Picture this: A government school teacher reaches school at 9 am. While on the field for the school assembly, she is informed that she will need to spend the first 3 hours of the day on election duty, missing her classes for that duration. On returning to school, administrative tasks such as salary and teacher details documentation, student document collection, and marks entry are piling up with an incoming deadline.
The following week, observations and data entry for the implementation of a new education programme are scheduled, and amidst the pressure, the management insists on the fabrication of data. The learning gap widens, frustration peaks, harsh disciplining strategies are used, and the vicious cycle continues.
This is the reality of most education systems in our country, and has been my personal experience during my two-year fellowship with Teach For India in a low-income government school in Bangalore. The context behind this is wonderfully highlighted in Amit Verma’s famous podcast, The Seen and the Unseen, in an episode on the Indian education system, featuring Karthik Muralidharan. It describes the widening gap between excellent structures and policies, such as the National Education Policy, and their implementation in the field.
It further speaks to how teachers are overworked and less incentivised, drawing their focus away from learners and towards clerical responsibilities. While the intention within the system lies in bridging the learning gap, the disproportionate division of responsibility among educators, poor student-to-teacher ratio, and depersonalised learning exhaust and overwhelm teachers, with students carrying the double burden. Thus, it becomes imperative to balance care with challenge through supportive systems and accountability.
How do we build systems to be more supportive?
Creating a culture that roots practice in strengthening relationships (staff, student-teacher), fostering a sense of belonging and joy in learning spaces. It can look like everyday opening and closing huddles with the students and teachers to discuss thoughts, feelings, and ideas, with everyone sitting with regular check-ins with each other to gauge strengths and support areas.
- Teacher-led peer reflection support groups that open the space for best practices to be shared, challenges experienced, and highlights witnessed. It is to build a sense of community so educators can believe and experience the feeling of being looked after.
- Providing an hour in the school day to plan, brainstorm, and discuss ideas for classes the next day or the following week, with or without students, to reduce the workload teachers may carry home in preparing for the next day.
- Scheduling administrative and extracurricular responsibilities. For example, the administrative work that teachers are expected to do is reasonably allocated, and leadership roles for co-curricular and extracurricular spaces are given in turns so that one or more educators are not overburdened.
- Improving the student-teacher ratio by, for example, enabling fresh BEd graduates during or post their training period to fill in the gap and bring their fresh perspectives into the ecosystem.
Supportive systems drive motivation, passion, and connection to enable better presence and learning in classrooms. However, support without holding up accountability can be counterproductive. While educators get the help they need from time to time, they also need to be encouraged to reflect on their areas of strength and development and take responsibility for their growth as facilitators.
It can look like:
- Periodic field visits by individuals from the education board encompass classroom observations and feedback that is directed and specific, so educators may have a framework for their growth and glow points.
- Reinforcing a school culture that aligns with the expectations of the National Education Policy, which includes student-driven learning and pedagogy that enables critical thinking, creativity, and holistic development.
- Data monitoring and evaluation checks on the implementation of on-ground programs, teacher progress, and achievement of student outcomes. These checks can be scheduled on the annual learning calendar in advance to enable consistent periods of reflection and performance growth.
A strong emphasis on continuous professional development so that educators can stay up-to-date on developments in best pedagogical practices, subject content, and classroom management strategies.
Classrooms need to be envisioned with a sense of community and connection that evaluates constructively and cares compassionately. A culture cultivated on these roots enables teachers and learners to play roles interchangeably for each other, co-designing a journey built to break the vicious cycle of burden and thrive.