It is good

The much awaited monsoon is here and it is getting cooler as the days go by. When we landed the climate felt no different from kuwait. But now the nights are cooler.

We have a new member in our family. Jim- he is only 2 months old but very adorable. He is a labrador. Here is a cute picture of him. Hope none puts eyes on him :).  He is already on antibiotics due to change in food. He now travels with us wherever we go and behaves very well when out in the public.

This time I have help around the house. She is very efficient and her appearance has further enhanced my vacation. She has 2 children, a girl and boy but her husband left her and hence she is a single mother. They were in Bombay and during her second delivery he left with the lady who had come to cook for him, while she was in Kerala. She now stays with her parents who are getting old. Her children are now studying in the government school and she says the school is good. Yesterday she went for the PTA and met some good teachers. The uniform and school bag is provided free of cost and they also have lunch; rice gruel with a lentil dish. When the student reaches 7th standard, they will be provided with a bicycle too. Felt very happy hearing this. This arrangement eases much burden off her and she is much hopeful for her two children. The school recently shifted to English medium. I do not know if every other school is similar or if it is because of the teachers who are teaching in this school. And I also wonder how the situation is in the rest of the country.

A good move

Kerala has made a good initiative.


It has stated that henceforth, PSC applications as well as various job applications for government jobs which do not mention religion will not be rejected. One can also leave the column for religion blank in your school leaving certificate, in case you do not want to take the benefit of reservation.

Let the state spend towards free and compulsory education so that no one lags behind. Just this shall give the nation the most benefit. Let religion not be the basis for giving financial assistance.

This needs to be emulated in the rest of the country too. This will stop politicians from dividing the people and twisting them in their hands for the sake of votes.

While in Kerala, SM Krishna also mentioned that Haj subsidy would be scraped since Muslim organizations have requested so. Even otherwise such subsidies do not reach the deserving candidate.

Source:
http://malayalam.deepikaglobal.com/News_Cat2_sub.aspx?catcode=cat2&newscode=208186

FA's and SA's

One more FA is over and I am exhausted!

 But do I have time to breathe? No… soon will come another SA to give the mother of all tensions.


School was okay (for me) until CBSE started the new system called CCE.

C – Continuous

C – Comprehensive

E – Evaluation


The school year is now divided into two semesters and the student is supposed to be evaluated continuously. Evaluated not only for his knowledge on a subject but also in other areas.

Picture Courtesy: http://cce.icbse.com/cbse-cce-system/

Earlier one could save all the tension for the the end of year ; but not so now. CBSE had only good intentions I am sure, but I have already started to dread this system. Our children, I believe are having fun since they have lots of activities to do, cooking being one of them.

Our daughter (she is in 10th now) keeps changing her answer to “what to do you want to do after the 12th” question. Since she loves interior designing, it used to be B.Arch but recently her biology teacher tried to instill into the students the merits of biology and she is not sure if she will like bio-technology. Maybe a dietician, she asks? According to this teacher, Architects these days are begging for jobs. I kept repeating that it is better to choose the subject that you are good at and to select a job that you will love to do. She is still not sure, not that I have any idea either!



As for son (in 9th std), from the time he understood that he needs to do something after 12th there was only one answer; “join the Indian army”. Daughter continues to maintain that it is only because of the war games that he plays and that he has no idea what he is talking! She says he is obsessed with India and is forever trying to educate her on the merits of his country. I believe, the only way to cure him would be to send him to India. Let him learn to love his country the real way.



But if I remember, it only seemed yesterday that we sent both of them to the nursery. Although daughter was the independent kind, it was she who cried the most on her first day to school, while our son who I thought was very shy, took like a fish to the water on the first day itself. The ensuing years were fine but now that they have reached the crucial years, like every parent I am very apprehensive.


What does the future hold for them?


Are they fit to face this world?



Today I read an excellent article by Professor B. M. Hegde:

Education today in our country has not only lost its heart; it seems to have lost its direction and goal. It is a sad situation for the future generation. Well-meaning people in society are keeping quiet. The powers that be, who ought to know better, seem to be either ignoramuses or they couldn't care less! The following case history will showcase one of the major areas where modern education, especially at the primary level, nay at all levels, is going astray to the detriment of mankind's future.

The teacher, like a midwife, should assist the student in delivering, and not deliver herself. “Every child is a genius only to be converted into an idiot in school,” wrote Nobel Laureate Alexis Carrel. Education should aim at making healthy minds and not just making wealthy careers. Here, society needs to be thoroughly deschooled to get rid of the obsession with marks and ranks in place of healthy education.

Now that I have rid of my worries (not obsessed)  with marks for the time being,  let me wind up this post in peace :)

Please step down….

Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, please step down from your post and let us hear you....

• Padamshree award from the Government of India in 2008.
• Vidyalankara (Lifetime Achievement Award) by Purbanchal Academy of Oriental Studies in association with Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India in 2008
• P.K. Patil Purushottam Award in 2007.
• Awarded Bharat Shiromani Award 2006 by Shiromani Institute.
• Ambedkar Chetna Award in 2001.

Else let us assume that the above medals are also fake just like the list of fake Universities proudly posted on the website of UGC of which you hold the post of Chairman.

Below is the “Mandate” as given in the University Grants Commission website…

Mandate
________________________________________
The UGC has the unique distinction of being the only grant-giving agency in the country which has been vested with two responsibilities: that of providing funds and that of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education.

...and our ministers are as usual very vocal and full of enthusiasm..

The PMK founder-leader S Ramadoss on Tuesday has demanded a comprehensive probe to ascertain how educational institutions — that have stripped off their deemed university status — got it, despite failing to meet the stipulated minimum standards.

He also said that the State should initiate legal proceedings to stop exploitation of students by such institutions. In a statement here, Ramadoss welcomed the Centre’s decision to crack the whip on educational institutions that are being run as “family fiefdoms.”

And all are up in arms against the Universities… yes they should be taken into task although the students who are studying there or who studied there are never going to be compensated. Their certificates will no longer be valid and many of them may lose precious time.

But along with the Universities and their declared owners it is the authorities who let them secure this recognition who should also be taken into task.

A deemed university gets its recognition under University Grants Commission (UGC) Act of 1956 but the guidelines for becoming one remain vague.

And why have they remained vague?

Is it no wonder then that our children are forced to go outside the country to secure an education by spending much money and even enduring the wrath of the host country.