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Education in Punjab Profile |
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RTI, the most precious right Giving industrial development a boost On Record
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Education in Punjab INstallation
of biometric checks by the Punjab Education Department in some schools of Fatehgarh Sahib district to oversee the attendance of teachers and their timely arrival highlights only one aspect of the sad state of affairs of education, even at a location so near the state capital. Late coming and or missing school by teachers of primary, middle and higher secondary schools in the countryside is endemic. Biometric check is a typically bureaucratic solution which an errant teacher can bypass making an entry into the school and then disappearing. The other shocking practice is the proxy teacher arrangement. The proxies work in place of regulars who make some minimal payments to them. The proxy teachers have dubious academic qualifications and little teaching skills. Some others teach little in schools but take private tuitions at home. Such practices have been in vogue on a large scale and no effort has been made to end these. Many teachers have fake degrees and many others poor academic record with no teaching skills. Most have sought entry into the profession through political patronage or through a hefty consideration. Postings to stations of choice carry a price.
Of nearly 13,400 primary schools (including private schools), most government schools don’t have basic infrastructure such as playgrounds, suitable classrooms, desks and even black boards. In some schools, classes are held under trees. Of the 6,483 middle and higher secondary schools, most science laboratories are ill-equipped or simply do not exist. Consequently, the cumulative effect of all these factors results in 100 per cent failures in some government schools and most others produce indifferent results. From the Education Minister down to headmasters, there is no accountability. With poor standard of teaching, mass copying and cheating in examinations takes place, encouraged and abetted by teachers and parents. Given such an environment, what standards, value system, character building, commitment and fostering of discipline is possible? With many vice-chancellors involved in malfeasance, registrars in corruption cases and political interference, the situation at the university level is no better. Of the five universities and four technical institutes (the better known in the province) not one makes, even a faint blip on the national radar. No college figures amongst the country’s top 100. To be an Education Minister in Punjab one need not be educated. Tota Singh as Education Minister, not knowing English, did away with English in primary schools. This was when China and rest of India were furiously working to master the English language to find entry into the IT job market and services sector. When in South India, medical, engineering, IT colleges and other institutions were mushrooming all over, the Punjab government in the last decade of 20th century established the Martial Arts Academy. Even now the political leadership is more keen to promote religious tourism and build hotels to that end rather than focus on more pressing issue of revamping education. The IT boom and auto-industry etc which created millions of jobs in South India and elsewhere, completely bypassed Punjab due to the short sightedness of our educationists and successive governments in Punjab. The rural Punjabi youth is poorly educated, has no job skills and is simply unemployable. Consequently, his ambition does not soar beyond joining some petty government job even for which political pull or monetary consideration comes into play. The state’s capacity to create new jobs is restricted to creating new districts, more bureaucracy and state police etc. to accommodate the rising unemployment. Such efforts do not even scratch the surface of this burgeoning unemployment problem. But creating unnecessary jobs is burdening the state exchequer with unproductive expenditure and pushing the province further into a debt trap. No university is involved in research work, except the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, which has little to show. The Central Government did not locate even one IIT or IIM in Punjab, and the political class has had no idea what these institutions are all about. In bigger towns, teaching shops have mushroomed to prepare students for entry into professional colleges. Many students do succeed but their basic foundation remains weak. Thus one requires a microscope to locate some one, Punjab educated, in say, ISRO, Nuclear Research Centres, DRDO and other scientific institutions working on the frontiers of knowledge. No industry has come to Punjab essentially on three counts. While every other state has been spreading red carpet for the industrialists and formulated industry-friendly policies, Punjab has been driving them away by spreading the red tape and holding scissors to downsize their pockets. The other reason is the paucity of qualified, trained and skilled manpower in the province. The third is the pathetic state of infrastructure. So it has been a case of triple whammy, unfriendly policies, lack of qualified manpower and absence of infrastructure. Investments in realty are unproductive, create no wealth and job opportunities, builders take away money and leave behind labour colonies, which have come to dot all towns. With fragmentation of land holdings, overexploitation of land and the ever depleting ground water level, agriculture is on the decline and no more attracts the youth. For Punjab, good education for the youth must be accorded the highest priority. Mere tinkering with the problem cannot set things right. We need out-of-box thinking and a major surgical operation. All this requires foresight and political will. Punjab has been left so far behind that only a concerted effort of five to seven years is required for the results to show. There is simply no quick-fix solution nor any time to
lose.
The first requirement is to thoroughly screen the teaching staff at the primary, middle and higher secondary schools and technical institutions. Those who do not come up to an acceptable level should be offered attractive VRS or compulsorily retired with suitable emoluments. The pay and emoluments of teaching staff should be substantially increased to attract the right material. Let’s lay down minimum academic qualifications for various levels of entry. Constitute large number of selection boards with educationists of repute on these, to select new teachers and allow no political interference in selection. Training of teachers, old and new, should be taken in hand by rotating them through various types of capsules. Get suitable staff from South India to work in Punjab schools for three to five years to meet the shortages of suitable teachers. Teaching of science and mathematics should be given priority and students encouraged to take up these subjects. In the emerging knowledge economy, proficiency in these subjects has become inescapable. Revamping of education in the state, which includes building infrastructure at the schools requires large funds. Why not sell most state corporations and public enterprises and redeploy the monies so recovered for refurbishing the education system? To meet the paucity of good teaching staff, high class teaching centres should be created and teaching from these projected through satellite or EDUSAT and received in schools on their video screens. This will also prove very useful for the teaching staff at the schools. Such a system requires considerable investment, but will prove the best and shortest way out of the current situation. Invite foreign universities of repute to set up colleges in the state. Special incentives for the girl child should be introduced up to the higher secondary level at least. It should be mandatory for private schools to have appropriate infrastructure and minimum pay scales for teachers. They can be given two years to conform to these requirements, failing which they should be de-recognised. Investing in education has a long lead time, but the returns on it unquestionably outweigh any near term investments. These investments of time and resources have to be made now, because time is fast running out. The writer, who taught at the War College, School of Armoured Warfare, is a former Chairman, Army Public School, Dagshai
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Profile Cricket-lovers from the sub-continent called him the “wonder boy of
cricket” and “magic in air”. For members of his family and people of Vadodara, Irfan’s hometown, he was still Guddu, his household name. Times then changed, his form and skill deserted him and he was dumped
in wilderness; he had to face humiliation from the crowd and critics for not performing well. There were not many people who came forward to help him. Irfan returned from South Africa tour as a dejected young
man but his father, Mehmood Khan, caretaker of Vadoara’s Jama Masjid, cheered up his son, restoring confidence. His confidence having been restored, Irfan began working hard and brought about a change in his bowling style that helped him to return again as India’s strike bowler. T.A. Sekar and Dinnis Lille, under whose direction he practiced at MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai,suggested a few modifications in his action which later paid him off. Things began to fall in line but it still looked so uncertain till Irfan came out with a spectacular performance in the
Twenty-20 World cup to emerge as man of the match in the final. Asked how he felt having taken the wickets of Pakistan skipper Soaib
Makek and Shahid Afridi, he said, “there is nothing better than taking important wickets for my team at a crucial time. These are kinds of moments that one dreams off during one’s career.” There was time when Irfan’s family members lived in a house, looking like shanty, inside the walled city’s Jama Masjid and his father, Mehmood Khan, was the mosque’s caretaker. Five years back the area
around the mosque was scene of communal carnage and the police stood by as mute spectator. In sharp contrast, in 2004, cheering crowd, cutting across religious lines, was trying to enter Jama Masjid to greet Irfan’s father on the spectacular performance of his son at Lahore. It was the same police which was now regulating the crowd
striving hard to enter the Pathan’s house to join the victory celebration. Cricket has changed all that including the fate of
Irfan’s family. Days of poverty have passed off. Irfan rose in international cricket like a meteor, refusing to be cowed down in Australia where he dismissed celebrities like A. Gilchrist and Steve Waugh within a space of a few overs. The young man from Vadodara was drafted for the third one-dayer by sheer luck. Ashish Nehra was injured and a replacement was urgently needed. Irfan has readily available. He made an instant impact, edging out powerful Shahid Afridi in his second over, and then claiming two more. For Irfan’s father, a dream has come true. Both of Irfan’s parents, Mahmood Khan and Shamimbanu along with his sister Shagufta wanted to see him play international cricket from the box. Their wish came true when a few years back they received a visa and an invitation from the
Pakistan government to watch a series in Lahore. Times have changed since then for much better days. Pathan family no longer lives in poverty. A great future beacons Mahmood and Shamimbanu’s talented sons — Irfan and Yousuf — who too played in the final of World Cup Fifty-50. “It has been a long wait for my brother to play for India. More than that, it is our parents who are feeling very proud”, says
Irfan.
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— Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni —
N.R. Narayana Murthy, Infosys Chief Mentor My name will be there in the diaries of Periyar, Arignar Anna and Bharathidasan. I commend the courage of the person who has offered gold for my head and tongue. See how valuable my head and tongue are considered! — Tamil Nadu CM M. Karunanidhi How is it that the Bush Administration is going out of the way to help India? Bush is no altruistic do-gooder. After Japan, India is prize for them. It is within their grasp. — CPM general secretary
Prakash Karat We think we understand the universe, but we only understand 4 per cent of — James Watson Cronin, who won the 1980 Nobel Prize for physics I am not worried about losing my chair. I tried to serve the people through the pulls and pressures of coalition politics taking all partners along. An environment of insecurity does exist in coalition politics. But when it can happen at the national level, it is quite natural in Jharkhand. — Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda As far as Sati temples go, how can one stop the 500-year-old tradition of worshipping at these temples? — Union Minister for Mines
Sis Ram Ola — Film director Karan Johar — Ayesha Dharkar, Hollywood and Bollywood actor
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RTI, the most precious right AN effort at democracy falters in many nations due to a lack of systems that support the people’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes and the actions that result. To ensure mass awareness of decision-making and to pave the way for people’s participation, many countries across the world prioritise freedom of expression, one of the pillars of a sound and healthy democracy. The right to access information is integral to freedom of expression. Without access to information, freedom of expression would be meaningless. Merely having a government that commits itself to the right to information is not adequate. It must be backed up by legislation that lays down processes for requesting and obtaining information from the government and other organisations working in the public sphere. Unlike other laws, access to information laws are implemented by the people themselves. Unless people seek information, the law will remain a dead letter. In the puranic Hindu way of reckoning time, the 60 th year marks the completion of a cycle. The cycle of samvatsaras begins afresh after the completion of five decades (each decade being 12 years long). In many communities in southern India men are felicitated with the shashtyabdi poorti ceremony upon reaching their 60 th birthday. This ceremony assumed particular significance in a society where life expectancy was probably less than 40 years and reaching the 60th year was an achievement. Yes. towards deepening democracy by adding a third tier of governance in the form of Panchayat Raj Institutions and municipal bodies to create opportunities for people to chart the course of social development. While deepening democracy India also became the first country in South Asia to enact a law providing for people’s right to access information, allowing information to be accessed from all levels of government. Independence indeed brought the promise of democratic rule and equitable development by dismantling the feudal power structures that inhibited the development of the most disadvantaged and the vulnerable communities. Yet the reality has been different — close to a quarter of the population continues to remain untouched by the benefits of the 8-9% rate of growth in the last few years. And this could be attributed to the fact that corruption in the implementation of these schemes have ensured that these policies have failed to effectively address the problems they were intended to. Corruption thrives in an environment that is insulated from public scrutiny and where there is no accountability of public servants to the law or the ultimate analysis by the people whom they are mandated to serve. This is why, in reality, every population, no matter how diverse it may be, needs to be afforded the full opportunity, even encouragement from the government, to meaningfully participate in the decision making process. If people are able to participate in the political process only then will democracy take root in the fullest sense of the term. People can participate actively only when they have information about the system of government, the budget making and money spending exercises, and the monitoring and accountability mechanisms that have been put in place. Government and all public bodies will be required to put out all such information in the public domain voluntarily or on request in order to keep people informed about what they are doing and why they are doing it. This requires dedication to openness and information sharing by public servants at all levels of administration with a view to creating a critical level of awareness amongst the people. It is only when such a critical level of awareness and participation is attained that it becomes difficult for the ruling elite to manipulate, buy or intimidate the people. Today the main concern that is stifling India’s ability to achieve an even more successful democracy is that the average person cannot easily obtain and use information to good political effect, even though there is a law intended to provide for this. Many citizens have experienced frustration at every step of the information seeking process from government bodies. Many requesters are threatened or even beaten up for asking information that would unearth wrongdoing or corrupt decision making in public bodies. It is, therefore, of paramount importance for the press and the electronic media to make use of the law — the Right to Information Act — as public officers and bodies would not so easily threaten an entire media house for seeking information. Civil society organisations, as watchdogs of the political process, also need to use this Act to obtain and disseminate information that is of interest to the larger public. As citizens of the country, people have provided all kinds of personal information to the Government— address, phone numbers, employer information, household income, medical history, tax related information etc.— as part of their legal obligations. They willingly provide this information for the only reason: that the government has a statutory duty to collect it and use it when required. But they are also taxpaying citizens of the country. They expect good governance in return for the taxes they pay. They are not particularly bothered by the fact that the administration collects about them but they insist that they take full responsibility and accountability for the unfortunate state of governance in India today, especially with regard to protection of rights and delivery of public services – two major grievances that both the affluent and impoverished people share. Perhaps the time is overdue for every citizen to demand accountability from government. The Right to Information Act is being used by many citizens and civil society groups to this end. But knowledge about this all important law has by no means reached every corner of the country. Mahatma Gandhi once remarked that in a democratic country people as a matter of right and duty, “ can in every case of justifiable suspicion, call its servants to strict account, dismiss them, sue them in a law court, or appoint an arbitrator or inspector to scrutinize their conduct, as it likes. ” The Right to Information Act empowers every citizen to do just that — merely seeking information changes the power equation between the government and the governed. Democracy means people’s rule, and for the people to have influence in the government, they must first be informed about what is going on and they must then have a way to express their opinion in an effective way so that their opinions can be considered before a final decision is made. Therefore the people themselves have to be the foremost users of the Right to Information Act, beginning a movement across the country to cleanse the corrupt system. Let this be our vow from today. Venkatesh Nayak is Coordinator and Reshmi Mitra is Project Officer, Right to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi
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Giving industrial development a boost
Punjab may suffer from natural constraints but is blessed with sturdy manpower and entrepreneurial spirit for the growth of industries. In the engineering industry, it occupies the top position. During World War II, when imports had trickled down, Punjab’s entrepreneurial spirit came in handy to meet the crisis in the engineering industry. While Punjab became the highest user of modern farm machinery and insecticides, most of these products were imported. Punjab has a couple of tractor plants, but since they are not able to meet the local demand, a large number of tractors came from plants outside the state. In the earlier phase of the green revolution, many medium and small engineering units produced several farm implements and undertook their repair and maintenance facilities. They were gradually forced to exit with the modernisation of the farm sector. Today, while agriculture has become a losing business with high production not matched by proportionate growth in the market sale and income margins, more and more people are looking for alternative employment avenues which don’t exist. Consequently, the government has to earnestly think of creating employment avenues in the non-farm sector. This raises the question of development of small and medium units. Punjab does have the potential of managing large-scale manufacturing units. At the same time, it faces natural constraints. That’s why, while Punjab is India’s major market for automobiles, tractors and other farm machinery, fertilisers and several other products, it is found that it would be cheaper to import these products than start manufacturing them locally. That’s why, many units in the private sector shy away from installing their plants here. If Punjab should succeed in industrialisation, it must focus on agri-business in its primary shape like production and marketing of quality vegetables, mushrooms, dairy products, fruits and a host of allied products which cannot be stored for long without adequate refrigeration, storage and transportation facilities. Because of lack of these facilities, fruits and vegetables worth Rs 7,000 crore are being annually lost in a single belt of Punjab consisting of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshairpur and a part of Jasur in Himachal Pradesh. This is a colossal waste of precious resources. With proper facilities, the jobless would have got employment and earned good income to the state. This situation has been there for the past 50 years. Despite assurances given to the cooperative societies in these areas, nothing concrete has emerged. This also reflects the gross indifference of bureaucrats who are told by the ruling politicians to be producer-friendly. If this is the situation in a single belt in Punjab, one can imagine the magnitude of loss in other states. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said in Bathinda that Punjab would soon be made the world’s food bowl and the country’s biggest exporter. However, experience suggests that it is very unlikely unless some miracle was to happen. The political bosses should ensure that promises were actually implemented on time by the local government. With e-governance, it is possible to watch the day-to-day progress in administration on computer in the offices of politicians and bureaucrats and to take corrective measures in the functioning of defaulting departments. Markfed in Punjab is taking the lead in installing plants to boost processing of fruits and vegetables. Punjab needs more such plants which, besides helping timely processing of perishable products, would also create jobs for the unemployed. It is time the government involved the private sector in these allied areas. It is only with the liberal support of the private sector that it would be possible to build a strong industrial base of the state economy. Punjab should boost the confidence of investors in the state. It should take the full advantage of the Centre’s help. Further, the revival of the Bathinda refinery plant by timely intervention of Laxmi Narain Mital is heartening. It would help tackle the unemployment problem in the state to some extent. Besides, it will help improve the power situation. The writer is Director, Centre for Indian Development Studies, Chandigarh
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On Record
There is lot of noise over who would succeed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the leader in the BJP. Who will be the claimant for prime ministership if the BJP returns to power at the Centre? Is the RSS ready to back Advani? These questions have remained uppermost in the minds of those who attended the Party’s national executive meet in Bhopal. Senior BJP leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj speaks to The Sunday Tribune. Excerpts: Q: Why is there always a controversy in the BJP over the leadership? Is the party becoming more personality-oriented than ideology driven? A:
No. Not at all. How do you say that? Talks about leadership are only in the media and not within the BJP. Even during the Bhopal meet, Atalji, in a written message, called for collective thinking and collective leadership. Earlier, the media talked of a tussle between Atalji and Advaniji. It also talked of differences between Rajnathji and Jaitleyji. But all these are only in the media. Q: Will Advani step into Vajpayee’s shoes? A:
Natural leader after Atalji is Advaniji. Everyone knows that. Even Rajnathji has told that. So, there is no confusion. Rajnathji has told on record that till Vajpayee is there he will be the leader and after Atalji, our leader will be Advaniji and he will be the claimant for prime ministership (if the party comes to power). As Atalji, the NDA Chairperson, is not well, courtesy demands that we do not talk of his successor when he is there. We are followers of Hindu culture, where we do not talk of successor when the leader is there. So, after Atalji, Advaniji is the natural leader. Q: Is the RSS comfortable with Advani leading the BJP after Mr Vajpayee? A:
The RSS has said that we have to choose our leader. Even regarding state presidents, they said that we may consult them but ultimately the decision will be ours. Q: Has the BJP diluted its stand on Ayodhya? A: When we became a part of NDA, then there was a National Agenda for Governance (NAG), which is called the National Common Minimum Programme in the UPA. When we drafted the NAG, we deliberated with all our alliance partners. At that time, Article 370, Ram Temple and the Uniform Civil Code were kept out of the NAG as our allies were not agreeing to our stand. So, according to the NAG, the focus was on resolving the temple issue either by negotiation or await the court verdict. So, one can’t say that we were vociferous earlier and now we diluted this. We went to the elections and told the people about this. Q: Your party leaders talk of grassroots politics, but are Rajya Sabha members. Why? A:
If we have more people in the Rajya Sabha, we can devote more time for the party and during campaigning across the country. But a Lok Sabha MP has to devote a lot of time to nurse his own constituency. Q: Can the BJP, with its limited influence, dislodge the UPA government? A: It is not a tall order. It is achievable. We have done that earlier. In 1977, the Janata Party lost all its seats in the south and only won in the north. Still it formed the government. But, with regard to BJP, in the south it is the single largest party in Karnataka. In other states, we had alliance partners. The coalition era has begun and neither the BJP nor the Congress can form government on its own. Q: Is the NDA alliance weakening? Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal addressed a UNPA rally. A: No. There is no bickering in our alliance. If leaders join some people in a rally, it doesn’t mean they have severed their relations with us. Mr Badal invited me to join the rally in Amritsar. Q: Why did you oppose a woman from becoming the prime minister? A: Any foreign national — man or woman — shouldn’t be our PM. It was not a question of a woman or Sonia Gandhi in particular. It was the question of stopping a foreign national from assuming the top office. Coincidentally, it was a woman.
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Irfan
It’s all about playing together as a unit. As a captain, you can only take decisions, but how they respond to make it work is up to the players…There was a lot of self-belief, confidence, commitment and desire shown by players. We dared to be aggressive, backed our instincts and got the results.
The Chak De India experience shows that youngsters want to see India do well, to win. They want a country that is disciplined, that makes people happy. People are happy when meritocracy is rewarded.
Beauty is useless without personality, but please let’s stop using the ‘beauty with brains’ cliché. If a woman in the glam business is beautiful, that’s quite enough. She’s not meant to be a rocket scientist.
Tailpiece: I am not really a forerunner for crossovers. There is Ismail Merchant who made 40 films and won 13 Oscars. It’s difficult to top that. But I have been lucky to have been offered offbeat roles that interested me and suited my abilities.n