I am GPA – 5
The motto of arranging question in board exam is only to pass the stairs of exam not to test the ability of learners
Md Mizanur Rahaman
Urged by giving a look on a recent report telecast on a private TV channel on the contemporary picture of education. An extreme ugly growth of our GPA- 5 holder students especially in English disconcerted and abashed me to think myself as English teacher. The journalist said, What will be the translation of I have gotten GPA- 5? Students of GPA- 5 holder replied, I am GPA- 5 and many other irrelevant answers that totally have depicted our crumbling education system where we have only lots of examinees but very few of them are learners.
It is undoubtedly admirable so long the government has provided facilities to upgrade the status of education by offering educational incentives both for the teachers as well as the students with all infrastructural development to ensure quality education as per to meet up the challenges of 21st century. Thought provoking report telecast on a private television channel may arise ambiguous questions to the beholders either it is real or deliberately made for besmirching our education system . From the ground reality I can say that the real picture of our learning process is more pathetic than the report showed. For an example, I can mention here an evidence in the last year some of my HSC examinees who were very weak in English even did not have the ability to write a correct and meaningful sentence got GPA- 5 bearing eighty marks in English. How it was possible, I will discuss later.
Considering the report, a lot of questions vexed me to find out the exact reason of detestable picture of English learning in our country. Thinking about divulgation of question papers before board exam, leaking out questions throw social media , short cut suggestion based preparation, coaching center- based on only colourful sheets , ignoring the thoroughly reading of textbooks above all, syndication of vested quarters regarded as teachers playing tricks in the class to collect students by showing high browbeat with red eyes, threatening of science teachers for practical marks, selling students from physics to math, math to chemistry and English to accounting all are making our students parochial in their thoughts and dreams. Moreover, the question papers are technically set in such way where teachers are bound to give huge number. The motto of arranging question in board exam is only to pass the stairs of exam not to test the ability of learners. The topics that are taught in HSC level in English class ,it merely provides some information of creating consciousness but never touches the inner intellect to bloom, no scope for excavating new thoughts, a learning of mechanized sordid products that we are producing only for the corporate market. Despite having some topics of literature that have been newly introduced in the text is technically given less priority for the exam. What we learnt from The Gift of the Magi, The Luncheon, A Mother in Manville still instigates our thoughts to get pleasure, to be flourished, to beautify our inner self and to perceive the beauty in nature. The moral lesson that we learnt from our teachers is still alive to our consciousness. The topics itself had the beauty to connect our souls with the souls of the books. Nothing can grow out of these stony rubbish pages of books. We dont want only good students, we also want good thinkers who will be mentally, morally and intellectually sound in their respective work, will not go against any human nature. Proper use of language is the manifestation of revealing exact man. Through the existing outline of learning English, students are encouraged chiefly to fill the gap with words not seriously inspired for sentence construction .As a result, their creative faculty of comprehension both writing and reading becomes feeble except anything that is out of syllabus let alone thinking of speaking English correctly in different situations. From the text, ignoring the sublimity of literature that has diversified scope of developing thoughts and dreams to fetch students latent talent to the highest point for sensible living, our policymakers are indirectly fulfilling others interests of capitalistic vested quarters. I am sure, after ten /twenty years country can realize the demerits of avoiding literature. We may get handsome, smart, young graduate but totally they will be immoral in their gestures. To them money will become the ultimate cult of success. Human civilization cannot merely stand only so-called materialistic development it also needs art, culture, social values and natural human bondage between each other. Return that sorts of learning in the text to move, to stride at any cost not to be short of.
Now come to the point of I am GPA-5. Carrying such discomfort today in the morning I started to deliver my lecture in the class getting inspired by Tagore verse from the memory of his life (Jibon Smrity) The aim of education is not mere to make one understand about lesson but to strike ones inner faculty to create, to grow, to think, to be innovative in thoughts and ideas for devising new knowledge. I devoted myself subconsciously portraying the face and style of Abdullah Abu Sayeed Sir to my consciousness (the founder of Bisho Sahityo Kendro) and followed how he taught us in study circle, how he ignited us ,how he stretched our cogitations to the mysterious land of knowledge. From such great teacher I learnt Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire inside the pupils. Influenced by his celestial speech I have arranged some sets of grammatical items in my class, tried hard to know them the uses of it in functional way and told them to observe, to record, to use five common senses, learn to see and know that by practice alone. In one hour class they tremendously became expert in making new sentences. Actually everybody is genius and has exceptional intellectual ability. We just have to know the process of flaming the candle. We, the teachers cannot transmit wisdom and insight to our students. The seed is already there. A good teacher touches the seed, creates an atmosphere for germination, allowing the seed to wake up, to sprout and finally to grow. Now question arises to my conscience Are we, the teachers, sincere and committed at all to our teaching? I have pulled down my personal experience of one morning in the class not to be exaggerated in displaying myself as skilled teacher rather to know my own conscience how I am disingenuous, artificial and two faced in my profession. We are, in fact, not at all dedicated so much in the classroom, as much dedication is needed for the students anointment.
So, apart from governments weakness to control leaking out question paper before exam, we the teachers are largely responsible for teaching like I am GPA-5 .Finally it is very needful of awakening guardians consciousness to know in which subject your sons and daughters are interested to learn ,in which subject he/she naturally enthusiastic, motivate them to that direction ,never force them only to be doctor and engineer. Evaluate their natural instinct .Here I want to conclude my article putting an example ..Everybody has a natural talent and creative ability. If you want to judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live the whole life believing that it is stupid .It is incapable of doing anything .Grow it in the water then you can see how beautifully it is swimming with its little fins. So, lets think out of the box.
The writer is a Lecturer in English at Kadamtala Purba Basabo School and College
E-mail: [email protected]
