Editor,
It looks like education these days is getting more and more expensive and burdensome on the poor. Today school fees are exorbitant and text books, exercise books etc, are equally expensive. Unfortunately, added to this, an extra burden is being felt by parents when school teachers give assignments to students requiring of them to surf the internet and collect materials from it. I have seen even small children being given assignments of this sort. Many of the children’s families are poor and they do not have computers or internet facility at home. So these students are obliged to go to the cyber cafes to collect these materials. Very often pictures are required to be collected, sometimes as many as nine or ten pictures. The cyber cafes charge as much as Rs. 30 per colour picture print-out. Just imagine how much a child or rather parents, have to pay just for five pictures (Rs. 150). Such assignments are given on a regular basis and poor families have to bear the brunt. These are extra expenses for parents and when a family is poor it means a tremendous burden they have to bear. Should the school authorities and teachers not be concerned about the plight of poor children? Can other pedagogical methods which are less expensive be adopted by the school as a general policy?
I have seen many poor parents who silently complain about this expensive educational approach. In my opinion, the school itself can provide access to the internet materials for the students at a nominal price. A student going to a cyber cafe implies another potential danger, the temptation to waste their precious time on surfing useless or even dangerous sites. I feel that each school has to seriously address this issue so as to ease the burden of many parents and also protect the moral integrity of our children and youth.
Yours etc.,
Barnes Mawrie sdb,
Via email
Highway to Hell!
Editor,
The song ‘Highway to Hell’ by ACDC is relevant to Meghalaya considering the kind of roads that people regularly travel from Shillong towards Pynursla onwards to Dawki. I don’t know what words to use to describe the road along the beautiful and scenic gorge towards Pynursla, but to a lay person it does even classify as a National Highway as the road width has been restricted due to illegal sand mining and digging of boulders which incidentally happens under the very nose of the district administration. If the NGT can put a stop to coal mining, limestone mining, sand mining then why not along this stretch which is now nothing short of a real highway to hell? God forbid in case of heavy rain, a boulder might just come down on a pack of vehicles ferrying passengers. But is the government listening or shall it wake up till more unfortunate deaths occur on this and other similar routes?
Yours etc…
Dominic S. Wankhar,
Via email
MCS recruitment 2017
Editor,
I’m one amongst those aspirants who aspire to join the civil services under the state, but it came as shock for many of us when the notification was released and the age limit was fixed at 27. Even with relaxation of 5 years for ST category, it ultimately comes to 32, which I believe will debar many candidates from competing just on the basis of age. Even UPSC does give some flexibility with age ( 32 general, 35 OBC and up to 37 yrs for ST), considering the challenge and difficulties posed by such exams. Likewise many states civil services do give sufficient age limit for candidates to compete. Another important point which I want to bring here is that, MCS recruitment this year came after a gap of almost a decade, hence many aspirants ultimately have moved into a higher age bracket during this period.
It’s a positive step that the state authorities have aligned the exams of the state civil services along the lines of the UPSC exams, thereby giving scope for the state’s youth to prepare simultaneously for both, but I wonder if the syllabus could have been tweaked a bit to make it more state oriented. After all, it’s a state civil service! What is required is alignment of the pattern of questioning not the syllabus in entirety. The question may also arise as to whether the state possesses the capacity or resource/ experts to correct the papers on the same standards as UPSC since the entire syllabus is a copy- paste of the UPSC model. Hence a little introspection with some brain storming session with domain experts is required, I believe before finalizing the whole recruitment process.
Through this letter I want to pass this message to our CM Dr. Mukul Sangma to seriously examine this issue and bring corrective steps.
Yours etc.,
Sonie Kharduit,
Via email
Priorities for India
Editor,
Our independence day must make us reflect on how to build a strong India. There is no doubt that the future of a country lies in its future citizens. So, we need to take care of the well-being of our children. According to UNICEF report, almost half (48 per cent) of India’s children, younger than 5 years of age, are stunted. This tells a tale of under-nutrition during the most critical periods of growth and development in early life. Stunting hits a person hard by making an underdeveloped brain with life-threatening harmful consequences including diminished mental ability and learning capacity, poor school performances, reduced earnings and increased risk of nutrition related chronic diseases. Moreover, the report says, 70 per cent of adolescent girls in India are anaemic and half of adolescents are below the normal body mass index (BMI) which has an impact on health of their future pregnancies and children. Stunting is a result of intergenerational poverty, poor maternal and early childhood nutrition. Indeed, this problem will further turn our huge human resources into a liability. To combat it, we need to pay our attentions to the mothers of our country.
Scientists say that the first 1000 days from conception to the second birthday of a child is vital. It is during this period that the infant’s body and brain develop at a rapid pace. Increasing scientific evidences show that meeting the specific nutritional needs during the first 1000 days, and beyond, will positively influence short and long term health outcomes. Thus, a mother being the sole source of nutrition for the developing embryo and fetus during pregnancy as well as being the one who breastfeeds her baby after its birth, is definitely the key to build the future of our country. To make our future citizens physically and mentally strong, she needs vitamins ~ D, B2, B6, B12 and minerals ~ iron, iodine, folic acid, calcium and quality of fat (DHA) in her daily diet.
We are a young country with huge human potential but we are not giving top priority to human development. Thus, we remain a backbencher in Human Development Index at 131st position. India needs to adopt labour intensive technology and a village – first – policy to generate employment. Simultaneously, India should take a First – 1000 – Day – Programme for mothers and children to make healthy babies for a healthy, strong and happy country.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata