[Reader-list] Why do Schools and Colleges in India Kill?

[shivam at kafila.org]

Dear Shuddha,

I wonder if it is possible to answer your question without resorting
to cliche. But I think the primary reason for this is that we as a
society do not look at schools and colleges as institutions of
learning, or of imparting and sharing knowledge. That is really
secondary. We see these institutions as merely those that give out
degrees, and these institutions must be used for this purpose just as
the gods are appeased for favours. The main function that pedagogical
institutions thus perform is to 'straighten out' the students, to make
'boys out of men', to make them 'ready for the world'. We see these
institutions are perform social functions rather than exclusively
pedagogical functions.

To that extent, violence is to be employed and condoned in performing
such functions. It is not unsual to find parents asking teachers not
to 'spare the rod'. Is this surprising really, in a society where men
regularly beat up their wives and children?

best
shivam

On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 12:39 AM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta
<shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I find the incidence of deaths due to 'ragging' in educational
> institutions in india and the recent death of a young girl, a student
> of Class three, Shanno Khan, in a municipal school in Delhi caused by
> the corporal punishment meted out to her by her teacher because she
> could not tell the meaning of a word in English, totally shocking.
>
> Why is this murderous authoritarianism so prevalent in places of
> education in India. Why do students and teachers behave like
> executioners and impose so much violence on those weaker or smaller
> or younger than them?
>
> What is it about the nature of education and pedagogy in our society
> that makes it so conducive to producing little fascists and martinets?
>
> I hope this list can take some time to reflect on this.
>
> best
>
> Shuddha
>
>
>
> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
> Raqs Media Collective
> shuddha at sarai.net
> www.sarai.net
> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>
>
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