WHO DERAILS OUR PRIMARY EDUCATION

Students are not to be failed in schools is understandable but they will be awarded certificates without making up for the deficiency is beyond comprehension. If they have to attend schools only to get certificates, why would they have respect for books, teachers and school campuses. The makers of Education Policy seem to be unaware that certificates without knowledge are mo more than pieces of paper.If knowledge is not the goal, there is no justification of reprimanding, scolding or punishing the errant pupils. Press and TV highlight {out of proportion } any instances of punishment in schools to the extent that guardians get upset and go even to the courts of law. Principals and teachers are scared even of scolding students.Governments provide buildings, uniform, food, books and scholarships but teaching positions remain vacant. Many schools are single teacher schools and some do not have even that. Kabir Das had aptly stated 'bina guru gyan mile kaho kaise' {how to gain knowledge without teacher}. But knowledge does not appear to be the aim of education these days. Teachers of rural schools belong to far of cities and seldom attend the schools that too for a short duration. The so called 'Shiksha Mitras' are there not because of their knowledge and aptitude but simply because they happened to be the relatives of the then village pradhans. It was a back door entry that is being regularized particularly in Uttar Pradesh. It is not difficult to see, who derail our primary education .

CHAR CHAWANNI

CHAR CHAWANNI

It was 1972. I had returned from Canada, got married to Nirmala and together we had started a school in a remote village Kunaura. There was problem of drinking water for school kids in that barren area and we did not have money to arrange for running water. There were more pressing things to attend to. So we decided to have a dug well like most others used to have in that area. There was a custom those days that people would contribute towards such an effort either in cash or kind . Day's work was over, people offering Shramdaan (donation of labour without taking wages) had gone and I was sitting with my wife thinking about the next days programme. Then came an elderly man --- Lachhman Bajpai and gave four small coins, quarters of a rupee (chaar chawanni). He was from my village and I knew he was passing through hard times, hands to mouth. Those Char Chawanni could buy him 3 kg of wheat, enough to feed his family for one day. He donated them towards the cause that he thought was worthy. .I was moved and accepted the coins with humility.
Over the period of four decades the school has grown big, made socio-economic impact in the area and many friends have made huge contributions. Neelesh, Karan, Sukanya and their friends are making loudable efforts to make the life of school kids as comfortable as possible. Through their efforts the school has electricity,running water, computer lab, a library, play ground, games material and boundary wall. The dug well is still there, just a reminder of early efforts.
I think the sacrifice of Lachhman Bajpai and his Char Chawanni have no less importance in the making of my school than large contributions by generous wealthy friends.

RURAL KIDS ARE EQUALLY TALENTED

On 7 February the kids of Bhartiya Gramin Vidyalaya and C.T.D.Foundation School Kunaura celebrated the function on the school annual day to mark the occasion of Vasant Panchami, the birth day of Saraswati, the Godess of Wisdom. Their performance kept the audience of more than 2000 villagers spell bound. I always knew the kids have talent but I was very impressed to see that they improve upon the previous performance every year. Their acting brought the memories of Mahatma Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai, Mother Teress and Swami Vivekanand alive. The folk dances and folk songs and individual dances were superb. Kids can do miracles if they get some professional guidance in acting and speaking. Last year we were privileged to have distinguished guests from Mumbai like Shishir Dala, his wife and sons. I congratulate the teachers of the school who prepared the students despite meagre resources and costumes.

On the previous day on 6 February there was a public feast (Bhandara) in my ancestral village Deora in the temple that we have built there. The villagers and kids served the guests with full dedication. Every year we arrange the feast to mark the foundation day of the temple. Last year my grandson Aditya also served the guests with admirable devotion. We were surprised to see that village kids have a deep sense of serving.

Village kids can serve with devotion and perform admirably on the stage if only they have opportunity to do so.

THEY GOT SWEATERS WHEN NEEDED MOST

This winter was really severe for weeks together and I used to watch the shivering village students, of my school in the remote rural area, with anguish. I could not possibly help them all and even when the government of Uttar Pradesh closed the schools for a few days, it was hardly the solution. Then my son Neelesh had come to visit us around that time. He felt the pain of the poor children himself and issued an appeal. Large number of well wishers and friends realized the need and donated promptly to the school. We could distribute sweaters to a 1000 students and watch the smiling faces. Neelesh has shared some of the pictures and I am sure you can imagine the degree of satisfaction that came to us through generosity of friends and well wisher. I wish to personally write and thank all those who helped the boys and girls of Kunaura and surrounding villages. But I do not have addresses of many of them. I request the donors to mail their addresses to me so that the receipts could be sent by post.MY VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED ME ENJOY THE SATISFACTION OF HELPING KIDS FIGHT SEVERE COLD.

SAVE SCAVENGERS TO SAVE MAN KIND

This year on the day of ‘Pitra Visarjan’ (farewell to souls) when the crows, dogs and other animals are fed to please the heaven bound ancestors, an acute shortage of these animals and birds was felt in Allahabad and Varanasi. If they are not available for feast, how can they perform their duty as scavengers. In the absence of scavengers like vultures, crows, dogs, bacteria, fungi and microbes, the world will be covered with dead animals, plants, garbage and filth. Scavengers recycle the garbage and change its form.

India is perhaps the only country where people knew the value of animal scavengers. Fish is considered auspicious, Varah is one of the incarnations, tortoise is worshipped, crow is remembered as ‘Kakbhushundi’, Sampati the vulture is admired for fighting Ravana (destroyer of nature) and for attempting to save Sita (daughter of earth), trees that consume carbondioxide are likened to Shiva who consumed poison to save the biosphere. We forget all this while using deadly insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers in the agricultural fields and poisonous drugs to animal bodies. Scientists believe that in less than 20 years about 90 percent population of vultures has disappeared from India because of poisonous drugs like ‘diclofenac’ in the carrions they eat. We can well imagine the fate of those who eat meat of animals injected with similar drugs.

It is not the drugs alone that killed all vultures. I enquired a few villagers about the places where vultures used to spend nights. The most favored habitat is a peepal tree. But the trees are disappearing and so are the vultures. The population of the other birds as well as the aquatic life is also in danger.

Fish in the river Gomti are dying en mass. Water cannot be purified without fish and tortoise. Earthworms convert garbage into manure, purify soil and are a friend of farmers. But, these too are uncomfortable in the soil saturated with insecticides, pesticides and artificial fertilizers.

Dead animals are peeled of in the open in countryside by contractors for skin and they leave the flesh to rot there. In the absence of vultures, the crows and dogs have to dispose off carrions but their capacity is limited. In the hill areas like Chilchakkar of Nainital, the vulture and kite population is still visible. It is desirable to save the genes of these endangered bird species in the gene-banks and also to establish hatcheries possibly in the hill areas so as to save Homo sapiens--

CLOSING SCHOOLS IS NO SOLUTION

Every year during winter season there is cold wave and the governments fulfill their duty by closing down schools as if this will save the kids from cold. The poor children of villages go to their homes where thatch houses are worse than the solid walls of schools, where they go out in the fields ill clothed without realizing the frost bite and many fall sick. Governments close down schools because it does not cost anything to them but it takes away a few teaching days out of 180 days contemplated for academic calendar.

It is not the poor children of villages that are sent home but also of public schools where children are well clothed and schools can afford hot air blowers and heaters. These schools are closed to demonstrate government authority. Closing of schools will not equip children to fight cold. There are better ways to fight cold but these will cost money.

Neelesh, Vishal, Shilpa, Yamini and their friends have demonstrated that a 1000 sweaters could better equip the children to fight cold. The government if desires can provide sweaters to all the poor students free of cost through village Pradhans. They can also provide firewood in the school;s, regular power supply to schools and can change school timings to avoid the worst hours of cold. After all, if cold was so monstrous, the schools of America, Canada, Europe and the other cold places would be closed for all time to come as they have cold all year round. In North India, the cold is an annual feature and the governments can declare long winter vacations and short summer vacation. But in case, the youth of India can face neither cold not heat, it is pointless to talk about competing with the tough citizens of the other countries.

I hope a clear policy would be formulated to fight cold rather than ad hoc arrangements and escape routes of closing schools and so on.

PRICES THEY CAN CONTROL

You have seen over a period of a few months that the prices of onion were rising sky high. Then one fine morning they crash to less than half and are rising again with the same speed. It is not happening without an effort and if the Government desires, they can bring down prices in no time. But they declare in the News Papers and other media channels that the pulses would be imported, sugar will be brought from Pakistan and the production of such and such thing would fall short of the target and so on. These are clear hints to the traders for hoarding the commodities. They will tell you that efforts are being made to bring down prices but in the same breath they would say they have no magic stick to reduce the prices. They pretend that the god of rains controls economy, hoarders manage the commodities, Sugar lobby and cotton lobby decides the prices and the government ? Does it have any role for itself? Yes, they do as traders of votes and champions of scandles. They deliberately allow the prices to rise through mechanisms they have mastered in 60 years.