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A Mission Called
Admission Education, especially, primary education is very vital both at the micro level for the individual citizens and at the macro level for the country. In India, both private and government (state as well as central governments) claim to provide primary education to the future achievers of the nation. However, one can observe many paradoxical and comical issues with respect to primary education, especially at the metropolitan cities of India. And for many parents getting admission in a primary school in India is one of the major missions of their life. |
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| Claims of several urban private schools every
year during admission period is that their school has highest ranks in higher secondary
public exams. ‘Good. It depicts their standard of coaching’ is the perception
created in the public. However, this is not 100 per cent true. These so called
‘superior schools’ do not train average students. They select only intelligent
students at the primary level itself by keeping tests/exams at the age of three and a
half. Thus, the high degree of positive results are due to the intelligence of the
students too and not merely due to the teaching skills of the schools. There are schools which literally auctions a primary school seat. They leave a column in the application form which reades something like ‘your contribution to school building fund?’ and the highest bidders will get admission. Following the tradition, now even nursery schools (play schools) have started demanding building fund. Can you believe this? You have to; for example, a Chennai-based nursery school by the name of Sherubs is asking for a building fund. There are schools where getting the application form itself is a different exercise and rather a difficult job than getting admission. A leading Chennai-based school - SBOA - issues only 100 forms every year. The remaining applicants will be put on the waiting list. Thus, there is a huge rush to procure the application forms. In fact, one can see parents literally sleeping on the road outside the school ina on the day prior to the issue of the forms. Educated parents (or more appropriately, educated fools) do not use their brains and think. They are the customers of the school. And why they should put their children in a school which treats them like street dogs even before extending admission and runs a school like a factory. Can anybody assess the intelligence of a child at the age of three is another critical point. Even global psychologists are finding it difficult to answer this query. A child is comprised of different levels of psychology and behaviour. It will smile sometimes, it will dance sometimes, it will sing sometimes or it will do nothing sometimes. And a school calls for an interview, they tell them it is from 9.00 a.m. A three year old interviewed at 2.00 p.m. would have lost all stamina and joy. He/she would like to eat and sleep for sometime. And at that point if you ask the kid to display his/her talents what will be the outcome? A strick non-cooperation movement, even from the most talented kid. Parents should realise that most successful personalities in this world have very little educational background and very high level of commonsense. Parents shold not force a child to do what they want them to do, rather they should allow the child to do what they want to do. With the world becoming a global village, thanks to the improved communication facilities, one can sit even in a village and do what he/she wants to do and be happy. Schools should, on the other hand, use elenimate nonsensical admission procedures. This is only a prayer of a common Indian who hopes that the Indian primary education system will improve in logical manner. To sum, ‘let school and parents do not interfere in a child’s education’, thanks to Mark Twain. Education : The Need
of the Hour Human capital has been recognised as the major vehicle for the growth and development of any economy. Education, a major component of human capital (apart from health) plays a vital role in economic growth. There is a high correlation between education and economic prosperity. It is a sad state of affair, that in India the importance given to education, even at preliminary levels itself is very negligible. India is only proud of its constitutional goal of universal elementary education. In reality, there are approximately 63 million children in the age group of 6-14 estimated to be away from school. In 13 States in India, over 85 per cent of women are illiterates. According to United Nations Development Report, India has a long way (centuries) to go. For example, Uttar Pradesh needs 92 years and Bihar needs 121 years to reach cent per cent literacy rate. The department of education, the ruling governments and the policy makers have not realised the urgency of the situation. With education, many other socio-economic issues can be addressed. For example, infant mortality rate is directly correlated to primary education. In Orissa with 35 per cent of literacy, the infant mortality rate was 112.1 per thousand, as compared to Kerala with highest literacy rate, only 24 infants per thousand died. Further, the use of birth control is also directly correlated with education. Similarly, child’s immunisation is also related to education. Thus, education plays a vital role in socio-economic improvement of India. Further, education helps in all aspects of an economy. For example, illiterate farmers who are not able to read the instructions provided by the fertiliser and pesticide companies, not only destroy their health but also a superior harvest. Thus, education helps for better agricultural out put also. In a country like India where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, literacy will definitely bring more output. Either over population nor lack of funds can not be stated as the arguments for not providing sufficient education. Because, in China - which has more population compared to India - the average adult spends five years in school; and a Sri Lankan puts seven years in school. However, in India it is only about two years. Another argument usually provided by the authorities is that children do not want to study, since they want to work even as child labourers. However, this argument was found invalid by the published Report on Basic Education in India (PROBE) by Delhi School of Economics. According to the PROBE survey, 98 per cent parents said that boys should be educated and 89 per cent wanted girls to be educated. PROBE also found that only a small minority of children are full time labourers. More than 80 per cent of parents preferred compulsory primary education for children. Thus, the labour arguments by the government authorities do not hold good. With respect to the quality of education, it is believed that private schools provide better quality compared to government schools. It is true and an undisputed fact that schools run by the government in India measure far below acceptable standards. But, there is a paradox too. Tutors of private schools do not receive even 50 per cent of the salary which the government teachers are getting. But, private schools provide superior education. This implies that the selection process of government school teachers itself is wrong, thanks to political interference in selection boards. Government schools or its authorities claim that private schools have more fund to provide superior education. This fund problem can be solved by the government if it thinks prudently, with out utilising public money. How? For example, there are various private sector companies in this country involved in social activities. Identify them. Make them support/adopt schools. Computer firms or computer education companies will be willing to sponsor computers plus skills to government schools. Only thing is that the government has not started its thinking process in these lines. It always complaints that it lacks funds, Not findings ways out. Thus, with a well carved out strategy involving entrepreneurs the financial problems of government schools can be solved. The educational policy pursued during the last half a century can be summarised in four words according to Dr S.Ambirajan, "Planned drift and criminal neglect". The government has failed to reduce the number of illiterates even after 50 years of independence. In fact, increased that figure to a great extend. This is due to the fact that the Indian government is incompetent, and totally careless in setting its priorities. Indian government does fund allocation for education with out any well carved out strategy. It has allocated in the last Budget (1999-2000) Rs 1136.69 crore for higher education and university education. Ideally speaking, university education should be made privatised, which will make Indians to shift to earn-and-study culture rather than study-and-study culture. Thus, these funds can be made available for primary education. Another area of importance with respect to education in India is adult literacy rates and its lags. India has around 30 per cent of adult illiteracy population in the world. Since independence multiple attempts have been made by the planners to tackle this problem. However, they could not succeed. Because, their planning was at a national level. Thus, the issue of adult illiteracy can be handled only at the regional scale with decentralised planning. The objective of education for all was established by the UNESCO, World Bank and UNICEF and it is a fact that more than monetary contributions, it is the human will and the close link of education with primary schooling are vital to cover the literacy lag of India. To sum, India has comfortable raw human power. Only if this raw power is converted into skilled man power, it will help in Indian economic development. If educational need of the nation is not attended swiftly, it will also add additional burden to the government, such as increase in crime rates, higher health expenditure, more subsidies, etc. Thus, a swifter action with a well carved out and integrated strategy with respect to education is the need of the hour which Indian government and policy makers should attend to. Practice of Weaning in
Children under two years in Urban India Preamble Weaning means the addition of other foods to a diet of just milk from the breast or the bottle on which the baby has been fed since birth. This term also refers to the process of starting and acclimating the baby to solid foods. Weaning should be started when the infant is about four months of age and completed by the time he/she is about nine months. The type of food that the baby is started on will depend partly on the doctor’s advice and partly on family habits. Nutritional disorders result from deficiency or excess of any nutrients. But, in India, the majority of problems are related to deficiency rather than excess. The most important reasons being poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. Malnutrition is a major pediatric problem and it is responsible for high rates of morbidity and mortality. Following are the major causes for malnutrition: inadequate diet, chronic vomiting, diarrhea and infections, congenital diseases, faulty feeding and prolonged breast feeding. To highlight further on weaning habits a study was conducted, the results of which are there for all to see. The Data This study is based on primary data collected from two Government Hospitals in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, namely, Kilpauk Medical College Hospital and Institute of Child Health Hospital. The respondents (mothers of children between 8 months and 24 months) were contacted randomly. Thus, the method of data collection was through direct personal interview method. Totally, 100 such informants have been contacted. Please note that the respondents fall under very low income category. Major Observations and Findings of the Study
Recommendations
Concluding Remarks This study, which is preliminary in nature, if extended to other areas (semi-urban and rural) with larger sample size, including other income groups and covering other aspects, such as, social and economic aspects and their influence on weaning practice, may yield results which may be highly useful for a better understanding of the subject and for the policy makers to arrive at an appropriate policy decision, which may in turn lead to superior weaning practices in the nation. Live Life without Fear Life is a risk by itself. But, if you fear and take no risk, it will lead to taking more risks. It is too short a life to lead a scared and risk free life. By being afraid you are not gaining anything. It will not save you. In fact, it will damage you more. Fear prevents you from making any decisions. You can grow and be happy only if you take decisions that will lead to a more adventurous life. Also, if you fear you lose out on all the fun that life has in store for you. Fear in a society arises due to many reasons - ozone, recession, pollution (water, noise and air), unemployment coupled with poverty, crime, sex, rape, arson, inferiority complex, jealousy, AIDS, etc. Fear arises because we begin to have a feeling that we are not able to control the course of our life which depends upon a number of external and internal factors. Sometimes media overkill too is responsible for our fears. For example, sex is a joy. But due to the increasing threat communication about AIDS in the media, youngsters are not happy and elders frown upon the very word. They are afraid that our life will go berserk. Media, AIDS prevention groups and communication agencies are responsible for this fear psychosis amongst us. According to a study in the United States, AIDS ranks only eleventh as against heart disease and cancer which top the list of severe death causing diseases. There can be found a prevalence of undue fear amongst youngsters about marriage and sex. In the Indian environment sex is not discussed in public and is a taboo in most homes too. The yet-to-be-married class is afraid of marriage and sex, because they fear that they can not satisfy their partners. Further, they are also afraid of the expected financial mess. However, the prudent psycho should be to take up the challenge as an exciting adventure in life. There live in this country a huge potential of yet-to-be-married ones who postpone their marriage due to multiple fears. In fact by postponing the marriage for too long, they are asking for more trouble. Even late-marrying couples want to postpone child birth, due to the increase in financial commitments and the fear of added responsibilities. In an environment where infertility rates are increasing with the rise in age of women, are these decisions prudent? In fact, they may have to spend more to have a baby through artificial insemination in the event of an infertility. Further, the practice of using female contraceptives in preference to condoms, may have side effects and the female user may end up paying more health cheques. The other damage to your life happens through misconceptions in personal/personnel relations, thanks to undue fear. This is due to over-imagination. For example, you think what others (life partner, family, society. etc.) will say if you are going to resign your job and start your own business. So, you do not decide to leave the job. You end up doing what others want and not what you want in your life. Thus you are not happy. And you end up losing your valuable life time by worrying. Why not kill your fear and do what you want to and be happy. (In fact, the author herself lost two years of life in the process of her career decision.) Everyone is aware that the financial capital of India is Mumbai (Bombay). If you are seeking a career in the financial services industry you should land up in Mumbai. But, you fear of Mumbai’s transport, food, environment, culture etc. and do not opt for employment in Mumbai. Thus you end up losing on your career even before starting it. Those who want to work in Bombay must develop ways of coping with its life and its hardships. Sometimes fear is rather created than a self evolved one. Say for example academic pressures, excessive parental expectations, peer pressures, etc. lead some children to fear life and attempt suicide. All what they need is concern, care and emotional support, because, suicide is a cry for help. Children should be taught to fight a crisis, rather than parents creating a crisis. This is more evident when the tenth and plus two results are announced. The papers are full of cases where children have committed suicide due to the pressure of performing up to the parents expectations. How does one overcome fear? One way is to take life as it is and enjoy all that happens in your life. Read self motivational books, get good guidance, make your career decisions fast, be brave to take a risk, feel contented and take a break when you need one. Remember, the power to change the course of your life lies with you and not others. So be bold and exercise this power and above all understand that, "Life is too short to worry", SO BE HAPPY. Changing Life Style of
Teenagers In the past, teenagers were looked upon as the ‘beacon of hope’ in society and looked upon in awe as they were the future not just of that particular family but also of the entire nation. And as such they were supposed to follow in the path of their ancestors. However, the changes in lifestyle and other emerging trends in the twentieth century has necessitated a change in their attitude. Does this mean a change of our culture and tradition that has been practiced and passed on through generations? Since, teenagers are the ones in whose hands the future and well being of the world in the next millennium lies, what then is in store for them ? Earlier, teenagers had respect for elders and looked upon them for guidance in life. Elders were the role models for them. But the trend has changed. In the modern world youth have adopted western culture that has forced them to change. They are of the opinion that, they are no more the twentieth generation teenagers but of the twenty first’s, and want themselves to be identified as generation ‘X’ of the twenty first century. In those days, Mahathma Gandhi, Nehru, Nethaji, Rajaji and other similar personalities were the role models for youngsters. But think of today’s teenagers... they only have Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hasan, Kushboo, Salman Khan, Kajol etc. to ape and not even Leander Peas or Tendulkar or Vishy Anand for that matter. Another objective of today’s teenager is ‘Money’. To be precise, ‘More Money and fast Money’, that has attracted them towards materialism. Teenagers are changing there ideals and culture in life to earn fast money in quick time. In the process, they get involved in unlawful activities, say smuggling, terrorism and indulging in criminal offenses or activities. One can’t blame the teenagers only for this. There are many factors that have led teens into such a sorry state of affairs like for example, the prevailing rate of unemployment, less time devoted by parents, improper and vision-less educational system, etc. Nowadays, at the tender-age of 16 (which they call as teenage), you have professional killers who don’t hesitate even to kill their loved ones to get hold of properties or settle a score. In the recent past the gap between teenagers and elder people are becoming wider and wider as they claim "we are the natural leaders of this world,". This is also popularly called as the ‘Generation Gap’(GP). While the elders want unstilted loyalty to their values, the teenager frowns at any kind of supervision and rebels. So, they are addicted to drinking, smoking and use of drugs as they feel this habit gives a macho image to them. Helped only by the numerous western flicks fed by our satellite behemoths. The parents are also to be blamed for GP, since children do pick up certain habits, especially the negative ones, swiftly from them. Today’s generation of teenagers do not have strong ideals or a clear sense of identity nor do they have major dreams or vision in their life. This generation of teenagers are facing an unclear future to prepare for their future living and are always pre-occupied with some thing else in their mind. To lead a comfortable yet tasteful life in the near future, teenagers fell that a secured job with highly paid salaries, a car, cellular phone and weekend parties organized by the companies for whom they work is enough not to mention the stray foreign trips as incentives . What they don’t understand is that theirs is a segment that is more needed for the country's future because they are the harbingers of change and growth. But sadly today’s teenager doesn’t want to stay in India. They are forced to believe that their future lies in the land of hope - USA . This then is the segment that gets everything from India-its education, health, environment etc. and proceeds to serve for the growth of another country. For example, the government spends approximately Rs 6 lakhs to produce a medical professional. But most of the doctors leave India. The government should implement such subsidy education only with a commitment, say, "serve this country for 10 years or pay back the investment before leaving". Sadly, this generation of teenagers do not have role models like Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen who became very popular in a short period, because of their triumph in the Miss Universe and Miss World competitions not due to their "skin-skill" alone but also due to their intelligence and perseverance. These Generation ‘X’ people believe in dating and enjoying life in amoral ways. And this is catching up quickly among the metro-youth today. It has to be restricted and the after math explained. Outlook (dated November 1, 1999, page 62) reports that: "Navratri through the numerous discos and dandiya nites, has degenerated into an occasion to have inhibited sex because youngsters were allowed freedom to stay out till the wee hours which they often end up misusing. Based on reports from medical practitioners, education minister Anandiben Patel expressed concern over the rising number of abortions just after Navratri." This is an indication of changing lifestyles of teenagers towards ‘sex’. All these started happening with the advent of satellite channels and exodus of foreign movies beamed on television and in theatres. What then has to be done ? Who is to be held responsible for such an impasse ? And what are to be the remedial measures ? Readers are invited to send in their thoughts and suggestions on the above. Bargain Books with Rich
Contents Recently I had an opportunity to visit the Sales Emphoria of the Government of India, at Chennai. It is run by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. There are eight such Sales Emphoria in India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow and Hyderabad. This Publications Division of Government of India has more than 7000 titles on various subjects - from children's books to technology. They also publish books in regional languages other than English. All the books are competitively priced and thus affordable. This is due to Government subsidy. Further, many books have been published in collaboration with overseas authors. The quality of contents are of international standards and they provide rich data base and information on various topics. For the viewers of yeahindia we provide below some useful addresses:
Playing with our Lives Dear friends, I am studying in a Metric school in Maurai. I studied in English medium from LKG. Now, my teachers are telling me that the Tamil Nadu Government wants me to study in Tamil medium. I do not understand why. I want to become a big doctor. How can I become a doctor if I study in Tamil medium. Will I get admission to become a doctor? All my classmates are very upset with the Tamil Nadu Government for this. Even if we buy a toy or a dress, we buy what we want to buy. Then why should the government force us to do something which we do not like? My father is paying my school fees and not the government. Will the government pay my school fees and promise me admission to medical college? If the answer is no, then the government should not unnecessarily disturb us and spoil our future. Government should do only what it is suppose to do. It should provide education to all children in Tamil Nadu. . It is not able to do it. But, it is trying to reduce the quality of already existing education. Is this action justifiable? I want all friends to react to this article of mine and pray for similar students like me who is suffereing for no mistake of ours. The Quest for Olympic
Glory As yet another Olympics come to an end, questions will be asked, inquiry committees set up, heads will roll - all for that yet to come ‘olympic glory’. As the olympic fraternity grows and competition increases due to fragmented countries entering as separate nations. India’s chances not only look slim but are ever diminishing. What does it take to step onto that podium, is a question often probed by countries who aren’t there yet. is it that elusive gold medal or the patriotic fervor of representing their country, or just the culmination of years of sweet, toil and hardwork. It may even be a combination of all these. But one factor above all this is ‘dedication’. Dedication to achieve that yellow metal and to go on relentlessly in pursuit. But when an Anthony Nesty or a Susanthika or a Jefferson Perez can do it, why can’t our desi Ushas, Valsammas and Bahadurs do it? Aren’t they dedicated enough, talented enough or aren’t they focussed enough to attain pristine glory? May be it is something about the coaching, one can never say. Olympics of late have been hit by another phenomenon - ‘Drugs’ - apart from terrorism. A spectre which has haunted most of the recent games. Take for example Ben Johnson’s case - glory, recognition and fame were all his until snatched away minutes later. Do the fame etc., etc. all make mankind do such gory things so as to endanger life itself in future. Can two miniutes on the podium make you do so much. Are the more successful countries equally adept at concealing drugs taken by its competitors. Then should India also follow suit. If so it will violate the very nature of the olympic spirit. Take for example - hockey, the reason for Australia’s reign in the world today was the coaching received from one of our Indian coaches. Another example that comes to my mind is that of Prakash Padukone, who used to practice along with the Danish star Morten Frost before the latter became a world champion in badminton, while the former slowly faded away. Why then do we have to take recourse to foreign coaches when talent is available in India itself? Do our coaches put in that extra effort to earn more money while neglecting our countrymen. Once again we narrow down to the aspect called ‘dedication’. Often on the world sence one comes across our athletes cutting a sorry figure for lack of trying to go for the kill. A remedical measure could be in as they call it ‘tapping them young’. While abroad sports are taken seriously and is part of the curriculam, here in India we are forced to indulge in sports because of the necessity to earn a living or to give a break from monotonous periods of study. And the diaspora of the Middle Income Group being academics lead to higher earnings while sports leads to poverty. Performance of a country like Chinawould negate that. Inspite of its strict communist regime it has been able to take the sports world by storm, the reason being - focussed training, methodology in coaching, a fixed goal and the right encouragement. The later point itself is enough to spur a sports person to greater heights. Whereas in India we find bureaucrats and politicians at the helm od sporting organisations. Not only are they inefficient and corrupt but are also in the dark when it comes to sports. And with favoritism in selection permiating right down to the entry level at school, the development of sports in our country is severrely shakled. This leads to our sports persons becoming the laughing stock in the international arena. With crores of money being spent on building stadiums, hiring coaches from abroad, buying expensive equipment that accumulate rust and in sending teams for international meets, there seems to be no justification from the results achieved. Come Olympics or any other big meets, a host of officials and invitees set forth on a tour under the most silliest of pretexes like ‘to study the conduct of the olympics in order to achieve similar success in conducting the National Games’. As if a country that has conducted the Asian Games needs to learn the art of staging a mega event. What was even more surprising was that the officials hardly got down to business instead going on a shopping spree and visiting relatives. Yes, this even included our Honourable Minister of Sports. People who have got no business only seem to be there more than our teams. All these continue despite the hue and cry raised at the end of the Seoul Olympics in 1988 about how government servants and well wishers had a gala excursion at seoul. A pointer to this could be the allegation of the wrestling coach of Pappu Yadav who managed to get a visa with difficulty and landed up at Atlanta only by the 20th of July by which time our great wrestling hero who was entered in a higher weight category lost miserably. The allegation was that the concerned Indian officials were not present to help Pappu Yadav with his weighing in for well over three hours by which time our hungry hero who was trying to shed excessive fat at the sauna lost his patience and ended up stuffing himself at the restaurant. result of which was a generous gain of 4 kg in weight. naturally our sporting icon could hardly put up a fight in the 52 kg category. The same goes for our boxers, who had a rather long stint in Cuba. I suspect the Cubans to be much smarter in not teaching the Indians all the tricks of the trade. Allegations or otherwise the question foremost in everyone’s mind is "when will we hit the road to glory?". Are we ever capable of producing a champion out of a teeming population of 950 million. Amongst all this darknesss was a ray of hope in the form of Leander Paes who won an individual medal for the country after 44 years. His is a case of hyped up energy when it comes to representing the country. Some of our sports persons could take a leaf or two out of his book. What then is the solution? Are we going to be a nation of also rans, forever fretting and fuming that we almost did it? The answers lie in whether we are able to rectify the system of its anomaly, experienced sports persons are given a free rein and elected to head the federations backed up with constructive support from the government. Also there should be a change in the outlook of parents towards their wards who show a natural affinity to sports instead of academics. Till then it is bback to hoping and praying that our sports persons will reach the nadir of sporting history. Chao! till we meet again at Sydney for yet another excursion and a debacle later on. India and Indians Indians, generally, are very proud of the rich heritage of their country. We have tall talks about the cultural depth of our nation. We talk about the rich natural resources of the past and the present. We are so proud of the origin of so many religions of the east from our nation. But, we don’t care a damn about our lack of integrity. Our education, cultural heritage and religious famous will have no meaning - will be absolutely irrelevant - if we Indians lack integrity. Gandhiji’s piquant cry about this nation was its unwillingness to be true - to be honest - to be integrated. What is integrity? In Gandhi’s language or idea, creed, word and deed should be one. What we think should be preached and what we preach should be done. We should be ashamed to know that we Indians are least bothered about Gandhi’s most treasured value truth or integrity. Gandhi lamented once that we were at once worshipping him and unwilling to follow his ideas - especially truth. Corruption rocks this country’s very foundation. Any problem can be routed back to one evil called CORRUPTION. The so called ‘top brains of our nation’, engineers, doctors, government servants (which include the top officials IAS, IPS, etc.), lawyers, bank officers, and down to attenders have no moral scruples in getting bribes or indulging in wrong practices. More than 75 per cent of the educated community firmly believe that corruption is not wrong. They indulge in all sorts of unscrupulous dealings to get their jobs done. Business has only one ethics - ‘CHEATING’. So many scams have left the economy of this country in dire straits. Education and religion - the very foundation of civilized life of Indian psyche are at cross-roads. Only these two departments can transform at once a society at large and an individual. Unfortunately, in our country both these have failed miserably to transform or civilize a human heart. In fact, both have dramatically worked against civilization in our country. They have become a force to say the least : "If the salt has lost its savour, where with shall it be salted?" Does India have hope of being rebuilt? If India has to be rebuilt, the very psyche of this nation should change. We Indians should go to the very basics of life - truth - honesty - integrity. If we join hands with Pilot and ask ‘What is truth?’ then this century will go back to the pre-independence days. And another Gandhi has to be born! |
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