WHAT is a school for? To make man human. Man has in him certain specific attributes which have to be developed and fostered, so that he can rise up to his full stature. If these are ignored or allowed to lie fallow, he exists on the animal level only. Discipline alone can make him grow into his heritage. The animal can be transformed by training to behave like a man. The teacher is the most important asset of the school. Brick and mortar do not make a school efficient and useful. Nor are books in the library or appliances in the laboratory, so essential. The teacher makes the school or mars it. He is all the books you need; he is the most desirable appliance. He shapes the manners, behaviour, attitudes and even prejudices of the pupils under his care. So he has a big responsibility. The teacher dedicates himself to a great , when he enters upon this profession. He has himself to be what he advises his pupils to be. The tender minds in the classroom are easily moulded by his example. If the teacher speaks against smoking, he has to give up smoking; if he insists on punctuality, he has to come to the classroom on time. He is under rigorous scrutiny, all the time. Any misdemeanour of his, becomes the talk of the town; it is discussed during dinner in a hundred homes the same day. He has to be circumspect all the hours of the day.
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Avoid the sad feature of mass convocations
Parents must observe rules strictly, themselves. Take the case of an engineer belonging to the Scheduled Caste, whose sons are in college. The son is entitled to a scholarship only if the father has an income of less than 3,000 a year. The father tries all kinds of hicks and finally gets an M.L.A. to tell the college that the rules do not apply to this case! The son may get the scholarship but what a lesson in morals! Students have to be taught the equality of all faiths. I am arranging the staging of a play at the Arts and Science College for Men at , a play based on the incident, where slaughters the infant children of the . In that play, the role of is played by a Muslim; and are Christians. Each one of us is playing a role in this Grand Drama, some as , some as Muslim, some as Christian. Whatever the role, the individual has to appear in the appropriate costume, repeat the lines, gesticulate, and make entrances and exists as directed. If a school has poor discipline, if its students are led away by self-seekers, into the wilderness, the fault lies on the parents, the elders and the Committee of Management. The Committee, often is only a 'Come-for-tea' affair! I suggest that convocations be held in each college to distribute the Diplomas to the candidates who pass out of that College; this will avoid confusion at the mass convocations, a feature that saddens every one. Friends and parents can attend these mini-convocations and cheer them.
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Quality and not quantity should be the goal
You know that you can draw cheques upon a bank, whenever you need money, provided you have enough current deposit therein. If the bank goes bankrupt, it will be a disaster. The educational system is the bank, on which the nation draws a cheque whenever it wants strong reliable skilled workers. If it goes bankrupt, as it has very nearly gone today, it is a national disaster. If the system is overhauled and lubricated, the next generation is assured of good leaders and, what is equally essential, good followers. I shall tell you one incident that happened at the College, so that you can picture the kind of change I welcome. At the Public Examinations held at the College, which is one of the Centres, the moment the candidates got the question papers, all the examinees stood up together. The invigilators were surprised and some of them were struck with fear, that perhaps, they were trying to create a scene and protest against the paper and the setter! But, they stood up, only for a minute of silent prayer, a very ennobling and purifying habit! Colleges should not compete with each other in the number of students on the rolls. Quality and not quantity should be the goal. A small number ensures greater individual attention, more intense discipline, better teaching and deeper learning.