May and June months are filled with reports of results of SSC and HSC examinations. Like a ritual, pass percentages, separately for boys and girls are published, toppers are eulogized and their interviews aired, their dreams get recorded in the editorials and then? - back to other recurring news articles on corruption, murder, rape and politics. I am not blaming the newspapers/media - after all they need to survive and have to publish what the junta likes. With an extremely short public memory, nothing much can be expected of the fourth estate too.
Oh god, I didn’t intend to discuss the drawbacks of the media here. As usual, got carried away by random thoughts. The topic here is education. The pass percentages are hovering around 80 and 90 depending upon the syllabus. Bud sadly, what is gone unreported is the fate of thousands of students, who despite scoring decent enough marks, are unable to proceed to higher education due to paucity of funds. And this is not seen just in this SSC and HSC. Dropout rates are much higher in the early school levels too. My sister is a teacher in a Govt. School in Tamilnadu. She says there are many brilliant children who have huge potential, but unable to continue their education due to financial constraints. And this phenomenon is not only prevalent in rural India, but also in many urban centers. And again, this is not specific to any particular community or religion. It is all pervasive.
There are various study reports by forums like CII, ASSOCHAM which talk of the depleting talent levels amongst the Indian youngsters. I am not fully sure whether this is right. What may be true is that the available manpower may not be fully sufficient to satisfy the fast growing needs of knowledge based organizations and manufacturing industry. But I feel there is sufficient talent pool still untapped amongst these young dropouts. It is these young minds which will fill the skill gap that is being portrayed by these institutions. Money need not be the only factor for dropouts. Students might genuinely not be able to do very well in their studies but might be good at other skills.
It is the duty of the Government to ensure that these talents are given due recognition. Reservation based on caste is not going to help in this area. In all of the above points, caste has never come into picture. It’s either economic backwardness or lack of proper guidance that is hindering the prospects of these thousands of young minds. Once economic backwardness is taken care of, irrespective of the caste, it will lead to much better results than what the Government expects through the current system of reservation. And the question arises what is the right criteria for determining economic backwardness. A difficult question indeed. But like any other complicated issue, if one has the will, this can also be tackled. Economic prosperity differs from region to region and from state to state. Government can set up an expert committee to give a detailed analysis of the same so that extra privileges can be given to the genuine needy.
Whatever step the Government is taking, the same needs to be expedited. The rural urban divide is increasing. If this continues and if talented youngsters are left out of the mainstream, it could only lead to disastrous results for the country. Already, many districts are affected by naxalism and the country cannot survive the onslaught of the restive youth. Government needs to wake up, concentrate at the primary education level rather than shedding crocodile tears for the downtrodden at the higher education level. What can be tackled at lower levels of education is unnecessarily being dumped at the higher levels in the form of reservation, resulting in low quality manpower for employment at one end and a dejected, rejected but talented lot on the other end. This can lead us nowhere. Govt. needs to come clear on its reservation policy. Populism, like gravity, is not allowing us to fly high.
I have read that Mendel’s experiments have resulted in a few important conclusions. One of them is that the inheritance of each trait is determined by factors that are passed on to descendents unchanged and that a trait may not show up in an individual but can still be passed on to the next generation. Mandal’s experiment with our reservation policy has also lead to similar results. The benefits of reservation are passed on from one generation to another without any change, irrespective of the concept of creamy layer. The trait of economic backwardness may not be seen in an individual, but reservation can still be passed on to the next generation.
Whatever it is, this is a serious cause of concern. I am fortunate enough to have had so many opportunities on my way, which has put me at a decent level now. But this is not the case with many other talented youngsters. They need direction; they need opportunities – but without any bias.
Oh god, I didn’t intend to discuss the drawbacks of the media here. As usual, got carried away by random thoughts. The topic here is education. The pass percentages are hovering around 80 and 90 depending upon the syllabus. Bud sadly, what is gone unreported is the fate of thousands of students, who despite scoring decent enough marks, are unable to proceed to higher education due to paucity of funds. And this is not seen just in this SSC and HSC. Dropout rates are much higher in the early school levels too. My sister is a teacher in a Govt. School in Tamilnadu. She says there are many brilliant children who have huge potential, but unable to continue their education due to financial constraints. And this phenomenon is not only prevalent in rural India, but also in many urban centers. And again, this is not specific to any particular community or religion. It is all pervasive.
There are various study reports by forums like CII, ASSOCHAM which talk of the depleting talent levels amongst the Indian youngsters. I am not fully sure whether this is right. What may be true is that the available manpower may not be fully sufficient to satisfy the fast growing needs of knowledge based organizations and manufacturing industry. But I feel there is sufficient talent pool still untapped amongst these young dropouts. It is these young minds which will fill the skill gap that is being portrayed by these institutions. Money need not be the only factor for dropouts. Students might genuinely not be able to do very well in their studies but might be good at other skills.
It is the duty of the Government to ensure that these talents are given due recognition. Reservation based on caste is not going to help in this area. In all of the above points, caste has never come into picture. It’s either economic backwardness or lack of proper guidance that is hindering the prospects of these thousands of young minds. Once economic backwardness is taken care of, irrespective of the caste, it will lead to much better results than what the Government expects through the current system of reservation. And the question arises what is the right criteria for determining economic backwardness. A difficult question indeed. But like any other complicated issue, if one has the will, this can also be tackled. Economic prosperity differs from region to region and from state to state. Government can set up an expert committee to give a detailed analysis of the same so that extra privileges can be given to the genuine needy.
Whatever step the Government is taking, the same needs to be expedited. The rural urban divide is increasing. If this continues and if talented youngsters are left out of the mainstream, it could only lead to disastrous results for the country. Already, many districts are affected by naxalism and the country cannot survive the onslaught of the restive youth. Government needs to wake up, concentrate at the primary education level rather than shedding crocodile tears for the downtrodden at the higher education level. What can be tackled at lower levels of education is unnecessarily being dumped at the higher levels in the form of reservation, resulting in low quality manpower for employment at one end and a dejected, rejected but talented lot on the other end. This can lead us nowhere. Govt. needs to come clear on its reservation policy. Populism, like gravity, is not allowing us to fly high.
I have read that Mendel’s experiments have resulted in a few important conclusions. One of them is that the inheritance of each trait is determined by factors that are passed on to descendents unchanged and that a trait may not show up in an individual but can still be passed on to the next generation. Mandal’s experiment with our reservation policy has also lead to similar results. The benefits of reservation are passed on from one generation to another without any change, irrespective of the concept of creamy layer. The trait of economic backwardness may not be seen in an individual, but reservation can still be passed on to the next generation.
Whatever it is, this is a serious cause of concern. I am fortunate enough to have had so many opportunities on my way, which has put me at a decent level now. But this is not the case with many other talented youngsters. They need direction; they need opportunities – but without any bias.
1 comment:
man!...you writings are too long...keep it a little short,for poor souls like us..otherwise,they are nice reads.
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