Leh, May 7 (ANI): A Ladakhi's perception about the region would naturally be different from how it is perceived by the outside world and I believe these two need to converge to 'demystify' the region, its people, its culture and way of life.
One thing is clear. The region has a distinct identity, geographically historically, culturally, and socially. Over centuries it has retained this heritage, evolved a way of life, of cultural patterns, social and political systems, which have remained unique to the region.
The local communities, largely Buddhists and Shia Muslims have co-existed right up to this modern day when Ladakh forms one of the regions in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Being distinct from the rest of the state has always rankled and there has been a long-standing demand for Union Territory (UT). Based on this demand, it got a degree of autonomy in 1995, and began to be governed by an elected local body; the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), different for each of Ladakh's two districts, Leh and Kargil.
What needs to be understood is that this distinction, this feeling of being 'different' stems from social, cultural, linguistic, ethnic, geographical factors. What would be relevant in the rest of the state may be completely inappropriate here.
This comes sharply into focus when we examine the education system which given its immense relevance in the development of any society is a high-priority area. And interestingly, Ladakh has followed its own trajectory, evolving at a model, which is in sync with its needs and aspirations.
While the local language was 'Bodyig', from the earliest times, monks from Ladakh used to go to Tibet to learn the Tibetan script. The first school was started in 1885 by a German missionary where along with Bodyig, Urdu was also taught. This was followed by the rulers of Leh opening schools in Leh and in Skardu.
A primary school was opened in Kargil in 1900. Later around 1935 few more schools came up, some were upgraded to middle school. This phase of opening of schools by the rulers continued till Independence of the country, which naturally changed everything.
It took more than a decade then for the education system in Independent India to kick in. During the 60's the focus on opening primary schools gained momentum. The enrollment rate was low, reflecting reluctance by the local population to engage with a modern education system.
According to one of the leading scholars and a retired teacher, Sonam Phunchok, schools taught only Urdu, Maths and Bodyigs; text books were compact and made for easy reading. Towards the 70's the government began offering scholarships, which raised the enrollment rate.
It did not turn out to be so simple however and the reasons are not so hard to find. To super-impose a system which was being set up in the rest of the country borrowed from the model that existed in the rest of the country was perhaps a hasty and 'broad-brush' approach. It did not work in a region with widely divergent characteristics.
While enrolment and the number of schools increased, quality fell. Around those years, a shocking 95 per cent of students failed in the matriculation exam. The problem of absenteeism of students and the teachers was glaring. Drop out rate was high.
Rather than a reform process being initiated within the existing government school system, a parallel stream began, a typical trend in many developing societies when the privileged sections establish their own 'services'. Private schools began to be set up in response to disgruntled parents who could afford to send their children to these 'quality' schools. For the rest, they had to just send their children to the village schools.
It should be understood that the lacunae was not only at the 'supply' side of the education system. Rather the 'demand' was also weak in terms of the quality of services demanded by the local population.
There was simply a lack of awareness, settled as people were in the old modes of thought and vision for society and its development. The lack of exposure and links with the world beyond the cocoon, however beautiful and fascinating its natural and cultural heritage was telling.
In terms of specifics, the medium of instruction was a problem. Students till Class VIII were taught in Urdu after which the medium changed to English. This completely disoriented the students, compromising the levels of learning already achieved. Learning to 'think' much less 'study' in another language is by no stretch of imagination easy. That too when the run-up to the main matriculation exam of Class X was after a period of only two years,
Then subject matter, the presentation in the textbooks, the examples given suitable for the rest of the country, were hopelessly out of sync with the Ladakhi mind-set. For instance, a young child would have never seen a 'Train' or an 'Elephant' nor imagine what a 'Cow' or a 'Camel' would look like. The concept of 'monsoon' was unfamiliar; in Ladakh, it was snowfall, which marked the seasons.
When the region was so rich in its cultural heritage, its history, its bio-diversity, why could not examples be picked up from the local and regional context? Then gradually the outer world could be opened up. Instead the child felt alienated from the subject matter at the outset and this alienation continued throughout the schooling years.
There was a mismatch certainly, in the existing system of education and the requirements of the region. Over time, this began to be understood, pieced together and a new collective consciousness took root.
In the 90's a movement began which sought to correct the anomalies, the inconsistencies that dogged the education system in Ladakh. A civil society network called Student Educational Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) involved village communities, evolving unique teaching methods to augment the existing system. It is no small achievement that over the years this took root with enhanced teaching methods, interested students and an enthusiastic community response.
The future of thousands of young Ladakhis is what is at stake. The Charkha Development Communications network feels that it is vital that the inherent capacities for learning within students in Ladakh are honed and given the opportunity to soar in ways that are culturally and socially appropriate.
{This article has been written under the Sanjoy Ghose Ladakh Women Writer's Award 2010-11} By Kunzes Dolma (ANI)
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