I had been dealing with the death of my 12 year old son since jan 31, 2009 so I didn't pay much attention to what is going on with the homes. I'm a 1980 graduate of the Homes Hart/Frazer.
I'm very sad to hear of what is going on. I have always been proud of my school..
I think we need to bring in the likes of Mr. Brooks to over see a fundamental change in the structure of the Homes so that Homes will once again become a place where students cherish their childhood..
I was thinking of attending the 2010 ogb celebration...but now I'm thinking twice about it. I live in the USA and it's not that cheap to make it all the way...so if it's not worth it, I might not attend the function and I will have to stop talking proudly about my school any more...
It's sad but I hope someone will step in and resolve the situation there...
I will agree with each one of you the subject about the gradual decline of the Homes and specially with what June Mendez and Anirban have written.
Corruption was always there, its just that with the whole communication revolution, the awareness has increased, its easy to pass on the message and OGB communities across the world are much more involved.
When I visited the homes in 2003, it was in a sad state already with most of the old teachers/house parents (even the likes of Mr Lloyd Francis) had mellowed down and were waiting for retirement. Private children were given preference over sponsered children, the students had completely lost all respect for the teachers/house parents, and unions were already formed between teachers and students along with some local groups. There was no enthusiasm left for any of the activities, board exam results had taken a hit and no one was keen to get their children admitted into the school. That was in 03.
By the point that has been raised by John, I think things have just moved on in the negative direction from 2003.
Rockvale Academy has become one of the best schools in darjeeling, leaving homes right behind.
What the school really needs is -
1) A complete structural and management change. 2) We should adopt some of the strategies from some big boarding schools and understand how they are being managed in today's times. 3) Push to have some strong voices (OGB's) into the Board of Management. Seek Michael Robertson's help if needed. 4) As and when possible, legalise the locals living there, create a boundary for the school and get these locals some job to ensure that they do not mess up things any further. 5) Curb any unions being created immediately. Some sort of law or a contract in the appointment letter of the teachers/house parents. 6) Have a strict security available. 7) Have slabs for fees. This can always be thrashed out. Atleast this would help us hire some good and intellectual teachers or improve the payscale of the existing ones.
There could be many more ideas. I know all this sounds quite bookish, but then filling the website with comments/discussions and feeling sad isn't going to help either. Someone has to be in the system to bring about a change. Times have drastically changed over the last 10 years, homes has to as well. Though, homes is a unique but it does need to pick some clues from equally large schools/colleges and how they function.
I hope this message gets to the right people, only then would it make us feel less sad and contribute to the upliftment of the homes!!!!
