E.R. RAMACHANDRAN writes: Primary education has become so expensive, a lot of parents simply want their children to grow up and admit them straightaway to college and postgraduate studies. I know, this sounds silly but those who have gone through this are ready to vouch for this.
I decided to seek the views of a parent, as in India fees, whether it is LKG, UKG, plus-2, degree or MBA, goes to the cash box mostly after making a deep hole in the parent’s pocket. The fees is generally obtained as a loan pledging whatever one has as, be it gold, provident fund, public provident fund, insurance bonds, mutual funds, etc.
I met a parent at the counter paying fees for his son’s admission to MBA. I asked him how he had managed to educate his only son.
“When my baba joined LKG, I spent Rs 1 lakh towards his fees, the baba suit uniform, school site, proposed school building, shoes with different colours for each day of the week, a peon to load and unload his books to the autorickshaw, rickshaw charges etc. I also paid for the birthday of the founder, the centenary celebrations of founder’s grandparents, etc.”
“How did you raise the amount?”
“Since I had just started my career, I could not get any loan. My wife and I did part time jobs, saved on every penny, cut corners, did odd jobs on weekends and raised money. That’s how he did his LKG. However, we had to throw it all and buy everything new for his UKG.”
“Why?”
“The management had changed and they wanted everything new. Further, we were asked to pay and run each week towards environment day, eradication of leprosy, chacha Nehru’s day, Indira Gandhi’s birthday, etc. We also had to pay for the expansion of the proposed school building to be built after 15 years.”
“How did you manage his UKG?”
“I did not. My father-in-law did. He took a loan from his PF.”
“So, you really struggled to make him a UKG graduate. How were his school and college days?”
“Education is much cheaper in schools and colleges than in primary schools! But sending him to college cost us a lot of money. The fees were not much, but he wanted Hoodibaba motor cycle, Samsung DVD, iPod, BlackBerry mobile, Nike shoes, credit card, Rs 1,000 as pocket money each week….”
“From where did you get the funds for his school and college education?”
“This time I took a loan from my PF! Not for his education, but to fulfill his needs after the classes.”
“Now that you have paid his fees, your son will soon become an MBA.”
“Yes, I have to get him an iPhone. I want to give something back to the community. I am the president of BPA—the Bankrupt Parents’ Association. We are planning to meet the Education Minister and request him to make Primary Education free. Why don’t you join us?” he invited me.
Our meeting with the Minister was over in five minutes. He cut short the long presentation of BPA President.
“Look, no government can afford to make primary education free! If we did, we will go bankrupt and we will have to pledge our gold and silver again and borrow loan. One thing we can do though. We will make college and post graduate studies free. We will also arrange for unlimited cups of tea, coffee, Pepsi and Coke at the canteen and keep it open for 24×7. But we can’t make primary education free!”
This whole education thingie is a big, gigantic, well studied, carefully calculated and diligently crafted sham.
At the pre-school & school level, education is a business that feeds on parent’s insecurity.
We are told stories of how the kids are like clay & putty, and warned the kids need stimulation & activities. Now as a parent I want the best for my kids no saar? And for the best opportunities, my kids have to go the most prestigious english medium conment only. Only there can my kids learn ‘manners’, only there will they get the stimulation, and perhaps one day will become an astronauts and the world beating citizens.
Entrance exams for pre-schoolers is just one of outrageous things that has comeout of this scam. And as if in agreement, many kids go off colour right on the day of the interview. If the kids know everything before they join LKG then what is it that these guys are going to teach in school?
Even more outrageous is the interview of the parents, On one hand, they go to villages and distribute pamphlets about how everybody is one in the eyes of the ‘god’. In the cities, on the other hand, they have applications and interviews to extract the kid’s parent’s status and sort kids based on that.
Jaati tappu mata tappu annoru hege merit anntheLi, quality anthHeLi, makkLanna batta sosdange sosthare.
In general, I am unable to understand the purpose of year based education at all. We have some syllabus for each year, mastery/reproducibility of 35% of which is all I need to be to graduate to the next level. What about the rest? If it is not necessary then why have it in the first place? What is the purpose of education? To learn the material or to go through the hoops in so many years and be done with it? If the material is so useless, that going through it in time is more important than learning it, then perhaps the material needs to change or make the kids take their time to learn the material. I understand that time imposes focus. Perhaps something like 3 tries if you don’t then change subject, and to graduate you must be 90% in atleast one subject.
In sixty years not one subbanna, karanth, dvg, kasarvalli, patkar, Ambani, MMS, Karmakar, Rao or a Vidyasagar has come out of these schools. But many journalists & social scientists with concerns for social equity and one A Roy have come out of these elitist schools. These guys and a bunch of hackers.
yep thats about right. no activity.
dont expect any changes to the status quo as far primary education is concerned. if it were a question of reservation in higher education the country would be burning. but the fact is right off the block in primary education itself there is a huge disparity, there is no universality. that makes reservation at higher levels unavoidable.
giDavaagi baagadu maravaagi baageethe?