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Why media should not be allowed into schools

Creator: razihusin | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphot0

Following the airing of a new clip showing the inability of children of a government school in Dhenkanal district in answering few fundamental questions, education officers have directed school principals to not allow media personnel into school premises and even file police complaints if required to prevent entry without permission. While the issue of poor learning outcomes is a serious one and the government must be asked questions about the same, media personnel barging into schools and thrusting a mic on an unassuming child is surely not the way to go about it.

Highlighting the concern

That school education is an important pillar of any society is well known. Equally well known is the fact that school education in most parts of India is poor in quality as well as quantity. Despite the best of intentions, inadequate number of teachers, ill-trained teachers, curricular lacunae, pathetic infrastructure, etc, has marred school education, including that in Odisha. The responsibility of the fourth estate of the democracy lies in constantly questioning the government of the day about measures that are being taken to fill such gaps. Such reportage, highlighting the concerns have made people and powers that be sit up and take notice.

That said, the education quality, the achieving of learning outcomes cannot be tested by reporters and journalists by asking a random few questions to any school kid. There are several good reasons for it, the first being that there is a due statistical process to evaluate these outcomes and sampling by picking any random child won’t provide the true picture. Doing that would border on sensationalism to put it mildly. Secondly, there is the issue of ethics. Does the child, a minor, provide consent to be interviewed and for it to be aired? Would there be an easy way for the video to be taken off the internet if in future the child or her parents would demand so? Would the reporter ask similar question to, say a top bureaucrat’s child? Thirdly, school is meant to be a safe space. It is ideally meant to foster growth in a non-threatening environment. The presence of any third party encroaching that space does not augur well for children at large.

School education in Odisha

The Ministry of Education recently introduced the Performance Grading Index (PGI) for schools in the country which evaluates schools on five parameters – Learning Outcomes & Quality, Access, Infrastructure and Facilities, Equity and Governance Processes. For the year 2019-20, the latest which has been published, Odisha figured in Grade I along with states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. There has been an increase in its grade from 2017-18. No guesses that following the 5T transformation of schools, the improvement has been in the infrastructure and facilities domain.

Odisha scored relatively low in learning outcomes & quality, the domain that deals with standard of students in language and mathematics (the bone of contention in the case) in standard 3, 5 and 8 in government and aided schools. In the PGI, average scores in both language and mathematics declined as the class progressed from 3 to 8.

As per Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) of 2021, student enrolment in Odisha in private schools is increasing; more and more children are taking private tuitions (nearly 15 % jump from 2020), a mere 36% household reported that they received learning material when schools were closed during the pandemic.  Earlier ASER report of 2018 showed that a mere 35% children in Standard III were able to read Standard II level text in government schools while it was 64.5% in private schools. When it comes to arithmetic, 23.8% children in Class V of government schools could do a division meant for Standard II while in private the percentage was 43.2.

Ask questions – the right ones

The issue of not making spectacle of poor learning outcomes applies to ministers and bureaucrats too. Only a few days ago, the concerned minister during a school visit directed deducting salary of a headmistress due to poor response by a student. The whole 'catching by surprise' plank does not augur well with children in a school. The disallowing media person into schools is also seen in Odisha in conjunction of them being kept out of the secretariat, SCB medical college, etc, the latter being highly condemnable; yet which cannot be conflated with the issue of minor school children.

Not allowing media personnel to enter schools should not deter them from raising issues about school education. There are several studies starting from ASER to NITI Aayog to Ministry of Education which regularly survey schools which provide information about state of affairs. Teacher shortage is a massive concern and media should highlight that. RTI tools should be employed to learn more about quality of teachers, appointments, irregularities, etc. Nothing stops media houses, number of which are mushrooming each day, from investigating multitude of issues that plague school education. That said, these are more effortful processes as compared to asking few questions of mathematics to the unassuming school children.

Blue Whale calling from Odisha - 4 lessons

Blue Whale Challenge: Myth vs Reality. Pic Source: Getty Images

Odisha has also caught up with the latest thing in the market, the Blue Whale Challenge or let us translate it loosely to ‘Nila Timi Baaji’. And caught up in a big way. The police, the newscasters, the reporters, the administration have shown out-of-the-world seriousness to this internet game and the risk it poses especially to teenagers, who get addicted and kill themselves at the end of playing the game. But amidst the hullabaloo they are all missing the major point – that there is, in all probability, no online game called Blue Whale Challenge.

But this ruckus, fanned by media surviving on sensationalism, fed by authorities not trying to go to the depth of a matter, has many important lessons. Let me delineate four of them. 

Firstly, shoddy reporting has been the mainstay in this Blue Whale Challenge story. All the suicide stories, not just limited to Odisha, have not gone into the depth of the matter. Claims by parents and often the clueless police about the alleged game behind the suicide have been given prominence. While subsequently such claims have fallen apart, the widespread panic it has created cannot be undone. In an article Pranesh Prakash of CIS has cited many such examples. In an era when journalism is criticized by the common man, such poor standard does not help the cause.

Secondly, the way police has gone about this issue is uncalled for. The newly appointed DGP, R P Sharma seems to have taken this Blue Whale Challenge and its threats seriously. He has expressed his deep concern about it. Even Odisha DGP K B Singh has ordered for removal of it from social media, though I wonder how they plan to do it. It is the responsibility of police to not fan ridiculous claims and that is exactly what has happened in Odisha. But at one point they can’t be blamed for such incompetence, as such things are bound to happen at the face of the force lacking technical expertise in the matter and also known for unscientific methods of investigation.

Thirdly, this issue is a testimonial of how radically networked societies react to fake news. And such fake news that involves serious and utterly disturbing matters like suicide. It is likely that you the reader would have received Whatsapp forwards telling you not to click anything with such and such in the link for then Blue Whale Challenge will be loaded and you will get addicted to it. I mean, seriously? Do people even think what they forward? No. Panic brings about strange behaviour in people and this is an example of such. Controlling this menace, which is making people dumb, needs concerted effort. 

Lastly, and most importantly, this incident is causing light to be thrown at an issue that is taking away from where the spotlight should be – suicides among teenagers. 62,960 people in the age group of 10-24 committed suicide in 2013. And no blue or red whale caused it. These deeply worrying, utterly disturbing figures show what psychological issues exist in India. Are parents, schools, workplace aware of this, and if so are they doing anything about it? Do we have a conducive environment for normal and healthy growth of an individual? Does formal education, society, general ecosystem have mechanisms to help an individual under stress cope? Odia and largely the Indian society should ask these questions rather than indulging in senseless sensationalism.

On a Song - Not on a Song

image credit - Sekho.in

Odisha has been in the throes of cultural churning since a few weeks now. While the religious controversy with regard to Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannath refuses to die down, a new musical controversy pertaining to rendition of two songs by Sona Mohapatra and Rituraj Mohanty on MTV Coke Studio has stirred a hornet’s nest. The songs in question are the remix of a 1970’s cult number ‘Rangabati’ and the unofficial state anthem ‘Bande Utkala Janani’. With cases slapped for copyright violation, social media outrage and defend game in full flow, this issue has created camps with staunch views on an otherwise melodious affair.

The bone of contention regarding this now with thousands of YouTube hits (2 million hits in 21 days as on 27/7/15 as tweeted by @sonamohapatra) song largely involves five issues:

Firstly, the original composers of the Rangabati song, lyricist Mitrabhanu Gauntia and composer Prabhudatta Pradhan have alleged copyright violation. The Copyright (Amended) Bill, 2010 made special provision for rights to authors of work used in sound recordings. The bill states that the right to loyalties rests with the creator and can be assigned to their heirs or copyright societies.

Singer Sona Mohapatra in an interview claimed that since the song is a folk song, there is no question of copyright violation. The composition of Indian folk music has always been ‘anonymous’ and has inspired or have been usurped, depending on which side of the spectrum you stand, by composers who have commercialized them. It is grey area since music has depended on inspirations and adaptations, conscious or unconscious. It is interesting to note here that composer of the new Rangabati, Ram Sampath, won a fairy tale suit of Rs 2 crore against Rakesh Roshan for violation of copyright. However at the end of the day, now that the matter is sub judice, it will be for the courts to decide whether there is an actual copyright violation.

Secondly, a section of people, particularly of Western Odisha, from where the song originates have taken exception to a host of mispronunciation by Sona Mohapatra which significantly alters the meaning of sections of the song. The original song in Sambalpuri language is a love song and use of words like ‘Ranga’ repetitively, aimed at aesthetic appeal, which in actuality refers to transgender, makes a mincemeat of the original narrative. There cannot be two thoughts on this that the people who understand and value the language will be offended and that the artists should have made effort to get the rendition and meaning right.

Thirdly, the issue of the mixing of ‘Bande Utkala Janani’ towards the end of Rangabati rendition. The song was composed by Lakhsmikanta Mohapatra in 1912 and has been the unofficial state anthem, being sung in functions of the State and the state Assembly. This piece of the song sung by Rawstar winner Rituraj Mohanty has come under criticism as it has deviated from the original composition.  There is a demand by sections of society, notably the opposition parties, to make the song as State Anthem and make its disrespect punishable. Till the moment that happens, it should be perfectly fine to sing it in any manner until it evokes disrespect.

Fourthly, the politics. Nothing comes better than a good controversy to bank on. The Rangabati outrage has become fodder for political parties who wish to claim their allegiance to the often neglected and poverty stricken Western Odisha. Political parties of all hues have jumped into the wagon of protesting against the song which has incidentally been greatly liked and accepted by many, especially a huge chunk of Odia, who feel the song received its due on a large platform. Just like the disdain that people of Odisha have grown concerning political angle and action in the Nabakalebara controversy, this trick by political parties, will attract the same emotion.

Fifthly, all this hue and cry over the song has brought into focus the dilapidated state of music in Odisha. It is not that this rendition of Rangabati is the first instance of tampering with the original. Several hundred versions exist including ones popular in Telugu, including scores which are distasteful and music videos of which are vulgar. Songs in Sambalpuri language are very popular in the state but of late they have been outright obscene and which has been incidentally objected by Jitendra Haripal, the original singer of the famed Rangabati. So much so that the cheapness that is peddled in the name of music stands to undo decades of great musical work by Odia artists. The fact is, measured censorship is warranted to halt this unfortunate trend.

Rangabati is undoubtedly the most popular song in Odisha when it comes to celebrations. Weddings are effectively incomplete without it being played by the band while people shake a leg to it. The song, via BBC and Voice of America has seen unparalleled popularity. It has always been in focus, and more so in recent times, perhaps owing to the social media expansion. When it was announced that it would be featured on MTV Coke Studio, the excitement of an average Odia and a music aficionado was tremendous. However the turn of events made the experience sour for some yet enjoyable for others. Artistic liberty and freedom has always offended some, which should be perfectly fine in a liberal society; but with care, caution and walking by the rules of the land and that of ethics and morality, the experience can be richer and more meaningful.

PS: I absolutely liked the rendition and the buzz it created. Debates, in a healthy fashion, are always good, be there agreement or disagreement.