Delhi University, a hub of more than 70 colleges, 16 faculties, 86 academic departments and over one lakh students is a premier university in India. Every year, lakhs of people try their best to be a part of this prestigious institution and the ones who enter are said to be among the best minds of the country.
Though the University is open to all State Boards, CBSE and ICSE, the major crowd comes from CBSE and therefore, English remains superior. This concept severely harms the pupils who come from Hindi background and don’t know much about English. The teachers usually teach in English, books in Hindi are not easily available, batchmates interact in English are some of the major problems they face. Eventually, their performance fall and regardless of trying hard, they don’t get the results.
A girl shared her experience “Jab hum University aaye the, socha tha ache se padhenge, phir naukri lag jayegi toh apne parivaar ki aarthik stithi sudhaar sakenge. Jab college jaana shuru kiye toh pata chala, ye jagah humare liye hai hi nhi, teacher jo bolti hai samjh nhi aata, humse koi baat bhi nhi karta” (When I came to University, I thought I’ll study hard, then get a job so that I can improve the financial condition of my family. But when I started going to college, I realised this place is not for me, I don’t understand what teacher says and people don’t talk to me.)
Another student shared his experience “Humari bachpan se hi gaane mein ruchi thi, laga tha college aakar is shauk ko acha karenge lekin yahan toh hum music society mein bhi nhi aapaye. Wahan jab gaane gaye, phle toh log hase aur English mein aapas mein baat kiye jo humein samajh nhi aayi. Phir humse ajeeb cheezein karayi aur bola dobara mat aana. Iske baad, kuch log humein Basanti kehkar bhi bulane lage. Ek din humein bohot gussa aaya toh college chord aaye.”(I was having interest in singing since childhood, I felt I’ll improve this hobby in the college but here, I can’t even make into Music society. When I wen there for audition, first those people laughed at me and talked with each other in English I didn’t understand. Then, they made me do weird things and told me not to come again. After hat, some people started calling me Basanti. One day I got really upset and left college.)
Just like this, there are many other people who hail from rural areas of the country. They come to college with dreams but it is rare that they get true. The number of these students in relative terms is less but in absolute terms, they are quite large. For them, the opportunities remain few and they often get failure as a result. They don’t get to be a part of college societies or clubs, people make fun of them and they get no friends. Education too is unreachable. Some get trapped in depression while others get themselves distracted. However, the future of such students remain uncertain. They get into a vicious cycle of poor education, unemployment, poverty and low health standards.
This pathetical situation of some of the best students in the country ignites several questions. Why is University admitting such students when they don’t have a separate faculty for them? Why there is an option of giving exams in Hindi when you can’t teach in Hindi? How do you plan extra-curricular activities for such students? Why there is unavailability of books in Hindi? How long will this continue? How will the rural population will be at par if such education system prevails?
