A saying goes “If we don’t know from where we have come, then we would not know where we are”. The government must come forward in providing better infrastructure to organisers and participants for practising rural games, although some modifications if necessary can be brought in sync with the times. Participants who excel in the games should be rewarded suitably to encourage them. It will channelise the energy of the rural youth and others and help them remain healthy and stress free which is in the interest of society.

SANDEEP NAIN, Karnal

On a mission

Great achievements build a kind of a virtual monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold (Pritam Bhullar’s middle ‘It’s nature’s Law’). So, like the last electron stored in a charged battery, we have a purpose, designed by God till the last breath. So, we must raise and enlighten ourselves spiritually. Nothing can bring one back from death. As a couplet beautifully depicts it , “ If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane , I’d walk right up to heaven and bring you home again’’.

BALAK RAM DHIMAN, Hamirpur

Strange alignment

It is amazing to note that if one wants to see the calendar of the year 2013, he can use any one calendar of these ten years i.e. 2002, 1991, 1985, 1974, 1963, 1957, 1946, 1935, 1929 and 1918, because these are exactly the same as of the year 2013. It is interesting to note that the dates 4/4/2013, 6/6/2013, 8/8/2013, 10/10/2013 and 12/12/2013 all fall on Thursday. It’s the same in all the ten years' calendars mentioned. Another similarity is that all the eleven years start with Tuesday and end on Tuesday i.e. January1 and December 31 fall on Tuesday in all the calendar years.

RK ARORA, Amritsar

Official apathy

Lakhs of students face an uncertain future as 1,600 private schools in Punjab have not applied for fresh recognition under the RTE (news report ‘1600 Private Schools May Face Closure’, January 31). Most of these schools are already recognised upto the secondary or senior secondary level and have the infrastructure required under the RTE. They annually send details of facilities like teacher taught ratio and that this year additional details were required to be given under the Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan, was not known.

The officials responsible for the implementation of the RTE at the district level did not show much enthusiasm under the impression that the advertisement had already been given by the state government by which all the schools were told to apply by 12.10.2012. If the schools had failed to abide due to some reason, the Education Department officials should have reminded them.

Prof Darshan Kumar, via e-mail

Not needed

Higher education has become a buyer’s market and the market forces play a pivotal role in admissions of students. The need of the hour is to open colleges and universities under the government domain with proper infrastructure and appoint teachers who are capable of facing the challenges of global competition.

Further, the government needs to provide more funds to the education sector which at present hovers around 2.5 percent of GDP. Academicians since the recommendations of the Kothari Commission have advocated for 6 per cent of GDP.

The curricula require a desperate revamping to suit the modern day industry requirements. The self-financing or private unaided institutions should be subjected to strict control in matters relating to admission, fee structure, content of courses and salary and service conditions of teaching and non-teaching personnel.

To achieve the objective, we must build a powerful movement so that the government is forced to abandon its policy of commercialisation of education and ensures real right to education to the youth of our country. In view of this dismal scenario, our educationists, policy framers and other stake holders need to ponder seriously.