindi medium schools. This resulted in the opening of several privately run English Medium Schools run by Anglo-Indians, the most famous of which was set up by a certain Alfred De Rozario.
ASPIRATIONAL LANGUAGE
“Let’s face it. English is the aspirational language of Bihar. In spite of all attempts to portray Bihar as a rustic place which has no place for English, several private English Medium schools opened in Patna,” observes journalist and educator Allen Johannes. “Schools such as Rose Bud, St. Karen’s, St. Dominic Savio’s were started and flourished. Soon other schools such as DAV and Krishna Niketan opened: all of them teaching with English as a medium of instruction.”
Post-modern, technology-driven, globalised India has an entirely different set of aspirations and values, and the shift is evident in the choices made by the prospering middle classes of twenty-first century Bihar. The air-conditioned designer schools have made a mark in Patna. If money is no consideration, one needn’t pack their kids off to strange boarding schools when brands such as DPS, Radiant, and Zee have arrived and unpacked their wares.
Gyan Niketan School Director Anita Kunal attributes the success of the institution to the dedication and devotion of faculty and students to their respective duties. “Team work, utmost sincerity and honesty towards been our USP. We just don’t rest on our laurels and allow complacency to sneak in. We are constantly challenging ourselves to set new but realistic standards,” she says. She denounces too much attention being given to academics alone. “The general tendency is to stress too much on academics once the students reach the 10+2 level. The extra curricular activities and personality development aspect of education which are an integral part of the process are given a backseat. This should be avoided. The idea is to attain equilibrium between studies and all round development, without which education loses its essence.”
Coomar Anunodaya, who runs the Krishna Niketan chain of schools says that the imparting of cultural values and sanskar are the basis of education. “In our schools, we do not stress only on grades, life skills are an integral part of education. The girls are taught how to be good daughters, mothers and daughters-in-law as well. Family values are important.” A similar line of thought is also held by the Premalok school, which has sessions with spiritual leaders as part of the curriculum.
There primary reason why the demand for higher education and traditional courses in the state suffer and students migrate to outside institutions is that little placement assistance is provided by Patna colleges, says College of Commerce (Magadh University) Principal Suresh Prasad. “This deters them from opting for courses from Patna institutions which don’t provide them with access to employment opportunities.”
There is evidence that the benefits of education to individuals and society are enhanced when its quality is high. For example, better learning outcomes – as represented by pupils’ achievement test scores – are closely related to higher earnings in the labour market; thus, differences in quality are likely to indicate differences in individual worker productivity. Empirical research has also demonstrated that good schooling improves national economic potential. The quality of the labour force, again as measured by test scores, appears to be an important determinant of economic growth.
[Photo by FK: Boys in a government shool in Madhepura, Bihar March 2009. This article was published in the Times of India in April 2008]
Author: Frank Krishner
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