The politics of education

“In line with the goal of nation building, India has been committed to providing free and compulsory education to all children. Towards this end, Indian Parliament has enacted a legislation making free and compulsory education a Right of every child in the age group 6-14 years which has come into force from 1st April, 2010- The RTE Act. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan has been launched recently as a step to universalize secondary education. Simultaneously, efforts are being made to create a robust and vast system of higher and technical education.”

Or so reads the inaugural paragraph of the website of the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development.

While our central as well as state governments have always purported to be active supporters of the cause of education, announcement of policies and schemes and commissions is simply not enough for progress to be made in this field.

“The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) is the highest advisory body to advise the Central and State Governments in the field of education. Recent years have seen certain important committees and commissions deliberate on education. National Knowledge Commission (2006) Report on higher education supports a strong reform agenda through public investment. Recently, the report of the committee on renovation and rejuvenation of higher education (Yashpal Committee) has recommended protecting the intellectual autonomy of educational institutions and the creation of an all-encompassing National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) to replace or subsume the existing regulatory bodies.“ 

 While all these initiatives may paint a rosy picture, one begins to wonder about how much is actually being done to enforce these actions.

The ‘strong reform agenda’ through public investment is a stellar idea, though it is one that lacks the backing of ancillary facts and supportive ideas.

In a first in over 30 years, the Modi government announced it’s plan to launch India’s ‘Education Policy,’ something that was last done only in 1968.

A slew of reform measures like public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance education, seeking ways of upping India’s spend on higher education to 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) from less than 1% now, and emphasize on research and development etc were announced, with no concrete steps to follow so as to achieve the targets mentioned.

The current central government has been earmarked by political pundits and scholars as being a ‘show and tell’ government,  that does little to act upon, and more to talk about. One can only hope that this does not turn out to be the case when it comes to government policies on education.

Other than the measures announced, the Education Policy should also ideate about possible measures to increase enrollment in existing government run schools, through schemes such as the phenomenally successful ‘Mid-day Meal Scheme,’ and about improving quality of existing schools as well.

The PPP model for education and granting of further funds for research and development to institutes of higher learning are concrete ideas that are capable of being implemented with ease.

CACR sincerely hopes that along with the new promises that are being made , we are also blessed with some action that will be taken in this regard.

No government can ignore education, and we hope that the current one uplifts it to the levels of importance it deserves to be at.

- Anand Banerjee is an intern at NGO CACR, an education startup working to improve the functioning of public schools in India. 

To view the presentation on RTE-Right to Education Act CLICK HERE

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Are we cognitively blind OR conveniently ignore the truth?

I love walking. I believe I have inherited this habit from my father. Walking helps to alleviate my stress, improve my concentration, and focus on the events of the day. But it has added benefits too. This hobby provides me with a means to observe my surroundings, analyse the real estate market, and get a glimpse of not only the economic conditions of our country, but also the changes in the cultural trends.

Now, that I am volunteering with NGO CACR I use this activity time to come up with ideas and to observe our society.One of the most important questions that has been on my mind lately is the living conditions and future of the street children that we come across every day.


 I see children living on the footpaths, railway platforms, and makeshift tents. One of the best observations is perhaps the sheer joy that I saw on their faces and in their eyes when some of them were using the newly installed escalator on a metro station. That kind of joy, which comes from deep within, tends to get imprinted on one’s mind.

I know I am not the only one who has seen them. Sometimes, I see authorities passing by and I question myself, “Are we all blind or is that only me who has misconceptions?” There are documentaries on rag pickers and I wonder if we need more proof to understand that there is a need to change their living conditions. We cause hue and cry on child labour in mills and factories, but what about these kids who live on the roads and platforms, who beg and sell items for a living?  We, 'busy' citizens , usually turn a blind eye to these children who beg for a rupee or two so that they can buy something to fill their bellies. If these children do not have access to the basic right of food, how can they even dream about education? Aren’t these technically child laborers too? 

When I wanted to define this condition that we suffer from, I came across the term "Cognitive Blindness". This term is heavily used in the US TV series, Perception. The term can be defined in lay man’s language as something that is ignored in the environment because its existence is taken for granted. If you  look around, you would find that we are blind to most of the things happening around us because we have accepted them as a fact and believe they wont change...because these occurrences don't concern us directly. 

What about the construction workers and their families who have to move to new places each time based on their new construction project. This is a common scenario in Mumbai, where there is either a road development or building development taking place. Their makeshift tents are on the pavements near their sites. so what happens to the kids of these workers? Do they go to school, do they go the same schools, or do they change school each time the job site changes. Do they have proof of identity attesting they are citizen of India and are they  beneficiary to subsidies? Do they have access to water and education? Are they eligible to open a bank account? They might have been residents in their villages, but that too is questionable. The government does talk about labour insurance for the poor and RTE Act but who will ensure their implementation?  


I agree there are a handful of organizations just working for street children.  But the mammoth task of getting the child off the street and into a school is a slow and difficult process. Are these agencies enough to deal with  such a large number of kids? 

There are so many questions.

CACR has been to many BMC ( innercity)  schools for their work. Few have closed down or on the verge of closing down because of lack of students. Some schools have closed down certain linguistic mediums because of insufficient number of students.These schools or classes close down when there are so many illiterate kids on the road, railway station, and orphanages. Ironic isn't it?   Some orphanages are looking city out for teachers when there is a Government school nearby.Shouldn't there be a rule making it a mandatory for kids to be sent to school ? If there is such a rule, its time the Government takes action for it to be executed successfully.

Nitin Sir the founder director of CACR had once told us that he had spent days to make the street dwellers understand the importance of a education and had to fight tooth and nail with the authorities for it. Isn’t it time we wake up from this artificial blindness and stop relying on breaking news to make us ascertain about the apathy of our society?

We need to find a solution for these streets kids so that they don't wind up as their parents did.We should see to it they get admission in Government schools, they attend it daily, and a suitable penalty is imposed on their family if they miss out.

Should there be an agency or separate branch of police for  monitoring street kids and the public/ALMs (Advanced locality management)/LACNs(Local Are Citizens Networks) / Neighborhood watches/etc be notified the  of such kids who are begging, loitering around, and not going to schools?Its time for the Government, media, NGOs, and schools to come together to take necessary actions.

-JZ volunteers with Citizens Association for child rights.  Website :www.ngocacr.com
(edited by Kavisha and Richa )

The Paradox of Present Education System

  

                               

The above quote cheerfully assumes that the basic purpose of education is all round development of a person.

But does this actually happen in the world today?

This question casts a shadow of speculation on our entire education system.

Education is supposed to be a process through which an individual becomes a better person & empowers himself. Which begs the question, what is the use of an education where a person is not taught moral values to be implemented in life? Instead he is taught the concepts of corruption, black money,and other social issues without any comment on their moral and social ramifications.

The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.

There exists a stark contrast between what we read in our books and what we see in real life.

Education should also hone one’s skills for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think incisively, independently and profoundly for oneself is very difficult. This is due to our susceptibility to let our mental faculties be invaded by legions of half-truths, prejudices, and propaganda.

Even the press, our teachers in our classrooms, the pulpit etc.on  myriad instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths.

This again begs the question whether education is actually serving its purpose? Great majorities of the so-called educated people do not think logically and rationally.

If we are not careful, our institutes will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with banal thoughts and recycled ideas. These people will have no civic sensibilities, no respect for women and their elders, no personal actualization or self developmental goals.

To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, should be one of the chief aims of education.

The intrinsic purpose of education is the penultimate development of one’s personality.

Everyone is endowed with certain capabilities and talents, which remain dormant, until harnessed. Our education system only aims at harnessing this pre-existing potential rather than developing further moral and social sensibilities and ethics. 

This total development of human personality includes intellectual as well as moral development. Most of our present day institutes aim solely at the intellectual development of pupils.

Getting educated should not just be equivalent to getting capable, intelligent, and job-oriented. Getting education should include education of ones minds, ones heart as well as ones moral and spiritual notions.

For the majority of us, anywhere between the first 18-25 years of lives is spent pursuing education. In all that time, is it prudent for some sort of moral and social conditioning to occur?

Yes, the current system may produce brilliant engineers, doctors, lawyers and workers.

But then again, what about kind-hearted, morally upright people?

- Anand Banerjee and Hitesh Wadhwa are interns at Ngo CACR a education startup working to improve the functioning of public schools in India. 

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