Suspensions won't help, discipline and seriousness in ITIs are need of the hourThe ITI Farmagudi is embroiled in a strange case. Around 50 trainees of the institute have levied allegations of extortion, harassment and abuse on an instructor which triggered his suspension along with the Group Instructor and the Principal.
Skill development is an area where both skill and discipline are inculcated. ITIs are known to be accommodating students of all capabilities and strengths, where many are known to take this route as an option and not by choice. Due to a high cutoff for admissions in colleges, there are several low-ranking students who opt for ITI skill development courses in order to make a career. The environment is similar to colleges where students from various backgrounds come together and feel the first whiff of freedom after school.
This is where the college or an institution comes in. There are colleges which are instrumental in enforcing very stringent rules and regulations, so much so that even parents are alerted via smses the moment their ward is absent from class. There are CCTV cameras installed and there are several dos and don'ts to keep a round-the-clock vigil. Ragging is being dealt with firmly and any sort of abuse is punished with even an immediate suspension. Such systems assume significance in an era where students are known to be doing drugs, smoking and drinking around the campus.
The ITIs may have their own systems, but by and large they have failed to enforce discipline in true sense of the word. In the Farmagudi ITI case, the instructor used his own novel way. He had a box placed in the class labeled "donation for good cause" where defaulting students were told to deposit token money. It is learnt that the Instructor informed that the money collected will be given to charity or the needy. Students were fined for not wearing uniforms and identity cards or for bunking classes. This was not taken too well by the 50-odd trainees who boycotted classes and demanded action against the instructor on charges of extortion and harassment.
It is at this juncture that Director of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Aleixo F da Costa rightly stepped in and suspended the Instructor, Group Instructor and Principal. The latter came in the line of fire for keeping the department in the dark. The Instructor's intentions may be good but the execution was rank outside all teaching manuals. The charge of extortion doesn't fit exactly into this incident as an exercise of this nature, though objectionable, cannot be termed as extortion.
This is a classic eye-opener for all such institutes across the State where teachers and instructors are virtually rendered helpless by the system vis-à-vis disciplining their students and are left as silent spectators to the tantrums thrown by some. If private schools and colleges have managed to enforce seriousness in academics, why can't the ITIs. All stakeholders, including the Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, need to reassess the study environment across ITIs in Goa and put appropriate disciplinary systems in place.
