Okay so here goes the first one I read Kapil Sibal’s article
which I presume has been written in defiance of RTE.
Now what he primarily mentioned was that RTE would be an
enriching and add value to the children across various sections of society. It
would make the whole learning environment more democratic in nature. He also
pushed private schools to find ‘innovative’ ways to bridge the gap where
schools in metros have high per child budget.
In the same newspaper i was reading about an article on
freedom to do what you want, where the author states that absolute freedom is
to be what we are, as individuals we all are different with an unique
combination of similar qualities that reside within us but in different
blends…he states that our freedom is
suppressed right in our childhood when we are expected to behave in a certain
way, the way that our parents, teachers, family want.
Now these two articles made me ponder about a few things.
What is my ‘Right’ and for what do I have ‘freedom’? Two
words that appear to be so similar on surface yet time and again diverge ……….i
have a right for education but do I have the freedom to complete it In a school
of my choice…environment of my choice…..with friends of my choice..
Have we thought about the psychological pressure that kids
of that tender age would have to undergo considering the strikingly different
environment at home and at school……I read somewhere where that to encounter
such an issue government is recommending counselling sessions….but I have my
sincere doubts on the effectiveness of those sessions.
I am not saying that what government is trying to do is not
good…I firmly believe in the fact that every child has THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION
however it should be accompanied with
freedom as well……
What government should be doing is to keep a tab on how
education is imparted in various government schools , how they are utilizing funds
allocated to them , how teachers are utilizing their time, they need to check
the stats of how many under privilege kids complete their education till graduation………more
importantly they need to now focus on education till the level of graduation
and not just primary level as in today’s world just knowing how to read write
your name does not qualify one for any job……all these aspects have a huge scope of improvement …there should be
strong KPIs for government school teachers and they should be made responsible
for what they are making out of the kids.
Just making strong statements and defending your policies in
not enough Mr Minister what we need is action…..words alone do not bring agreement
and satisfaction from those who are
affected by it.
