Light of Learning
Out-of-the-box thinking and enlightened education have also helped the state achieve its goals of clean environs. Sikkim also emerges as the most improved state in governance
Students of Rongneck Secondary School in Gangtok carry a small cloth bag along with their satchel every day. If the satchel is for books and pens, the cloth bag is for collecting litter. Once school gets over, the children empty the bags in a garbage van outside the premises.
The practice may look a bit odd, but there’s a reason—there’s not a single dustbin in the school compound. The school is trying to impart an important lesson here, make the children realise the importance of not littering—your waste is your responsibility and the onus lies on you to clean up the mess. “Initially, it was as hard to convince the parents as the students,” says headmistress Chhabi Pradhan. “But then I started making cloth bags and distributing them among the children. It all came together after I announced prizes for those who ensured that the school remained spick-and-span.”
If Rongneck school is dustbin-free, Gangtok’s Chongay Tar Government Primary School has banned pocket money. “Pocket money means the children feel tempted to buy and eat junk food...and then there are the plastic wrappers. To make sure students eat organic food, our kitchen garden grows vegetables and legumes. We keep innovating with the mid-day meal to give them a balanced diet,” says a teacher.
Such stories are unique to this hill state, where education is not just con
fined to books, it is entwined with the well-being of students in the 800-odd government schools of the state.
“This is a perfect example for Swachh Bharat. Keep the environment clean and it will go a long way in keeping the brain clean,” says education minister Kunga Nima Lepcha, who often drops in at schools to engage in a game of football with the boys or sit down on a toddler’s chair to play with the kindergarten kids.
The Sikkim government is spending 20 per cent of the state budget, or Rs 1,500 crore, on education. “We can help up to a point, but schools have also been asked to generate resources and be self-reliant. We are giving the head teachers special training on leadership qualities so that in matters of financial assistance and capacitybuilding, they can take on-the-spot decisions, collaborate with panchayats, corporates and local communities, without having to depend on the government for everything, ” says education secretary G.P. Upadhyaya. He pointed to the case of Rongneck school where the pharma industry has come forward to build natural, eco-fencing with Chinese bamboo.
In fact, on Teachers’ Day (September 5) this year, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang urged the state’s legislators, bureaucrats and professionals to adopt a school. “Adoption has little to do with money and more to do with presence and a much-needed personal touch,” clarifies Upadhyay. Of course, if a minister or a professional gets involved, funds too come in.
What has also helped Sikkim is out-of-the-box thinking. Every school here has organic kitchen gardens and space for growing medicinal plants. They generate their daily ration of vegetables for mid-day meals and the surplus is sold in the market to mobilise funds. The Sikkim government has also introduced organic farming as a course in the curriculum, to be developed as a professional alternative. “Unemployment and a lack of big industries are issues in Sikkim whereas organic farming is our strength. Why not tap this rich resource?” asks Upadhyay. Taking a leaf out of Sikkim’s success, the Union HRD ministry has now issued a notification to make all schools in the country set up infrastructure for organic farming.
The Sikkim government is also rewriting its primary text books to involve sustainable goals. Chapters will invoke a local flavour in the names of characters so that children can relate. History books, too, are being revised to educate the young generation about the history of Sikkim, its journey from a princely colonial state to joining India in 1975.
Meanwhile, in governance, Sikkim has ensured a high level of accountability and transparency. Development of web portals has helped bring down operational costs and bring more services to the people. The government has also agreed to reduce the workload of employees by giving them two weekly holidays. However, in exchange, it has also ensured punctuality and a competitive working atmosphere. People can check for vacancies on the new jobpage portal launched to do away with politicisation and nepotism. “There is absolute transparency in recruitment now. Everyone has access to the data,” says a senior official in the CM’s office.
The administration has also taken a zero tolerance view on corruption, which has also led to fewer protests. No gun-toting policemen on patrol or central forces are to be seen though the state shares boundaries with Nepal, China and Bhutan. “Crime is down by 32 per cent and there will be a time when Sikkim can boast of being corruption-free,” promises Chief Minister Golay. ■