For the past few years, many surprising and
saddening stories I do hear. Some are of delight and the rest are of plight.
Yes, I hear the delightful stories of the rich and the plight-filled stories of
the poor and all with regard to the admission of students in schools and
colleges. Everywhere, the dawn of new academic year is a delight for some and a
plight for many. It is a delight for those who have their pockets full, even if
the marks are low. It is a plight for those who don’t have the money power to
place their children in a school, where their children dream to study. This
year too as usual, I heard, God alone knows the truth, many incidents where in
money played a major role to get admissions. There seem to have been a few
cases, wherein admissions, denied earlier, were given at a later stage due to
the influence of money. And I felt ashamed to hear such immorality happening in
many institutions, much more in religious institutions, wherein morality has to
be taught and I wondered how these institutions could make men and women, who
would shape the future of this glorious nation of ours. India has been glorious
in many ways and as a citizen of this nation I do feel proud of Mother India
for her rich legacy in all walks of life. Even in the educational field, our
nation has been a pioneer in providing quality education to students from many
countries. None in the history of the world, would ever forget the glorious reign
of Nalanda University in the field of education. Started in the 5th
century AD, Nalanda University has served as one of the most famous institutes
of learning at the international arena. As a young man of this nation, my heart
overwhelms with joy, to know the great service Nalanda University has rendered
to the nation and to the world at large. What a great pride it is for us
Indians to know that the University attracted scholars and students from Korea,
Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Turkey, Greece and Persia! It was truly an
institution that had one singular motif in mind. That is nothing but education.
Education in its true sense of elevating the minds and hearts to a greater
level of learning, research and reflection. Comparing the ancient educational
system of our Mother land with the present system, I see a long list of
differences. The present education in our country is a delight for the rich and
a plight for the poor. The rich people have access to education, while the poor
find it hard to get themselves placed in some of our educational institutions.
With the advent of many private schools, in many parts of the country,
education has become more a business than service. Gone are those wonderful
days, where education was considered to be a tool for service. Today, the
educational system itself is at flaw. The school or college fee for the
students in many of our private institutions really shock us and shatter the
dreams of the poor students. The syllabus taught in our schools are more of
mark oriented than life oriented. Almost all the educational institutions look
for getting ranks in district, state and national level but seldom do they pay
heed to educate those innocent lots who don’t have access to education. Even
after the Right to Education Act (RTE) coming into force on 1 April, 2010, many
of our nation’s poor find it hard to educate their children due to the ever
increasing fee structure of our schools, and colleges. The plight of the
innocent children in many parts of the nation begging and laboring for their
food is a live example of the evil impacts created by the present system.
For many of our educational institutions, money has
become a main motif. And so money making is at work in place of serving the
poor and needy. It is very difficult to locate a school that educates a less
knowledgeable person and makes him/ her more knowledgeable. It is pathetic also
to note the evil of selling the degrees for money. In our nation, it does
happen in many places wherein persons are given degrees without attending any
classes, provided they provide them with some money. Corruption is very much
prevalent not only in government offices and in big companies, but rather it is
very much at work in our educational institutions. More troubled I am to see
such situations in some of the renowned religious institutions of our nation.
At this crucial condition, where money plays a major role, whether we like it
or not, morality has to take a back seat. And in such a condition, education
for the poor remains a plight while for the rich it becomes a delight. On 5th
June, addressing a function on the 150th birth anniversary of
Acharya Satis Chandra Mukherjee organized by the National Council of Education,
Bengal, our Honorable President Shri Pranab Mukherjee
expressed disappointment over the fact “that not a single modern Indian
educational institution is amongst the top 200 educational institutes in the
world, whereas from 3rd century BC to 12th century AD, for a period
of 1500 years, India was the leader in higher education in the world.” The
President has also underlined the fact that it is not impossible to return to
the days of our past glory. The dream of the President should be the dream of
every Indian more importantly every educational institution of our nation to
“return to the days of our past glory.” Enough of enjoying the rich heritage of
the past, and taking shelter in the past glory. We need to do concrete actions
that bring glory for the present which will shape the future. That can become a
reality only when education becomes a delight for all the citizens of our
nation. Keeping aside the evil intentions of making money out of education, all
should strive hard to take education as a tool for serving the suffering
humanity and bringing glory to our nation.
***********
0 comments:
Post a Comment