Fresh off the press, my latest post on the blog On the mess that is RTE.. Some excerpts below... ..Officials in Punjab said they closed 1,170 schools, Haryana shut 713, while Tamil Nadu closed “a little more than 400″ and Andhra Pradesh “not more than 400″…. (for non-compliance with the act) Baladevan Rangaraju, director of think tank India Institute, who has been monitoring media reports, has counted 2,692 schools shut and 17,871 at risk. ..(Haryana Education Minister) Ms Bhukkal said a further 1,379 schools would be closed in Haryana after the end of the school year in March… Andhra Pradesh Minister for Primary Education Dr Sake Sailajanath said the state had closed schools with 10 students or less, and a further 800 would be shut this year…. (Tamil Nadu Education official) Ms Kulkarni said a further 300 schools would be shut in the state this year…. Delhi State Public Schools Management Association president RC Jain said roughly 300 schools still had to shut and 750 face closure. ... As you can imagine, some have figured innovative ways to get around the legislation. One of the more popular tactic is to get yourself declared as a “minority” institution, which are exempt from RTE. In India’s continuing narrative of victimhood, an easy way to free yourself of government control is to raise the fear of being burdened/bullied/harassed/oppressed by a “majority” and seek exemption from laws that are meant to be universal. .... No wonder you also get distortions such as these: “He cited the instance of an institute that had sought minority status on the ground that the promoter was a Sikh by birth, who had removed his hair and turban. When complaints and counter-complaints came about the institute, he said, all records were verified…. In some cases from Uttar Pradesh it was noticed that the promoters said they have converted to Christianity and in few other cases even to Buddhism. “ ... In India, inability to “comply” with the law brings in its wake (unsurprisingly) the fear of harassment & breeds the classic under-the-table kind of corruption . Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education group has gone on record saying: “The RTE will give power to school inspectors for enforcement, creating a source of harassment and corruption.” Others have used stronger words: “RTE (actually)..declares war on education entrepreneurship”, says Manish Sabharwal, chairman of TeamLease Services. He fears that the vague guidelines will result in giving block-level education officials “..the ability to convert every school into a personal ATM“ ... And the concluding lines: She sums up the present situation eloquently: “The ship is doomed; we need a rescue flotilla”. Sadly, we continue to sail in blissful ignorance. Read. Think. Share.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 07:49:25 +0000
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