In the United States, there is a certain stigma behind both public and private schools. From the ones portrayed in movies and television, to the rumors of other schools that circulate through school systems, most can be written off as not true.
The same applies to private and government-run schools in India, where private schools are pulling away as the most common form of schooling. This bodes the question: Which is better?
The first topic to cover is foreign language. Obviously, students are taught in local languages, usually also offering Hindi, Urdu, and/or Sanskrit as secondary languages. These are spoken by plenty of Indian citizens, but where private schools go above and beyond by teaching other languages. English, even other foreign languages that are taught in America are available in private schools.
Next up are uniforms. While uniforms are required in all schools in India, private schools go above and beyond. They check up on student’s hygiene, uniforms, and general cleanliness to make sure they are up to par, showing not only discipline in learning but also in other aspects.
Extracurricular activities are a lot more common and well-developed in private schools as well. This is because of the funding that is given by enrolling students, which also helps in other factors of the school. Simple things like electricity, proper classrooms, and even proper buildings are not available. While this may not sound like much, this could totally change the course of all students’ learning careers.
Additionally, the staff and faculty of private schools are fully accountable for the children that they teach. Their grades, behavior, and well-being of students are in the hands of the school, at least for the time of the day that they are there. This, along with better salaries that private school teachers are given, incentivizes a better quality of education throughout these types of schools.
However, due to the competitive nature of choosing a school, publicly funded through the government or privately owned, there are sometimes very hard choices for parents to decide where their child should go to school. Sadly, the quality of education does come down to the area and which school exactly that the parents choose, and can range very drastically from good to bad. Especially in more rural areas of India, with less options and less quality schools, it can be hard to find the perfect school.
In the long run, as one may guess, money really pays off in a students’ education. If you are paying for school in India, it will most likely be better than the public schooling option in the same area. Even at that, if a child’s family cannot pay to send their child to school, even just to get simple school supplies for government school, they will just not go to school and possibly work on a family-owned farm or business. Even public schools are not free, and even not an option for all.
To sum up, a student’s best bet is most likely to go to a private school in India, then government schools, and then no schooling if unable to afford it. Private schools, because of the extra money, drastically shift what is taught, how well it is taught, and how much faculty cares about the students. India’s government should financially support public schooling more so now than ever to educate children and provide a safe place to learn for all.
Many people do not realize that until 1954, France had colonized some Indian territories, causing some key differences to the formerly British Indian territories that most have heard of.
To begin, the Compagnie de Indes, similar to the British East India Company, was established long before colonization in 1644. They acquired a French trading post in an area in 1674 around Putucéri. Fittingly, France called it Pondicherry. Despite a few years of European rule throughout the years, up until 1954 France had owned the colony, and pictures of it show the inspiration. French buildings, Government Square, libraries, language, food, and even some art still shows inspiration from the time and area.
François Martin, the governor of the French East India Company, set up a trading center in Pondicherry, becoming the chief of French settlement in India. Moving forward, in the early 18th century, the company acquired other territories in Mahe, Yanam, and Karaikal. The Dutch had captured the land for some time, as well as the British during the French Revolution, but by 1814, the land was once again in French hands.
Great Britain eventually captured all of India in the 1850’s, however allowed the French to keep all of their territories. Once India gained independence in 1947, this contradicted that all of India was under their own rule. The inhabitants of Pondicherry and the other territories were to choose what they wanted to do, and to no surprise, they would choose to be a part of India.
The whole time, however, India and Pondicherry was being used by the French to try to expand trading and subtly fight against the power that Britain had in India. The maritime commerce and trading that Pondicherry brought were a benefit, and education, industry, and some infrastructure was a step up from the previous system. While treaties were being written between the French and British fighting over who owned what land, in Europe, the two countries were feuding, especially during the French and American Revolutions.
Pondicherry was actually used as a spot for Indian revolutionaries to trade and stay away from British forces in pursuit to become a free nation. While France did not help either side, actually being revolted against once India gained independence, it helped Indian citizens and people coming in as a place to operate away from British rule.
Formed by three centuries of French rule, Pondicherry and its other territories under French rule were impacted greatly by it. Not only did the culture and look of it change, but was a place to plan an eventual rebellion that would free the entire country of India. Under multiple European rules, these territories reaped a better education system, favorable trading with Europe, and a new style of life (linguistically, culturally, etc.) that cannot be found anywhere else in India. Overall, while colonization is not the best, especially for countries that want to become their own nation, in this instance, French colonialism in Pondicherry was a cultural change that partially benefitted natives, and now that it is under Indian rule, creates a vastly different area in Southern India to look at for French culture of the past.
