Again Very Sad! But vested interests won't allow changes. The whole nation is wasting all their time --and getting Nowhere. India cannot with present Bando- bast!! mm
> Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:58:47 -0600> To: assam@assamnet.org> From: [EMAIL > PROTECTED]> Subject: [Assam] From NY Times> > > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/world/asia/17india.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all> > > > > > Education Push Yields Little for India's Poor> Ruth Fremson/The New > York Times> > > Article Tools Sponsored By> By SOMINI SENGUPTA> Published: > January 17, 2008> > > > The school in Lahtora was crowded and cold, so > > classes were held outside. More Photos ยป> > LAHTORA, India - With the dew > just rising from > the fields, dozens of children streamed into the > > two-room school in this small, poor village, > tucking used rice sacks under > their arms to use > as makeshift chairs. So many children streamed in > that > the newly appointed head teacher, Rashid > Hassan, pored through attendance > books for the > first two hours of class and complained bitterly. > He had no > idea who belonged in which grade. There > was no way he could teach.> > > Another teacher arrived 90 minutes late. A third > did not show up. The most > senior teacher, the > only one with a teaching degree, was believed to > be > on official government duty preparing voter > registration cards. No one > could quite recall > when he had last taught.> > "When they get older, > they'll curse their > teachers," said Arnab Ghosh, 26, a social worker > > trying to help the government improve its > schools, as he stared at clusters > of children > sitting on the grass outside. "They'll say, 'We > came every > day and we learned nothing.' "> > Sixty years after independence, with 40 > percent > of its population under 18, India is now > confronting the perils > of its failure to educate > its citizens, notably the poor. More Indian > > children are in school than ever before, but the > quality of public schools > like this one has sunk > to spectacularly low levels, as government > schools > have become reserves of children at the > very bottom of India's social > ladder.> > The children in this school come from the poorest > of families - > those who cannot afford to send > away their young to private schools > elsewhere, as > do most Indian families with any means.> > India has long had > a legacy of weak schooling for > its young, even as it has promoted > high-quality > government-financed universities. But if in the > past a > largely poor and agrarian nation could > afford to leave millions of its > people > illiterate, that is no longer the case. Not only > has the roaring > economy run into a shortage of > skilled labor, but also the nation's many > new > roads, phones and television sets have fueled new > ambitions for > economic advancement among its > people - and new expectations for schools to > help > them achieve it.> > That they remain ill equipped to do so is clearly > > illustrated by an annual survey, conducted by > Pratham, the organization > for which Mr. Ghosh > works. The latest survey, conducted across 16,000 > > villages in 2007 and released Wednesday, found > that while many more > children were sitting in > class, vast numbers of them could not read, write > > or perform basic arithmetic, to say nothing of > those who were not in > school at all.> > Among children in fifth grade, 4 out of 10 could > not read > text at the second grade level, and 7 > out of 10 could not subtract. The > results > reflected a slight improvement in reading from > 2006 and a slight > decline in arithmetic; together > they underscored one of the most worrying > gaps in > India's prospects for continued growth.> > Education experts debate > the reasons for failure. > Some point out that children of illiterate > > parents are less likely to get help at home; the > Pratham survey shows that > the child of a literate > woman performs better at school. Others blame > > longstanding neglect, insufficient public > financing and accountability, and > a lack of > motivation among some teachers to pay special > attention to poor > children from lower castes.> > "Education is a long-term investment," said > > Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of > the Planning Commission and > the government's top > policy czar. "We have neglected it, in my view > quite > criminally, for an enormously long period > of time."> > Looking for a Way > Up> > Arguments aside, India is today engaged in an > epic experiment to lift > up its schools. Along the > way lie many hurdles, and Mr. Ghosh, on his > > visits to villages like this one, encounters them > all.> > The aides who > were hired to draw more village > children into school complain that they > have not > received money to buy educational materials. Or > the school has > stopped serving lunch even though > sacks of rice are piled in the classroom. > Or > parents agree to enroll their son in school, but > know that they will > soon send the child away to > work. Or worst of all, from Mr. Ghosh's > > perspective, all these stick-thin, bright-eyed > children trickle into school > every morning and > take back so little.> > "They're coming with some hope of > getting > something," Mr. Ghosh muttered. "It's our fault > we can't give > them anything."> > Even here, the kind of place from which millions > of > uneducated men and women have traditionally > migrated to cities for work, an > appetite for > education has begun to set in. An educated person > would not > only be more likely to find a good job, > parents here reasoned, but also > less likely to be > cheated in a bad one. "I want my children to do > > something, to advance themselves," is how > Muhammad Alam Ansari put it. "To > do that they > must study."> > Education in the new India has become a > crucial > marker of inequality. Among the poorest 20 > percent of Indian men, > half are illiterate, and > barely 2 percent graduate from high school, > > according to government data. By contrast, among > the richest 20 percent of > Indian men, nearly half > are high school graduates and only 2 percent are > > illiterate.> > Just as important, at a time when only one in 10 > college-age > Indians actually go to college, > higher education has become the most > effective > way to scale the golden ladder of the new > economy. A recent > study by two economists based > in Delhi found that between 1993-94 and > 2004-5, > college graduates enjoyed pay raises of 11 > percent every year, > and illiterates saw their pay > rise by roughly 8.5 percent, though from a > > miserably low base; here in Bihar State, for > instance, a day laborer makes > barely more than $1 > a day.> > "The link between getting your children > prepared > and being part of this big, changing India is > certainly there in > everyone's minds," said > Rukmini Banerji, the research director of > > Pratham. "The question is: What's the best way to > get there, how much to > do, what to do? As a > country, I think we are trying to figure this > out."> > > She added, "If we wait another 5 or 10 years, you > are going to lose > millions of children."> > Money From the State> > India has lately begun > investing in education. > Public spending on schools has steadily increased > > over the last few years, and the government now > proposes to triple its > financial commitment over > the next five years. At present, education > > spending is about 4 percent of the gross domestic > product. Every village > with more than 1,000 > residents has a primary school. There is money > for > free lunch every day.> > Even in a state like Bihar, which had an > estimated > population of 83 million in 2001 and > where schools are in particularly bad > shape, the > scale of the effort is staggering. In the last > year or so, > 100,000 new teachers have been hired. > Unemployed villagers are paid to > recruit children > who have never been to school. A village > education > committee has been created, in theory > to keep the school and its principal > accountable > to the community. And buckets of money have been > thrown at > education, to buy swings and benches, > to paint classrooms, even to put up > fences around > the campus to keep children from running away.> > And yet, as > Lahtora shows, good intentions can > become terribly complicated on the > ground.> > At the moment, the village was not lacking for > money for its > school. The state had committed > $15,000 to construct a new school building, > $900 > for a new kitchen and $400 for new school > benches. But only some of > the money had arrived, > so no construction had started, and the school > > committee chairman said he was not sure how much > local officials might > demand in bribes. The > chairman's friend from a neighboring village said > > $750 had been demanded of his village committee > in exchange for building > permits.> > The chairman here also happens to be the head > teacher's uncle, > making the idea of > accountability additionally complicated. One > parent > told Mr. Ghosh that their complaints fell > on deaf ears: the teachers were > connected to > powerful people in the community.> > It is a common refrain in > a country where > teaching jobs are a powerful instrument of > political > patronage.> > The school's drinking-water tap had stopped > working long ago, > like 30 percent of schools > nationwide, according to the Pratham survey. > > Despite the extra money, the toilet was broken, > as was the case in nearly > half of all schools > nationwide.> > Thankfully, there was a heap of rice in > one > corner of the classroom, provisions for the > savory rice porridge that > is one of the main > draws of government schools. Except that Mr. > Hassan, > the head teacher, said the rice was not > officially reflected in his books, > and therefore > he had not served lunch for the last week.> > What about the > money that comes from the state to > buy eggs and other provisions for lunch, > Mr. > Ghosh asked? That too remained unspent, Mr. > Hassan explained, because > there was no rice to > serve them with - at least not in his record > books.> > > (Analysts of government antipoverty programs say > rice can be a tempting > side income for > unscrupulous school officials; food meant for the > poor in > general, though not at this particular > village school, is sometimes found > diverted and > sold on the private market, but one of the > brighter findings > of the Pratham survey was that > free meals were served in over 90 percent of > > schools.)> > Mr. Ghosh went from befuddled to exasperated. > "You have > rice. You have money. You prefer that > kids don't eat?" he asked.> > Mr. > Hassan shook his head. He said he could only > cook what rice was in his > records, or cook this > rice if a senior government officer instructed > him > to do so. Mr. Ghosh went on to point out that > one of the aides had shown up > more than an hour > late, and then with a crying baby in her arms. > Two > teachers were altogether absent. Even Mr. > Hassan, Mr. Ghosh added, had > pulled up a > half-hour late.> > "You're the head of this school," Mr. Ghosh > told > him. "Only you can improve this school."> > Mr. Hassan fired back: > "What are you talking > about? For the last 25 years this school wasn't > > running at all."> > New Plans, Old Attitudes> > Mr. Ghosh could not dispute > that. There were > times when the school doors did not open. One > father, an > agricultural laborer, said he had > tried a few times to enroll his children > but gave > up after the former principal demanded money. > Many parents in > this largely Muslim village chose > Islamic schools because they were seen to > offer > better discipline.> > Others saw no need to send their children to > school at all.> > Mr. Ghosh, too, went to government schools, in a > small > town in neighboring West Bengal state, > which is only slightly better off > than here. But > if he dared skip class, he recalled, he would be > thrashed > by his father, a public school > principal. The children of this village, he > knew, > would not be so lucky. "When I first started > coming here," Mr. > Ghosh recalled, parents "would > ask me, 'What are you going to give me? Your > > porridge isn't enough. Because if I send my child > to herd a buffalo, at > least he'll make 3 rupees.' > " Three rupees is less than 10 cents.> > One > morning Mr. Ghosh reached the mud-and-thatch > compound of Mohammed Zakir, a > migrant laborer who > goes to work in Delhi each year. Mr. Zakir's son, > > Farooq, about 10 years old, was going to school > for the first time this > week. And as Mr. Zakir > saw it, that was fine until Farooq turned 14, the > > legal age for employment, when he too would have > to go work in Delhi. > Keeping children in school > through their teenage years, the father said > > flatly, was not a luxury the family could afford.> > Walking out of the Zakir > family compound, Mr. > Ghosh looked utterly worn out. "If I don't get > this > child in school," he said, "then his child > in turn won't go to school."> > _______________________________________________> assam mailing list> > assam@assamnet.org> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _________________________________________________________________ Post free property ads on Yello Classifieds now! www.yello.in http://ss1.richmedia.in/recurl.asp?pid=219 _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
