“Education should not only consist of book learning. It should instill in the student ability to understand and pique their curiosity rather than just learn for the sake of examination. It should enable the students to step out and stand out to be recognized in their own right.”
The author of these fine words I cannot recall.
Firstly, before I start, I would like to say that this article is not a criticism of the Bangladesh education system, of which I know very little having spent a really short time studying under it. My knowledge about it is limited to what I hear from my friends and numerous cousins. This article states my own view points about residential schools and the various ways it affects or teaches students about life.
Now to begin, first let me ask what exactly is education? Is it only what we are taught inside the four walls of the classroom? A syllabus determined long ago or changed rather a little too frequently? My views on this are in line with the above mentioned quote which I can’t remember where exactly I have read. I believe education should not consist only of what is in the books. It involves much more. It should teach how to deal with people, teach us to fall but again stand up on our own, learning to differentiate on your own what is good and what is bad, it teaches us to learn from our mistakes. It involves learning to come out of the protective comfortable cocoons our parents have created for us and teaching us to live on our own ultimately something which we would all have to do. These views, I might say, is contested by most parents who believe education is gained in the classroom and the countless hours their child spends in coaching centers or private tuitions and given today’s world of cut throat competition I won’t blame anyone for agreeing to them.
You must be wondering what all this has to do with residential schools? Residential schools, as you and me think of are basically schools which is supposed to have facilities that offer a host of opportunities for the all round development of the student. In Bangladesh apart from the cadet colleges no educational establishment can fulfill the basic criteria. As I mentioned at the beginning, my schooling till class five has been done in Chittagong in St. Plasids, Sunshine Grammar School and Little Jewels after which I joined a residential school in India named Mayo College situated in Ajmer, Rajasthan from where I graduated class 12(equivalent to A levels or HSC) two years back. Till this day I believe, sending me to Mayo has been one of the best decisions my parents have ever taken and I thank them as I have spent some of the best years of my life there. Before I share my experience of living in a residential school, it would not be a bad idea to give you a short background of my school: Mayo is one of the oldest residential schools in India, established in 1875. It is spread over a huge four hundred acre campus consisting of an adequate library, academic blocks, comfortable accommodations for about eight hundred students, huge number of staff which includes both teachers and maintenance staff, a museum, a nine hole golf course, numerous cricket, football, hockey fields and modern facilities for all other sports such as squash, tennis, swimming etc. It starts from standard four and goes up to twelve and the students are housed in eleven separate hostels (three for class four to six, one for class seven and eight hostels for students from standard eight to twelve). It is a boys school but it also has a separate girls section located in a nearby campus run by the same governing body but all facilities being completely separate.
My point in giving a long physical description is to show the amount of facilities that is available to a single student under one roof which again due to variety of reasons is quite rarely found anywhere in Bangladesh. Apart from a very good academic system (it follows the syllabus of the central board of secondary education one of the two main education boards in India which is recognized even outside India) the school also gives students the chance to develop in the field of sports or other co curricular activities they maybe interested in such as public speaking, music, etc by letting them participate in various inter school competitions. I know, living away from mom and dad can be painful and heart breaking, a situation experienced by both sides but you learn various skills such as learning to live away from home and to recognize how to deal with various of life’s ways for which mom and dad unfortunately may not always be available. In the hostel you have to adjust yourself to live with people who belong to a diversified background/culture from yours, a situation which may not always be easy but it helps you to learn about different cultures and ways of life different from your own and helps to develop friendships which will last for a lifetime (this I vouch for from personal experience). It teaches you discipline and how to maintain punctuality by following a fixed time table throughout the day, starting from your wake up time the time when you go to bed. In a funny way it even teaches you managing finance (seen in how you spend the coupons given to you for canteen visits). Above all, the fact for which I am most grateful to Mayo is because it has taught me how to live, in the literal sense of the word. It teaches you to trust others and to deal with the daily complexities of life that one day you are sure to face.
Now to speak about some concerns which I am sure is topmost in all parents’ minds: academics, food and medical care. As I have mentioned the school follows the syllabus set by the central board of secondary education (CBSE), one of the two main education boards. It recognized throughout India and various other countries of the world. The comprehensive and vast syllabus includes all subjects such as history, english, maths, geography, science etc and for the higher classes commerce, sciences and humanities. It has a qualified staff teaching all these subjects. From what I have seen and heard from my friends and cousins who have studied in Bangladesh the syllabus is as good as anywhere in Bangladesh, if not better. In terms of food I admit nothing in the world can match the food cooked by mom. Although one may not be a great fan of the food you get in residential schools, one may be sure that they are healthy, balanced and prepared in a hygienic way. Coming to health care all good residential schools have an in campus hospital which is staffed by at least one qualified doctor and numerous able sisters who are more than capable. They are also in contact with hospitals in the city in case of emergencies. These schools also demand that you submit the full medical history of your child so that they may be ready to deal with any contingencies ensuring your ward gets the best available treatment.
Apart from Mayo College and Mayo Girls school situated in Ajmer some of the other well reputed residential schools in India are The Scindia School situated in Gwalior, The Doon School situated in Dehradoon, The Lawrence schools (situated in Sanawar and in Ooty)and the Welham Boys and Girls school(situated in Dehradoon).
My older sister has also passed out from Mayo Girls before continuing her higher studies in Singapore. Both of us and our parents have been time and again asked how we manage to live away from each other (the school year is divided in two semesters starting from July to December and January to April. Meaning we spent nine months in school and three months in Chittagong on holidays with parents). My parents always answered that it is for our own futures and although they felt the pain of separation much more than we did they took comfort in knowing that we were being better prepared to face the world outside. There would be mishaps in school (for instance getting your nose fractured while playing cricket as in my case). There would be homesickness/a longing to run away to the safety of one’s parents. There would be difficulties and disappointments, there would be trying times. There would be hardships on both sides. In contrast there is also a lot of happiness and joy. The joy of winning an interhouse cup. The pride in representing one’s school against an arch rival school. The pride of doing things on your own. The excitements of going to trips with your friends (arranged by the schools).Before ending, not to sound clichéd you live only once so why not learn to live on your own and the best way you can. As my school moto said “Let there be Light”
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