A possible future of Hill Education

The importance of education has been acknowledged and emphasized by each and every leader and thinker of our society. Education is one of the core source of quality knowledge that not only helps an individual attain his true potential but also makes him a capable contributor of the society he lives in. It gives him power to recognize his rights and responsibilities. Education empowers one to dream big and also achieve them.

The hills in the district of Darjeeling are famous for their educational institutions where students from all over India and many foreign countries come to get this empowerment. They come to the hills with the hope of getting a quality education and at the same time grow up in the lap of mother nature, the way it should always be.

However, if one closely observes the current situation in the hills, it would not be too hard to realize that though education is definitely good at the primary and secondary levels, things are not too rosy in higher levels with average levels of higher secondary education and almost negligible college education. Most students leave the hills after class 10, which is not very difficult for students who come to study from outside. But the local students are largely affected by the lack of good higher educational institutes. The economically well to do students generally move to the plains for higher education and then move further away for jobs and opportunities.

Those who cannot afford to go away remain. Few remain out of choice. But is the quality of education imparted in the current colleges comparable to those that are in the rest of the country? Are the local children getting an opportunity to empower themselves with the latest knowledge? Is the education preparing them for the future? Is it preparing them to take responsible roles in the society? Or is it just the bare minimum with a useless degree at the end?

Following are a few things that need to be verified and addressed urgently,

General

• A district level committee (DLC) should be formed comprising of all the educational institutions that would
• oversee that regular teacher training sessions are held.
• help the member institutes hire good teachers from all across the country.
• see that the schools have minimum required infrastructure.
• ensure that students don't drop-out of school.
• organize scholarships for exceptional students who are economically poor.
• make sure that all subjects are offered at the district level, so that students interested in a particular subject will not have to move out of the district due to unavailability of courses.
• hold career guidance seminars that would expose new career paths and all the career choices that are available currently and where they can pursue them.
• Education and related infrastructure should not be affected by politics.
• Educational institutes that offer alternative forms of education should be started.
  

Primary & Secondary Education

• Are all the newly added subjects included?
• Is multimedia being used in teaching subjects that are difficult to comprehend?
• Are the teachers being trained on the latest technology and techniques?
• Computer education is no longer a high end facility. It is a basic facility and must be taught from an early age.
• Career guidance cell to guide the student based on his interests and strengths.

Higher Secondary Education

• All schools that have been operating for 8 years or more should offer class 11 and class 12.
• At least the basic streams should be offered, science, arts and commerce.
• Career guidance cell that would guide students to more specific career paths based on their selected stream.

College and Technical Education

• The government must start at least one Engineering and one Medical college in the hills of the district.
• College for Hospitality and Hotel Management must be started to prepare quality work force for promoting Tourism in the area.
• At least one institute that offers courses on water management, agriculture, forest and animal husbandry. Research must be done in these institutes and all successful outcomes must be implemented in the hills.
• IT education must be encouraged either through colleges or as private courses.

A permanent solution to a problem can come only through proper planning and investment. Education is an investment that needs to be made now, so that we can get regular benefits in the future, 5 to 10 years down the line. Our leaders must take this decision today so that our children are empowered to achieve all their dreams, so that they won't be forced to leave their homes in search of a way to survive. And it is our duty to explain this to everyone who fails to see beyond 6 months.

We Need To Be/Think Out Of The Box Now

Today the hills of Darjeeling along with its districts are in a poor state. The sad part of the hills is its complete concretisation. The very site of the concrete buildings mushrooming everywhere in a haphazard manner makes us anxious. Sadly, the story is the same in every hill station in India.

 

Today, our hills suffer from over development, under planning and concrete box-architecture which in turn has ruined the landscape. The British and Scottish cottages are a far-fetched story. Its also high time that we put a ban on these high rises, control the influx of tourists and restrict the rampant buying of land in the hills by the outsiders. It’s vital that the locals be made more responsible in taking decisions.

Ill-planned hydro projects, encroachments of the river beds and blasting of mountains to build roads are making our hills more vulnerable and susceptible to disaster. The need of the hour is a regular check on the upcoming projects and regulating the construction of houses. The topography as well as the material used in building the houses should also be factored in. The entire construction should blend in with the landscape.

The continuous deforestation in the name of development and unregulated urbanization in the name of growth have triggered a lot of problems.Every monsoon houses get washed away. India’s northern state Uttarakhand is one of the alarming examples. Of course, we have taken nature for granted. Floods which caused massive destruction to life and property in Uttarakhand... was eventually a man made disaster. Isn’t this enough? Aren’t we going to learn from this gruesome incident? Its high time that we buck up.

The leaves and roots of Darjeeling tea

Darjeeling tea has always held a special place for tea connoisseurs all over India and the world. Since the days of Dr A. Campbell in 1841, when the idea of the first experimental tea garden came to the then government, the tea industry has flourished in the hills of Darjeeling. There are more than 87 gardens employing 70,000 workers and producing more than 8 million kgs of  tea annually. The tea is mostly exported to countries like US, UK, Germany and Japan.

The Darjeeling Tea Industry still follows the original tea producing methodology unlike the current "CTC" type adopted in many tea gardens. They produce a wide variety of teas such as black, oolong, white, green and different blended and flavored tea.

But things are not well in the hills and the people are suffering. The region has been neglected and development has been a far cry. The local people living in the hills have been going through an identity crisis for time immemorial and the lack of growth and development have pushed their patience to a breaking point. The people are in a dilemma. They belong to West Bengal and yet they are not Bengalis. They have nothing common with the Bengalis. They speak Nepali and yet they are not Nepalese. They are patriotic Indians who are proud to be Indians, as is evident by the 15th August celebrations in the hills. They are by far the most extensive celebration that one can imagine. And yet when they move down to the plains, people often mistake them for foreigners. They are often confused as Nepalese.

All this has led them to come out on to the streets and demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. They are India's ethnic Gurkhas and they want to be known as that. The demand for a different state is not in our hands and it is a decision that must be taken by the government after due consideration. However we can definitely recognize them as Indian Gurkhas and give them the same respect that each Indian receives. We can take a step forward and try to understand their culture and heritage.

The local political parties' call for indefinite strikes are crippling the area. Even though the tea industry has been kept out of the strikes, production continues but the processed tea remains in the factories as there is no way to get them to the market. There is no way to get coal and other raw materials required in the factories. The workers there cannot be paid as the banks are closed, rations cannot be brought in and soon a time will come when the tea estates must be shut down.

In the fight for an identity, the people are sacrificing their economy, peace, health and education. Can we not acknowledge them and treat them as brothers? Can the Bengalis for once not behave as colonists and instead treat them as equals? Can we not let them for once feel that it is their land and it is their life? Can they not be empowered to take the work of development in their own hands?

The hills are the most beautiful place one can imagine and the people their complement this beauty. They are the ones who take care of the hills and make them more beautiful. They work hard so that people all over the world can enjoy their morning cuppa. They welcome with arms wide open so that people all over India and the world can have a holiday that they cherish all their lives. Respect and acknowledgement is all they want and the freedom to grow and develop is something they deserve.

So next time you see someone with Mongolian features, before you categorize him as a foreigner, ask him where he is from. He could be a Gurkha. Ask him about the hills and you may learn about a land that is still not polluted, a place where the mighty Kanchenjunga wishes you a good morning, a place where people can still trust each other.

Find out where your morning cup of tea comes from. Take a trip to the tea gardens of Darjeeling and meet those men and women who toil hard to give you the perfect flavored leaves for your perfect cup of tea every morning.