Student Speak: WHEN INTERNET LAGS BEHIND…

An extraordinary student who is as humble as you can expect.  Sherub Dorji is a tenth standard student who loves learning which has moulded him into a brilliant student. He reads and writes so much that time is a boundary for him. In recognition of his zest and ability, he was awarded with the title of "Golden Youth" during the 2012 Golden Youth Award. A student with typical student morals and virtues. He is a quintessential example of "Learning is an adventure". 

Here he writes on the lack of Internet in the school and he is my FIRST guest author. 

Student Speak: WHEN INTERNET LAGS BEHIND…

Many a times, I encounter dispirited friends, drooling and musing over Economics theories. I myself did it. It was only this year that I joined IT stream, and  for last year, I too was in the Economics stream. But, is IT better? I often ask myself this question as I have the exquisite touches of both these otherwise-optional subjects. Not here anyway, where majority of practical lessons are drawn short to succinct alien theories.

 Is it then, a curse that I should think so?

 The aforementioned defect is neither a state failure, nor the shortcoming of our IT teachers or maimed mentality of the IT student ourselves. What is it than, that is so un-compromising? In fact, we consider those of us who take IT stream as being luckier than we should be –with no internet connection in the school to supple our learning forward into comprehending and familiarizing ourselves with the internet –related stuffs when the standard syllabus of the subject desires so- you know what I mean. However ridiculous, it may appear we attribute this inadequacy solely to the lack of the vital internet connection in our school.

It is common sense enough to deduce that in the globally shrinking world (in terms of telecommunication and Information technology), the Teaching –learning process has also become simplified and obliviously internet-linked. With most populace taking teaching and learning for granted, and internet as the very boon granting it, it is irksome, and even dismantling, to think of a middle secondary-level school like ours thriving on, with no internet connection in spite of ample state policies, all ostensibly availing for qualitative education for GNH.

It is a trend we have catalyzed: letting internet take over education. Contemporarily, we cannot talk of it at lower levels- primary and lower secondary, but at middle and higher secondary levels, and college and university level, internet, for all it is worth, has become the “essential and standard reference medium”. Hasn’t it?  It grips heavily and potently on the Teaching – learning system whose gap only it can span.

It must be realistic that it is neither our materialism nor the face value of being entertained by such facilities as internet, that we deem it desirable to have internet service in our school. Rather, it is our fervent contrivance to meticulously review and relieve the national polices for providing the best of standardized amenities to all schools to “culture the future leaders of Bhutan – its youth” and hence, for the congenial benefit of the students to come, and the miles to tread. Just covering them – those long miles, as we do just now wouldn’t be enough should Bhutan preserve as per GNH Perspectives. In retrospect, I have seen and experienced for myself, the incongruities of being behind the time in electronic education – education using internet. It is a typical predicament for hill-school pass outs like us to be grossly confronted by the superiorly informed suburban and urban internet-accessed peers when it comes to employment. It is a matter grievously unfathomed on the part of our educators that such should be the case when what should be, is even. Should our teachers, out of philanthropy, waste their economy in using wireless data cards –which are both cost intensive and time extensive for doing researches purely entitled for the students’, then, it is being unethical and irresponsible on someone’s part. I needn’t tell who, for it is obvious whose responsibility speaks in the scene here.

There should not be any misunderstanding that I am clawing filthy dirt over nothing. It may seem like brooding over unnecessary nooks and corners, which say I am not. As far as my experience pertains to the subject, it is justifiable to say that our school lacks internet connection –an inadequacy that widens the inside –outside communication shortcomings, and that, we direly need it for the betterment of ourselves and the future students liable to study here. It is true, as my horizon of exposure allows it, that many a times find my IT stream friends looked dazed with faces as blank as nothing, after our IT teacher has just delivered us a monotone preaching on an internet-related topic, purely deserving to be demonstrated practically to make it simpler and far comprehensible instead of confining it to illegible theoretical explanation. This is no fault of our teachers, after all, dogs practice howling to howl, not that they learn it theoretically at heart. Needless to mention, our teachers waste quite a lot of their resource browsing through internet with cost-hoarding data cards to help us, class ten students, who are at our most critical turning point. This is, doubtlessly, a knife hacking away at their economy and precious time –especially exasperating when it can be helped in greener ways than the existing situation allows.

For my own part, I think the above defects which have remained taciturn for many reticent years are, but acids cording the visionary, sacrosanct precept of our adroit teachers which is to standardize quality education for the benefit of future scholars. The bare truth is that even specks of black can spoil a whole white shirt, and such matters should not be ignored. As aforementioned, class ten is a turning point for us. More appropriately important than junk guidebooks, we need acceptable, ready-to-hand references, and internet is the main component in this regard.

 Moreover, we need to sit for IT practical exams, which amounts to an approximate 63% of our total mark in the subject with all the school computer internet-inaccessible, without virus protection programs otherwise easily available from the internet, there is every chance that the lap computers may break down right in the middle of our exam due to some viral problem. Such are the hurdles and perils posed at readiness by ill circumstances and to save mark, resource and time without ado, Internet connection to our school is highly recommendable- by the extremities of the predicament as well as by liability. None the less, it should be stressed that it is not a demand for recognition. If textbooks dominated education in the past, they still do today, but internet is increasingly taking toll over them. The very process of Teaching –Learning symbiosis has morphed before our very eyes. Tele-facilities and internet continue dwindling our globe to the models we see in schools and offices, and so does our economy. We might be pessimistic enough to say that our Economic soup will worsen in future. It is always better to save than being sorry.

Speaking out this need, it is not the want for idle entertainment and comfort of having internet service at our command speaking out this need, rather it is logics and instincts, and critical necessity for basic amenities crying out this plea -a plea, which, if forgone and ignored, would likeably cause more deterioration to our country’s future economy than would possibly be caused by the cost of addressing the plea promptly. It is neither a threat nor a warning I am expressing here by saying it. Rather I call it an advice to be addressed with unfeigned diligence. The abovementioned views are purely mine, and any offence and ignorance ignited sincerely are pardoned for.

Sherub Dorji,

Golden Youth Award Winner, 2012

Class X

Samtengang MSS