A school principal's reflections
-Raj Bahadur Yadav
When
I got the news of my promotion as a school principal in the first week
of June this year, I felt elated. It was just like a dream having come
true. With the blessings of my family elders and old teachers, I had
successfully climbed the ladder of social hierarchy in a modest manner.
Within a few days, I received a letter informing me about a 10-day-
induction training for newly promoted government senior secondary school
principals to be held on the premises of the State Council of
Educational Research and Training[SCERT] in Gurugram. No doubt, I had
taught English for the last more than two decades yet I had almost no
experience of running a school. Yes, I had taught a paper,"School
culture,leadership and change" to D.Ed students at the District
Institute of Education and Training [DIET] Ding[Sirsa], but mere
bookish knowledge was not enough to make me feel comfortable in the
saddle of principal's office.
The school heads' training had commenced in the conference hall on
June 5 and we were told to wait for the special visit of a very senior
IAS officer, PK Das Sir, the Additional Chief Secretary for School
Education Haryana, within a few next days.It was my good luck to run
into him and talk to him in the sprawling hall of Gurjar Bhawan located
in Sector 28, Chandigarh, a few years back when I had participated in a
state level seminar of DIET lecturers of English language held there.
Despite being a high-profile bureaucrat, he appears as if he were an
unassuming academic in looks and personal behaviour, mixing with the
ordinary teachers in a friendly manner. He himself reads a lot and likes
honest and hardworking teachers. In the teaching fraternity of Haryana,
he has come to enjoy an imperishable reputation.
It was in the morning of June 10 around 10: 15 am when P K Das Sir
entered the conference hall of the SCERT which was jampacked with school
heads. There was a spontaneous clapping in his honour. It is just
proper here to mention that this conference hall is tastefully
furnished; having table mikes which respond to a gentle push. We can
press the button to talk and press again to lock the speechware. His
first significant remark was,"Where leaders go, people follow them". But
he cautioned us,"For compliance,power is not enough. You must have a
liberal outlook towards your colleagues if you wish to succeed as school
heads". He applauded the role of Mahatama Gandhi, "the Father of the
Nation", whom millions of common people followed as their undisputed
leader during the freedom struggle.In contrast to Gandhiji, he referred
to Idi Amin, once the president of Uganda and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, a
former prime minister of Libya. Gandhiji succeeded as a great mass
leader because of his belief in democracy and non-violence whereas Idi
Amin and Gaddafi were overthrown because of their despotic temperament
and cruelty towards people. He advised us to improve the quality of
education in our schools through team work. He told us," The entire
teaching force of 93000 teachers is my team." He enlightened us with his
deep knowledge through his select quotes also,"All roads lead to Rome".
He paused and added," But some roads are strewn with thorns also'.
Everything you do or say is reflective of your personality. A principal
is first among equals yet he should work as a part of his team. He has
to respect his staff members who will standby him through all thick
and thin and teach their classes in such a manner that the students will
be learning on their own. A school principal must try to unlock the
energy of his students and encourage them to ask questions. Their
questions may be pedestrian yet we have to answer them with a positive
mind-set. In order to avoid talking a load of crap, a teacher should go
to his class well-prepared.
When Das Sir invited queries and questions from the audience, I asked
him,"Will you really consider the points of merit given in the
column,"My Points" shown on the Management Information System[ MIS]
portal at the time of our transfer also, Sir? He promptly replied,"
Don't worry ! We will accord them full consideration when the general
transfer drive becomes active. But first of all, we are going to
transfer the teachers by the end of July and we shall open the transfer
drive for the principals in the month of August only". I had a hectic
schedule for three months as the actual distance between my residence
and the place of work had doubled up from 22 kilometers to nearly 44
kilometers. I had to brave the hot winds, dusty haze of the late summer
days and sometimes torrential rain also yet I made it a point to reach
my school before the stipulated time and leave it when most of my staff
members had already left for home, as Das Sir had guided us during our
training. There is an ancient proverb,"Patience has its own reward". The
transfer drive for principals became active on August 28 and I
submitted my option for the most suitable station in Fatehabad
district. I would like to thank P K Das Sir from the depths of my
heart for I have got a school near my home with one year left to serve
the education department in my declining years. I shall try my best to
follow his clarion call for team work in our schools,"We shall play
better, we shall win."
Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV
Behind Kath Mandi, Kranti Nagar, Fatehabad[Haryana]
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