Afghan School
Yesterday I visited a primary school in Kabul. It was an eye opener for me to the kind of infrastructure they had and the teaching being done. Many a times the media projects that all that is being taught at these schools is the Holy Quran. Though the Holy Quran was also being taught but in addition there are 19 different subjects (including sub subjects) that the students are taught or exposed to. In my school days we were taught only 6 main subjects!
This school had an association from a UK educational institution. It had with the latter regular correspondence and interaction. This I’ve observed in India as well and has grown since the advent of the internet.
Most importantly for me, my informal interaction with the students was quite invigorating. I got a chance to really know a different generation of Afghans. They were shy at first, but gradually opened up. I interacted with students from class 2 to class 7. Though there was an intellectual difference in the two extreme classes, but there was a commonality too. That was to know and learn about this stranger (myself) in their school.
The exuberance that these kids demonstrated was amazing. They were absolutely confident in their speech and thoughts. They came from varying family backgrounds and showed an uncanny interest in the proceedings. I on my part, broke the ice by asking their names and which classes they belonged to. Thereafter I posed questions as per what I thought they would know.
Eg. 1 Which is the smallest & largest planet in the solar system. Of course most responded with the answer as Pluto and Jupiter. But what caught my eye was when they said Pluto is being not recognized as a planet! I was dumbfounded and tried to hide my ignorance.
Eg. 2 What is the capital of India? What is the spelling of bat, cat etc.
All these queries elicited a very positive response from the students. Their excitement grew and so did mine. I was happy to learn that occasionally these kids went out on picnics and excursions also. A fact hard to digest, in the light of the media reported tensions / disturbances, in Afghanistan.
But this was a different Afghanistan that I was discovering, far away from the prying eyes of the media. I wonder why is this not reported in the media!
What a monster Afghanistan has been made into by this MEDIA!
Betu,
Media believes insensationalising everything. Mainly negativity. There are very few Newspapers like The Hindu & Statesman taht are left in India taht only give pure news. Very unfortunate but to blame are our general public that feed on negativity. Look at the soap serials that are aired on TV on most channels. We need to oppose this by raising pblic opinions.
That’s right.