L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

Need to improve higher education

Post-Independence, the education system in India has faced multiple challenges. In particular, higher education has been ignored for a long time in spite of the government’s commitment to raise its standard. According to Aspiring Minds, an employability solutions company, a large number of graduates passing out of educational institutions of higher learning are unfit to be employed in any sector of the knowledge economy, both in the international and domestic markets, due to lack of proficiency in English and cognitive skills (news item ‘47% graduates in India unemployable: Report’, June 25). This startling revelation has come at a time when India is pre-occupied with its single-minded pursuit of becoming a super power in the foreseeable future.

We have failed to devise a system, based on the existing ground realities, to provide quality education in the present competitive world. The shocking state of education can be attributed to a variety of reasons: shoddy implementation of the government policies, mushrooming of money-minting professional institutes in the private sector, introduction of self-financing courses in recognised colleges and apathy of their governing bodies, dearth of qualified teachers and adequate infrastructure, a faulty examination system, absence of efficient monitoring by the UGC, the AICTE and other higher authorities, political interference in the functioning of these educational institutions, etc. To make India a knowledge hub of the world, our educationists should take remedial measures to ensure academic excellence in the temples of higher learning. Students should be weaned off the rampant use of social networking, texting and chatting on the mobile phones that result in poor academic performance. More importantly, the newly introduced system of Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) at the school level should be immediately scrapped to prepare students for a challenging higher education.

D S KANG, Hoshiarpur

The ugly face of people The recent tragedy in Uttarakhand has brought with it a flood of miseries and pains. It is, in fact, a big slap in the face of those who indulge in destructive activities against the laws of nature. The disaster has uncovered the ugly face of mankind. Nature has reacted strongly against its exploitation and made us realise its omnipotence. A holy place like Kedarnath has been reduced to an island of bodies. Despite facing such disasters in the past, we have failed to learn any lesson or take proactive measures. Mere thinking about the sufferings and helplessness of the people stranded in the hills sends shivers down one’s spine. More shocking is that in the name of rescue operations, some local businessmen were seen selling water, eatables, etc at exorbitant prices. Water bottles were sold at Rs 500 or more. Besides, political leaders are trying to milk the situation by visiting the tragedy-struck areas by helicopters, which could have been used to save those stranded. I want to share a quote of Swami Vivekanand: “In your country, it is the tailor who makes a man a gentleman, but in the country from which I come, it is character which makes a man a gentleman.” JAWAHAR GOYAL, New Delhi