This morning as I set off to drop my 6 year old to school, he suddenly quipped, “Do I go to a private school or a government school, Mama?” A young child must be answered (as every parent knows) otherwise, you will get yourself in a Pandora’s Box of constant questions that lead to a headache!
“Private school, dear” I said quietly, very conscious that my young driver in his 20s and educated to perhaps, 16 years in a government school could understand a little English.
“But, why? Why not a government school?” he persisted.
“I’ll tell you later”, I muttered, under my breath to save any embarrassment to the driver.
“But why later, Mama? I want to know NOW!” he insisted like a spoiled child from Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
The great orator and Indian monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Vivekanada, felt that “the ideal of all education, all training, should be …man-making”. By man-making, he meant create a nation of character. He goes on to say “I consider the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of her downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared for… If we want to regenerate India”.
Swami Vireswaranada of the same organisation goes on to elaborate in his publication, MAKE INDIA GREAT. He tells us, “We have to raise the backward people…we must give them education and culture. Women should be educated so they may solve their problems without the interference of men..”
So, (coming back now to the embarrassing conversation I had with my son this morning), how do I explain to my son in front of the driver that I would be horrified to send him to most government schools? Here, teachers may not arrive for duty. They may use only the core language of study which is Hindi, or the regional language depending on the state, and lesser opportunities to use, or study English. Here, the facilities, books or buildings may not be adequate. Worse still, he may catch a disease if kids have not been immunised, or study in a place where mosquitoes infest stagnant pools of water, nearby. How do I explain that my driver’s education and his environment for study was not good enough for my child, and more importantly, how do I dare let The System carry on, when I am a mother and believe all kids have the same rights?
The Times of India on Monday 18th July, 2011 printed an article by Aaditi Isaac on how minorities can be brought into mainstream education.
I quote from the article:
“Fatma Zakaria, chairman, Maulana Azad Educational Trust (Aurangabad) and juror, World Innovation Summit for Education Summit (WISE), says, "The three major factors of inclusive education are access, equity and quality. I feel we have not yet succeeded in providing even minimum access to education."
The 21st century is witnessing huge change in terms of the way education is being imparted. Providing inclusive education in terms of access, equity and quality is one of the biggest challenges that we face today in India. With the RTE Act coming in, there is a need to provide inclusive education to all.
Talking about the need for inclusive education, Fatma Zakaria, chairman, Maulana Azad Educational Trust (Aurangabad) and juror, World Innovation Summit for Education Summit (WISE), says, "The three major factors of inclusive education are access, equity and quality. I feel we have not yet succeeded in providing even minimum access to education."
The school dropout rate in the country continues to be alarming; the number of institutions that offer quality education is just a handful; and a large number of our graduating students — 7 million to be exact by 2020 as the Unesco report suggests — live outside their home countries in search of excellence.
"Inclusive education does not merely mean creating access; it also means a readiness to generate equitable access. Large sections of society, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward class, minorities and women and the demographically underprivileged masses, who have not reached the national goal of 20% literacy even in 2011. I look at inclusiveness as an empowering strategy. Our policies must be directed towards the empowerment and self sufficiency of the poor, the victims of caste, gender and ethnic bias," stresses Zakaria.
In a diverse society such as India, social transformation through education isn't easy. Elaborating on the challenges, Zakaria says, "We are a multi- pronged society; issues of ethnicity, caste, marginality and gender have somehow remained outside our policymaking framework. While marginal groups and women need special attention in the process of capacity building, we also need to generate awareness among the majority sections of society that contribute substantially to the making of the centre. The project of social transformation through education cannot be accomplished unless exclusion is systematically resisted against and inclusiveness is recognised as a national virtue."
Providing education that bridges the gap between knowledge and skills is the way forward. Talking about how people from marginalised groups can be brought into the mainstream, Zakaria says, "I do not see how that goal could be achieved if minorities, women and people with special needs are either left out or simply ignored. Only awarding merit selectively or supporting the poorer sections of society indiscriminately cannot remove disparity. They could be brought into the national mainstream by creating equitable access. It would be a wise step to nationally identify centres and institutions that have a long and time tested history of educating these sections of society and create special endowments for them. Also educational institutions that are managed by minority groups should be given adequate infrastructure and knowledge resources." “
Talking about the need for inclusive education, Fatma Zakaria, chairman, Maulana Azad Educational Trust (Aurangabad) and juror, World Innovation Summit for Education Summit (WISE), says, "The three major factors of inclusive education are access, equity and quality. I feel we have not yet succeeded in providing even minimum access to education."
The school dropout rate in the country continues to be alarming; the number of institutions that offer quality education is just a handful; and a large number of our graduating students — 7 million to be exact by 2020 as the Unesco report suggests — live outside their home countries in search of excellence.
"Inclusive education does not merely mean creating access; it also means a readiness to generate equitable access. Large sections of society, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward class, minorities and women and the demographically underprivileged masses, who have not reached the national goal of 20% literacy even in 2011. I look at inclusiveness as an empowering strategy. Our policies must be directed towards the empowerment and self sufficiency of the poor, the victims of caste, gender and ethnic bias," stresses Zakaria.
In a diverse society such as India, social transformation through education isn't easy. Elaborating on the challenges, Zakaria says, "We are a multi- pronged society; issues of ethnicity, caste, marginality and gender have somehow remained outside our policymaking framework. While marginal groups and women need special attention in the process of capacity building, we also need to generate awareness among the majority sections of society that contribute substantially to the making of the centre. The project of social transformation through education cannot be accomplished unless exclusion is systematically resisted against and inclusiveness is recognised as a national virtue."
Providing education that bridges the gap between knowledge and skills is the way forward. Talking about how people from marginalised groups can be brought into the mainstream, Zakaria says, "I do not see how that goal could be achieved if minorities, women and people with special needs are either left out or simply ignored. Only awarding merit selectively or supporting the poorer sections of society indiscriminately cannot remove disparity. They could be brought into the national mainstream by creating equitable access. It would be a wise step to nationally identify centres and institutions that have a long and time tested history of educating these sections of society and create special endowments for them. Also educational institutions that are managed by minority groups should be given adequate infrastructure and knowledge resources." “
R Narayana Murthy is one of India's most respected core founder of Infosys (Global IT giant) wrote, “A Better India : A Better World . In his book, he talks of corporate social responsibility and issues crucial to national development such as good values and the improvement of the education system. He too raises the point that we must improve our overall education system else, there is not equal opportunity for all.
Smart Talkers India believes in education for all, and we have two English speaking projects already planned for the under privileged children in both private and government educational institutes. Those private schools such as Sanskriti School in New Delhi, who share our philosophy, already have integrated children from underprivileged backgrounds into classes. They hold special classes after school as well for others less fortunate. There are a wealth of charitable institutions throughout India who are already practising what they preach (such as the Ramakrishna Sharada Mission Nivedita Vidyamandir, Hauz Khas , New Delhi) where the nuns are dedicated to the educational activities for all children, including a place for slum children who are taught in the afternoon). AAMRA, a social welfare project in Kolkatta assists bright children of sweepers and cleaners and paying for their entire education, churning out engineers and doctors. Mr P Mookerjee donates all his free time after retirement, to the cause of this charity and sells his paintings to provide funding, too.
What about Neeve School, Gurgaon, run by the wonderful Shalini Malhotra who has ensured her children from the slums are given meals and educated in an English medium school. Some of the kids are then integrated into mainstream private schools. Shalini is so passionate about her work and does not earn any money from this.
I don’t feel change in India can take place in a radical manner; to accept new ideas will take time. There are too many subtle prejudices such as superstitions, the obsolete caste system and class distinctions, plus the issue of empowering women through education, that still remain. It would be better to make a gradual change. Inclusive education will enable us to empower women and children. One of the best ways to do this is to give them a voice and reading skills to compete against others, whatever their caste and class. The trick is to catch them when they are young and, at the same time, impart the value of that education to their parents.
So, in an emerging market such as India, we no longer need to ask why the common man’s child is STILL receiving inadequate education, even after the Right to Education Act. We know the blame game is not going to work and the process is going to be slow.
Perhaps we should follow some of the spiritual truths of the Hindus, from the Upanishads, which told us long, long ago to raise ourselves from ignorance, to, “Arise, Awake and sleep no more”.
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