23. When Learner becomes Consumer

Last Sunday, I had to spend quite some time queuing to buy broiler chicken for my family at the Kerala State Government’s KEPCO outlet. Though I am a staunch vegetarian, I am obliged to respect my family’s dish preferences. I had been strictly instructed by my spouse to shop for chicken only at the KEPCO stall, for it is always clean and they supply only quality products.

While in the queue, I heard a few middle class gentlemen ahead in the queue grumble over the burgeoning queue which was inching forward at a snail’s pace. One gentleman muttered: “Who will stand in a queue these days?... If it was a Private Shopping Mall and if I turn back on seeing a queue, an employee of the Mall, is sure to stop me and fulfil my need immediately, with a smile… This KEPCO outlet won’t last long for its failure to be consumer friendly!”

As a teacher, it was only natural for me to transpose the incident to an educational setting. In such a setting, I would be the ‘guru’ expected to serve the ‘consumer’, the student. Traditionally, many teachers in India consider themselves a ‘guru’ and sometimes quite mistakenly crown themselves ‘God’ quoting Sankaracharya Gurustotram which begins with the sloka:
“Guru Brahma,
Guru Vishnu,
Guru Devo Maheswara.
Guru Sakshath Parambrahma,
Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha
( tr: Guru is the creator Brahma, Guru is the preserver Vishnu, Guru is the destroyer Siva.
Guru is directly the supreme spirit- I offer my salutations to this Guru.)

Now… can one expect a teacher who equates oneself to the sacrosanct status of a God step down from the sublime pedestal to address the needs of the ‘student consumer’? So, it is not surprising to find many middle class families in India preferring private institutions to government institutions though many teachers in the latter have the ability to deliver quality instruction!

The father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi once taught us that the “Consumer is God”! …But when will the day dawn when teachers in government educational institutions in India begin to treat the student consumer as God? ... Any guesses dear reader?