Making available quality primary education at affordable cost
Reams and reams have been written on what ails our educational system. But, one aspect that does not seem to get due attention is the role of our educational system in perpetuating the class divide. Today, primary education in India is imparted by a variety of schools.
At one end of the spectrum, we have schools which impart quality education, boast excellent facilities and use English as the medium of instruction. These are the schools which charge hefty fees and donations and, hence, are out of reach for children from the less privileged families.
At the other end are the typical government schools, where teachers hardly have the skills or motivation to do justice to their jobs. Such schools normally use the vernacular as the medium of instruction. These are the schools which cater for the educational needs of the less privileged. With exceptions, students from these schools generally carry with them an inferiority complex engendered by the kind of schooling they receive and this is all the more pronounced as a result of their lack of ability to handle the English language well. In a country like India, all this has serious and far-reaching implications. In our social set-up, English is not just a language, it is also a statement of one’s breeding, abilities and smartness. You may have scored excellent marks at the graduation examination. You may know your subjects very well. But if you are not able to speak fluently in English, make no mistake, this deficiency is going to eclipse whatever qualifications you have.
Far-reaching effects
No wonder when it comes to the job market, knowledge of English is often the key to bagging a good job in our country. Other things being equal, a graduate or post-graduate with good oral communication skills in English has more chances of landing a good job than someone who cannot articulate in that language.
The first step in ensuring equality of opportunity to all is to have an educational system which imparts quality education of uniform quality to all without distinguishing between the rich and the poor or the rural student and the urban student. In the Indian context, equally importantly, it would also mean that every student gets equal opportunity at school to learn English the way it should be learnt. Let us not forget that if the growth in the services sector has not really touched the lives of ordinary people in our country, part of the reason lies in the English/vernacular medium divide in our educational system.
It is heartening to note that companies like Infosys and Wipro have started recruiting candidates from rural areas in a big way, training them after recruitment in not just job-related skills but also soft skills, including the ability to handle communications in English. While such laudable initiatives need to be emulated by other companies, these alone cannot provide a long-term solution.
The government schools in pre-Independent India were as good, if not better than many of the expensive English medium schools we have today. After all, many of the ‘greats’ this country produced before and after impendence were from government schools. The government and society then treated the teaching profession as one of the noblest professions. The pay and service conditions were good enough to attract talented and dedicated people. Those who end up in the teaching profession now are mostly those who could not make it to more lucrative careers.
As a democratic nation, we should strive to neutralise the disadvantages on account of economic background, caste, creed, religion, etc., faced by the underprivileged sections by supporting them to raise themselves to a position where they can compete on equal terms with others. While providing reservation to these sections in educational institutions may be one way of achieving the objective, making available quality primary education to them at affordable cost cannot be lost sight of.
© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Mother-tongue in danger
The basic purpose of any language is to communicate. It is the responsibility of the people concerned to preserve/enrich their respective native languages and pass on to the generations next to keep their cultural ethos and civilisation alive. Therefore, using a language regularly and spreading the same is the key to its sustainability and eternity. However, of late, I have seen, in fact closely observed, a tendency on the part of the people to use the English language ext ensively while disregarding their mother-tongue.
Fascination for English
It must be pointed out here that we inherited the English language due to British colonialism. It has enabled us to construct bridges and establish contacts with the outside world, which is necessary for progress and prosperity more especially in these days of globalisation, where the world is being referred as a global village. One of the important reasons for its phenomenal growth is its remarkable flexibility. It is also a fact that proficiency in English is considered a cornerstone to success and a passport to prosperity. As against this backdrop, it is quite natural that people are very fond of English. With globalisation, its importance has grown much more, as being inevitable for mere survival.
Recently, when I visited a hospital, right from entering to leaving, I had to speak to them in English. Even when I tried to speak to them in Telugu, they were not willing to speak to me in Telugu as if it is not their mother-tongue. Speaking in English in a foreign country is an absolute necessity, but speaking in that language in India by people belonging to the same culture and same language is strange. I have seen some parents speaking only in English to their tiny tots in the expectation that they would learn English effortlessly while disregarding the importance of their mother- tongue. While there may be many reasons for this fascination, it does not augur well in the interest of our native languages. This may, slowly and surely, lead to the extinction of our languages over a period of time.
Save our languages
It may be worthwhile to mention here that according to a news report published in The Hindu, dated February 21, 2009, of the 196 languages listed as endangered by the UNESCO, India tops the list of countries having the maximum number of dialects on the verge of extinction. These facts were revealed in the latest Atlas of World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing unveiled by the UNESCO.
It must also be worthwhile to mention that countries like Japan, China, etc., have made tremendous progress and prosperity and stood as role models even though their English language skills are very poor. As rightly said by Tagore, mastery of one’s own mother-tongue will lead to the easy learning of a foreign language.
Regular usage/spread is the key to the thriving of any language.
If we do not regard our own language and always try to speak a foreign language, even while staying in our mother land with people of same language and culture in an effort to achieve proficiency in the English language, we are doing a great disservice to our own mother-tongue and helping others to keep up their cultural ethos and civilisations while allowing our languages to languish and perish.
reference: thehindudot com
Fascination for English
It must be pointed out here that we inherited the English language due to British colonialism. It has enabled us to construct bridges and establish contacts with the outside world, which is necessary for progress and prosperity more especially in these days of globalisation, where the world is being referred as a global village. One of the important reasons for its phenomenal growth is its remarkable flexibility. It is also a fact that proficiency in English is considered a cornerstone to success and a passport to prosperity. As against this backdrop, it is quite natural that people are very fond of English. With globalisation, its importance has grown much more, as being inevitable for mere survival.
Recently, when I visited a hospital, right from entering to leaving, I had to speak to them in English. Even when I tried to speak to them in Telugu, they were not willing to speak to me in Telugu as if it is not their mother-tongue. Speaking in English in a foreign country is an absolute necessity, but speaking in that language in India by people belonging to the same culture and same language is strange. I have seen some parents speaking only in English to their tiny tots in the expectation that they would learn English effortlessly while disregarding the importance of their mother- tongue. While there may be many reasons for this fascination, it does not augur well in the interest of our native languages. This may, slowly and surely, lead to the extinction of our languages over a period of time.
Save our languages
It may be worthwhile to mention here that according to a news report published in The Hindu, dated February 21, 2009, of the 196 languages listed as endangered by the UNESCO, India tops the list of countries having the maximum number of dialects on the verge of extinction. These facts were revealed in the latest Atlas of World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing unveiled by the UNESCO.
It must also be worthwhile to mention that countries like Japan, China, etc., have made tremendous progress and prosperity and stood as role models even though their English language skills are very poor. As rightly said by Tagore, mastery of one’s own mother-tongue will lead to the easy learning of a foreign language.
Regular usage/spread is the key to the thriving of any language.
If we do not regard our own language and always try to speak a foreign language, even while staying in our mother land with people of same language and culture in an effort to achieve proficiency in the English language, we are doing a great disservice to our own mother-tongue and helping others to keep up their cultural ethos and civilisations while allowing our languages to languish and perish.
reference: thehindudot com
Sunday, August 23, 2009
RAJIV DIXIT lectures on national and political issues - mp3 files
Foreign DEPENDENT country - India
Even after 60 years of Independence, INDIA is still dependent on other countries. I guess Indian dont know the meaning of INDEPENDENCE.
Please listen to this video. Just 10min of your precious time, cant u spend??
For further videos please visit this.
JAI HIND.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Meaning of Jana Gana Mana. Who is it for?
Translation in detail.
Line 1:Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Translation: George you are the ruler of the people as well as the minds of the people of Bharat.
Line 2: Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha, Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Translation: Your name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha.
Line 3: Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga Tava shubhaname jage Tava shubha asisa mage.
Translation: "Tava shubha name jage Tava shubha asisa mage" Your (George) auspicious names echo in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalyas, mingle in the music of Jamuna and Ganga and are chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
Line 4: Gahe tava jaya gatha
Translation: They pray for your blessing and sing your praise (unknowingly or knowingly they chant your names and are blessed.)
Line 5: Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Translation: "The saving of all people waits in your hand(Oh King George V), thou dispenser of India's destiny".
Line 6: Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
Translation: Victory, victory, victory to thee
Victory Victory Victory to you Mr King George V, because you are ruling us, and we are your servants. So you always win, not us.
Conclusion
Jana Gana Mana is India's national anthem written in Sanskrit by poet Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel Prize Winner)
"... surrounds the 1911 visit to India by King George V. To commemorate the occasion, the Indian National Congress (INC) approached Tagore for a poem of welcome. As Yeats (his Irish admirer of many years) recalled later, Tagore was deeply troubled by the assignment. Early one morning, he composed a very beautiful poem and handed it over to his colleagues. At the Calcutta Congress session which began on December 16, 1911, the second day was apparently devoted entirely to welcoming King George V. Jana Gana Mana was sung on this occasion"
Many people say that Tagore is very good person, and he has written this song for God, if so then why did he chose this particular song for a British? He was poet, he could have easily written any other poem which encouraged the Indians and dispirited, restrained the British.
Since Tagore treated George as God, with his poem, which happened in Dec, 1911 British gave him a nobel prize in 1913.
Till today many people in India, doesnt know about this fact. Which is very big shame.
The same song was again sung for Queen Elizabeth, upon her visit during 1990s. Which is more disgrace to us.
Wake up.
Line 1:Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Translation: George you are the ruler of the people as well as the minds of the people of Bharat.
Line 2: Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha, Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Translation: Your name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindhu, Gujarat and Maratha.
Line 3: Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga Tava shubhaname jage Tava shubha asisa mage.
Translation: "Tava shubha name jage Tava shubha asisa mage" Your (George) auspicious names echo in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalyas, mingle in the music of Jamuna and Ganga and are chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
Line 4: Gahe tava jaya gatha
Translation: They pray for your blessing and sing your praise (unknowingly or knowingly they chant your names and are blessed.)
Line 5: Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata
Translation: "The saving of all people waits in your hand(Oh King George V), thou dispenser of India's destiny".
Line 6: Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
Translation: Victory, victory, victory to thee
Victory Victory Victory to you Mr King George V, because you are ruling us, and we are your servants. So you always win, not us.
Conclusion
Jana Gana Mana is India's national anthem written in Sanskrit by poet Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel Prize Winner)
"... surrounds the 1911 visit to India by King George V. To commemorate the occasion, the Indian National Congress (INC) approached Tagore for a poem of welcome. As Yeats (his Irish admirer of many years) recalled later, Tagore was deeply troubled by the assignment. Early one morning, he composed a very beautiful poem and handed it over to his colleagues. At the Calcutta Congress session which began on December 16, 1911, the second day was apparently devoted entirely to welcoming King George V. Jana Gana Mana was sung on this occasion"
Many people say that Tagore is very good person, and he has written this song for God, if so then why did he chose this particular song for a British? He was poet, he could have easily written any other poem which encouraged the Indians and dispirited, restrained the British.
Since Tagore treated George as God, with his poem, which happened in Dec, 1911 British gave him a nobel prize in 1913.
Till today many people in India, doesnt know about this fact. Which is very big shame.
The same song was again sung for Queen Elizabeth, upon her visit during 1990s. Which is more disgrace to us.
Wake up.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Ajadi Bachao Andolan and its Achievements
(ABA)Ajadi Bachao Andolan ( Protect your freedom movement ) is the economic movement . The members of this movements are against multinational companies and its zero level technology which is importing in India. There are many side-effects of Western Culture on the brain and consious of Indian people which multinational companies are importing in their products .
ABA is trying to get this new freedom through magazine named Udgosh . Shri Rajiv Dikshit and , Dr. Banwari Lal Sharma are its main speakers across India. They are also operating case in several courts against multinational companies and many decision are coming in the favor of Ajadi Bachao Andolan in India.
Achievements of Ajadi Bachao Andolan (ABA)
ABA is trying to get this new freedom through magazine named Udgosh . Shri Rajiv Dikshit and , Dr. Banwari Lal Sharma are its main speakers across India. They are also operating case in several courts against multinational companies and many decision are coming in the favor of Ajadi Bachao Andolan in India.
Achievements of Ajadi Bachao Andolan (ABA)
- In 1986 ABA had started boycott campaign against Union Carbide of America. It got sucess in 1991 when this company had left Bharat. In this fight against Union Carbide, it had also filed a public interest petetion in the Supreme Court which is still pending. Only it got partial Relief in form of compensation to the victims of Bhopal.
- From 1986 to 1994 ABA had stopped the Government of India to sign GATT Agreement with the help of a public interest petetion in Uttar-Pradesh High Court. But by the intervention of Supreme Court the Government signed the GATT Agreement on 15th December 1994.
- ABA started a very successful fight against PEPSI-COLA & COCA-COLA in 1997. In this Fight it has won 2 cases against Pepsi & Coke in the High Court of Rajasthan & Supreme Court of India. In this fight it has proved scientifically the Pepsi & Coke as slow poison. It has also proved that these soft drinks as Toilet Cleaner & Pesticides. Due to this campaign the sales of soft drinks in India has been reduced upto 70%.
- ABA has stopped the Publications of 4 Vulgar & Obscene Magazines.
- In 1994 ABA started a sucessful fight against a Liquior Company of America. In Rajasthan there is a holy place known as TIZARA. The Governtment of Rajasthan had signed MOU with an American company WILSON in 1993. ABA had filed a public interest petetion in Rajasthan high court in 1993 and it got a judgement in its favour. After that this company had left India.
- After this globalisation & liberlisation policy hundreds of foreign company have entered India via Mauritious route to save income tax & corporate tax. ABA fought against these companies in the High Court of Delhi & Supreme Court and got a judgement in its favour.
- Since 1997 ABA is trying to promote Swadeshi products in place of Foreign products. Day by Day the sales of Swadeshi products are going up & sales of Foreign products are going down, due to this campaign. Since last three years the Balance Sheets of Foreign companies are showing negative results, in FMCG Sector (Fast Moving Consumer Goods). Since 1997 more than 1 crores Indian citizens have taken the pledge to boycott foreign products of FMCG Sector & other Zero technology products.
- ABA is fighting against the misleading advertisements of Foreign Companies. It has filed 70 cases in different High Courts & Lower Courts against UNI-LEVER, COLGATE-PALMOLIVE, PROCTOR & GAMBLE, JOHNSON & JOHNSON etc. some case are still pending & in some other cases we got favourable judgements.
- Since 2000 ABA is promoting organic farming in 13 States (MAHARASTRA, GUJARAT, RAJASTHAN, ANDHRA PRADESH, KARNATAKA, KERLA, TAMIL NADU, MADHYA PRADESH, CHHATISHGARH, JHRAKHANDA, PUNJAB, HARAYANA & UTTAR PRADESH). Uptill now it is doing this organic farming in 70,000 hectares.
- Since 2002 ABA is trying to generate employment in rural areas. It is motivating unemployed youths to start Small Scale Units of making BATH SOAPS, DETERGENT POWDER, DANT-MANJAN, ORGANIC SHAMPOO & some 40 other products. Also it is trying to produce KHADI in our villages where Cotton is available. Uptill now it has promoted 118 Small Scale Swadeshi production units & Swadeshi Bhandar.
Lecture on Azaadi Bachao Andolan
Sagar Mhatre Vashi, TNN 27 August 2003, 03:29am IST
Navi Mumbai Sthanakwasi Jain Sangh, Vashi had arranged a lecture on Azaadi Bachao Andolan, by Rajiv Dixit, at Anuvrat Sabhagruha, sector 9, on the occasion of Padyushan on 24th August at 9 pm.
Padyushan is a Jain festival - which will go on till 31st August - during which Jains observe fast and arrange religious and social functions. President of Jain Sangha, Hiralal Sabadra and secretary Shirash Mody, along with Ashok Dage, arranged the function.
The Azaadi Bachao Andolan (ABA) is the all India organisation striving for achieving Real Swaraj, cherished by Mahatma Gandhi. The ABA has spread into 300 districts, with offices in every district. There are about 10,000 patriotic workers doing part time national service while pursuing their own job, profession or business, under the leadership of Rajiv Dixit, who has denunciated worldly affairs and has dedicated his life to the nation. Dixit, who was an aeronautical engineer by profession, uses his engineering background for talking in terms of facts and figures.
To start with, Dixit described how the country got into a debt trap, devaluation of currency and GATT agreement. As per his information, “India is under a total debt of Rs 18,000 crores and each citizen carries a debt of Rs 18,000.â€
Now, the state governments are also permitted to take loans from international bodies and Dixit stated some of the ridiculous reasons given by different states to borrow money, which included building urinals in schools, covering manholes. He also clearly stated that it is not only politicians but also MNCs who are on a looting spree in the country. He gave a clear and disappointing picture of the period after the GATT agreement will be enforced on 1st Jan 2003, when the tariff barriers and quantitative restrictions of government will be no more or diluted. “
The first victims of this might be Indian farmers who can’t compete with farm products of the US, which are highly subsidised. This will result in selling of the farmland. They will then flock to the cities as labourers,†he said. He also exposed the service sector, which will be thrown open to the MNCs.
Dixit also presented some solutions like a mass movement for declaring money kept in the Swiss bank, to get it nationalised. ABA is collecting one crore signatures to take this issue to the parliament or to the Supreme Court to file a PIL.
The speaker talked about abolishing income tax and referred to tax as a source of generating black money. He also revealed that people do not trust the government anymore for the usage of their tax money. Most of the health, education and social services are run by NGOs ie, the people themselves.
He also went a step further and urged people to live a simple life based on swadeshi products, including home remedies. ABA sells booklets regarding the same, he informed. He also unveiled many myths about medicines and medical services. ABA ‘s books were made available without any copyright for more publicity.
The work of ABA can be referred on www.freedomindia.com and www.azadibachaoandolan.com.
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