Education

For almost 50 years the education system in Ladakh has been in chaos. It is based on the Indian education system which is a poor copy of the British system. Schools are now well distributed throughout Ladakh but 75% of them are primary only (5-11 years). These are attended by about 65% of the children, but there is a high level of absenteeism, especially in the busy agricultural seasons when the children's help is needed on the farms. As there are fewer middle and high schools, study beyond the age of II often involves leaving home. Low salaries (Rs.1500-3500 per month) attract poor quality teachers, most of whom have to be recruited from outside Ladakh. Teacher absenteeism is also a problem and it is not unheard of for teachers to charge for private tuition on subjects that they themselves failed to teach in school. As if this were not enough, the Western-biased curriculum teaches the pupils nothing of their own land or history and they aren't even taught in Ladakhi. Until the age of 14 they learn in Urdu and after that in English. They then have only two years to master this new language before taking the all important matriculation exam, in English. This is their passport to jobs and further education: 95% fail it. It seems that for the vast majority, schooling has served only to alienate them from their native culture.

The long-term outlook is a little more promising. In 1993 the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) launched 'Operation New Hope', a campaign to provide 'culturally appropriate and locally relevant education' by a number of means which include producing Ladakhi textbooks, adopting one language for the teaching of maths and science at all ages, and the regular training of teachers. A government degree college has been opened in Leh, thus providing further education students with the option of staying in Ladakh, rather than having to move to Delhi or Kashmir.