Conference focuses on corruption in education

New Delhi: For Vaibhav, a student of Class 8 in Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School in Tughlaqabad, the quality of teaching there still remains poor. His complaint: teachers just don’t turn up for classes.

“I don’t know why they don’t come to the class. We complained many times to the principal, but to no avail. What is the point of constructing new buildings, if the teachers don’t come to class? he asked.

From absent teachers and dropouts, corruption in school funding, the students of government schools discussed various issues plaguing the school system and came up with some solutions at a three-day Model United Nations Conference (MUNs) at Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College.

Speaking about his experience of Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) lab at his school, Class 7 student Mohammad Iqbal, described it as ‘boring’. “The teachers put up a video and start doing their own work. And the video is always in English; I suggest that teachers should consult students on what they want to watch and there should be a discussion on it,” said Iqbal, who was representing Qatar in the conference.

Though the MUNs aren’t a rarity, this was the first time children from underprivileged background participated in it. Around 25 kids underwent a month’s training, supported by NGO CRY and trainers from LSR.

Priyanka, a Class 12 student, said the government must focus on teachers’ training than send students to private schools. “The MUN opens up a treasure trove of information for kids. They get to learn about policies of many countries. I’m glad to note the MUN has broken language barriers, making it accessible to more children,” said Soha Moitra, regional director, North Region, CRY.