Meeting of Dadi-Poti on April 9, 2016

It was such a beautiful feeling to see my mother and my daughter playing in Dusherah Ground, Near Qutub Minar, New Delhi.


This blog is in process. I will be adding more.

Shaheen
April 9, 2016

Brussels, Brussels, Brussels,

Brussels, Brussels, Brussels,

It is highly condemnable. Can’t find the strongest word to express my anger. This attack is not only attack on Brussels but against the whole humanity.  The world need to address this- sooner the better. 

23/03/2016

School Upgradation- The only way to ensure 8 years of schooling to all children under RTE

School Upgradation- The only way to ensure 8 years of schooling to all children under RTE

 [Note: this article is in process... ]

Some Important Facts before I start writing  Sample Size •      Number of villages covered= 151 •      Number of blocks= 21 •      Number of districts= 6 •      Number of Primary Schools= 101 •      Number of Upper Primary Schools= 39 •      Total Schools under RTE= 140 •      Teachers Appointed under RTE in 2015-16= 95 •      Total teachers in 140 schools= 509 •      Children in the age group of 6-14 years= 24424 [M- 12911 + F- 11513] •      Children (6-14 yrs) in school= 22223 [M- 11743 + F- 10480] •      Children (6-14 yrs) out of school= 2201 [ M- 1168 + F-1033] •      9 % children (6-14 yr) are out of school. •        •      Children in the age group of 14-18 years=  9500 [M- 5181+ F- 4368] •      Children (14-18 yrs) in school=  5212 [M- 2873 + F- 2339] •      Children (14-18 yrs) out of school= 4288 [ M- 2308 + F-1980] •      45 % Children (14-18 yr) are out of school. •      13 % Children dropped out of school after 5th standard. 1482 passed primary school but only 1285 continued in 6th Standard. 197 left school. •      34 % Children dropped out after 8th standard. 916 passed but only 600 got admission in 9th. 316 left school. Data from one partner is missing in it. •      31 % Children dropped out after 10th.   555 passed but only 379 continued in 11th. 176 left school. Note:  These are primary data collected by activists working in these 151 villages. About

There is a basic flaw in the government approach to ensure compliance of RTE (The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009) by ensuring 8 years of education to children in the age group of 6-14 years. 

Some Facts & thoughts to be used in this article.

“”He further said that a critical appraisal of the functioning of the Right to Education reveals that large gaps exist in its implementation including the quality of education being provided; the high number of drop-outs and out of school children and the absence of equity in education. The Vice President said that quantity, quality and equality are the three sides of the triangle required to ensure Right to Education. The decline in State funding in the key social sector programmes, including education, is of particular concern, he added.:  

On 31 March 2016, we will mark six years of the coming into force of the Right to Education. An audit is therefore appropriate, particularly to locate deficiencies that exist, and chart out a course for the future.

One of the most stringent criticisms of the RTE has been the quality of education being provided. The Global Monitoring Report 2012 ranked India a low 102 out of the 120 countries on the Education for All (EFA) Development Index, based on progress in universal primary education, adult literacy, gender parity and the quality of education. Some surveys have revealed that while enrolment in elementary education in our country has increased, there has been a decline in the education outcomes, with abilities in reading, writing and other comprehensive skills deteriorating among children between the ages of 6 and 14. For instance, only a fourth of all children in standard III could read a standard II text fluently, a drop of more than 5% over five years, according to the 2014 Annual Status Report on Education Report (ASER). About Rs 1,15,625 crore ($17.7 billion) has been spent on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)—the national programme for universal elementary education and a core element for implementing the RTE—over the last five years, so the decline in the quality of learning is particularly disturbing. Low learning and falling quality of education imparted to children has grave implications for the future of our society and the country. This should be a cause for serious concern to the government.””

Thinking My Mother on International Women's Day

Ammi never went to any school (formal or non-formal) but she ensured that her children get the best schooling in the world.

I went to Government Primary School in my village but there were no option after 5th standard. Either you leave village and pursue education or enroll in the list of dropout children.  Abba (himself dropped out after 3rd standard) went to  Calcutta (now Kolkata) and started working at Keshoram Cotton Mill. To make the story short, he got the idea of sending me to Aligarh.  I cleared the entrance test and got admission in Minto Circle School, AMU, Aligarh.

Why I am thinking about it and my Ammi? She learnt how to read & write when she was in her 40s or 50s. She learnt basic language along with taking care of household chores and other works.

There was no phone at that time. The only way to contact my parents was throuhg post office services. Every week I used to write letter and expect the same from home. My letters were full of reporting- school, food, play and hostel lives. There was double problem to Ammi. Her only son was not only living about 800 KM away from home but also living alone in hostel. Abba was in Kolkata and Ammi in the village, Kataila.  So every Sunday I would write letter to her but she could not read it. She had to take the letter to so many people before she get to know that her son is doing fine. Writing letter on her behalf was even more difficult task. No one had time for this.

One day I was coming from dinning hall after the lunch. Somebody told that I there is letter for me. I opened the envelop and read that letter several times. That letter was written by Ammi. In a basic langue, she conveyed the message and I got it. I literally cried that day. I still have that letter.

I love you Ammi and I am so proud of you.

Reg
Shaheen
08/03/2016

Aazadi in India

It was a delight to watch Kanhaiya last night speaking at Admin Block in JNU about freedom in India (not from India ).

The ideological positioning and ,some may call, Utopian world to demand freedom from  from poverty, illiteracy, corruption, feudalism, communalism and access to better education system and health care services are paths to make beautiful India which was dreamed by freedom fighters during the freedom struggle.

There may be differences of opinion but we must not pronounce judgement before the judgment by the honorable court. 

When Rule of Law and logic take back seat, then fringe elements of every section of the society try to occupy the driving seat, take the Constitution in their own hands and start passing judgment based on their narrow and parochial thinking. When everyone except the court start passing judgment and executing them also, then this is the sign of beginning of those rules which destroyed many countries and they are still not learning it. 

We must stand by Rule of Law, Stand by Constitution of India and allow the court to decide on the merit of the case. 

Ever second child in India is malnourished and we do not have plan to address this issue. If we do not recognize this menace, then 30 to 35 years down the line (when these children become adult) our nation will have highest number of youth but with lowest rate of production or contributing to socio- economic activities of the country. No one is talking about children in the age group of 0-6 years, the most critical age for development of human body- physical, emotional and mental.  These children should have fundamental rights for nutritional support, pre-schooling and access to health care services specailly pediatricians.

“Lack of education lead to lack of wisdom,

“Lack of education lead to lack of wisdom,

Which leads to lack of morals,

Which leads to lack of progress,

Which leads to lack of money,

Which leads to the oppression of the lower classes,

See what state of the society one lack of education can cause!”

•Jyotiba Phule

[1] This was in response to a mail by Dr. Satish Jha. [2] This is at an idea level. I will write the full & proper article later. Right now this just for sharing the idea.

Private  & Public schools

“Government schools DO NOT offer education…”

Dear Satish,

I have been following the debate very closely and reading all the postings.

I believe there  are two kinds of members at this forum- one who thinks government school are not performing, hence private players must enter and provide so called ‘quality education’. And the 2^nd kind of members are those who think government school must perform. Hence stop trade in education.

Your posting “Government schools DO NOT offer education. Anyone who even thinks education happens there needs to take time off to rethink what education is or should be in the times we live in.” dated March 18^th at Arkitect India- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arkitectindia/message/15939 clearly give indication that you are one of those who think the government schools don’t perform.  Many people like you have given end number of examples to support government withdrawal from the school and offering it to Education Business Houses. And I am sure you may have ‘solid’ facts and figure to support it.  I sincerely believe that the following may be the reasons behind your thoughts. [Note: when I  say you or your, I am addressing the whole group of people who believe that the government schools are not-performing, hence private players are the only solution. So the ‘you’  is not a personal to one person. It is just because I am responding to your mail. ]. Probably one or two of the following points may be the basis of your arguments.  

1. You may have read reports like The Birla Ambani Report on education. We know why they want government to withdraw from education ‘market’
2.  You may have information about ‘non-performing’  schools (including govt. schools) but not able to develop these information  into a knowledge. Information to Knowledge to  Wisdom. It is a long debate. I  am not expecting wisdom but I do expect right knowledge- that is why these schools are not performing.     
3. or you may have only read the last line or last paragraph of a report which says govt schools are not performing and missed the whole body of report which says why some government schools are performing well and some government schools are not performing well or not performing at all.
4. or

In villages (I belong to Kataila village, Ghazipur, Eastern UP) it is said that “neem hakeem, khatre jaan” (half knowledge is always dangerous).  Like some people are quoting “government schools are not performing” without understanding the whole context and politics of trade in education, I was also often quoting “religion is opium of masses”. I heard this from some friends in JNU and I got convinced without questioning or probing it.

Many years I only knew Marx’ this sentence “ Religion is the opium of masses”. I would always quote this phrase to defend my childish/ amateur thinking about religious criticism- be it Islam, Christian, Hinduism or any religious believe. But I thank to JNU  culture of Post Dinner Talk in which I was corrected and told to read some articles (probably in 1990 or 1991). In the next post dinner talk a student gave me a xerox copy of an article .  I read that article several times.

  It was there I realized that I was reading the last sentence of a paragraph. It gives different meaning if we read along with the paragraph and different meaning if it is read separately.      According to Marx, religion is an expression of material realities and economic injustice. Thus, problems in religion are ultimately problems in society. Religion is not the disease, but merely a symptom. It is used by oppressors to make people feel better about the distress they experience due to being poor and exploited. This is the origin of his comment that religion is the “opium of the masses” — but as shall see, his thoughts are much more complex than commonly portrayed. The full quoate is “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

This is a long debate and I will leave it here to proceed with the original issue- the government schools are non-performing institutions, hence go for private school.

The purpose of above argument is to make the point clear that many of us are picking of the last sentence of the thesis/ article which says that the government schools are not performing. We have to read the whole issue in proper context- the thesis in support of trade in education so that selected few can get “quality education” and the rest…

The government schools (read institutions, because the next target is other organs of the govt.) are not This is 100 % wrong statement and understanding. People who support private players in education  or trade in education points two things-

[1] They don’t understand the dynamics degrading government institutions or

[2] They

What is the vision of education?

 

The full quote from Karl Marx is: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people."

The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

Many years I only knew Marx this sentence “ Religion is the opium of masses”. I would always quote this phrase to defend my childish/ amateur thinking about religious criticism- be it Islam, Christian, Hinduism or Sanati any religious believe. But I thank to JNU’s culture of post dinner talk in which I was corrected and told to read some articles.  It was there I realized that I was reading the last sentence of a paragraph. It gives different meaning if we read along with the paragraph and different meaning if it is read separately.      According to Marx, religion is an expression of material realities and economic injustice. Thus, problems in religion are ultimately problems in society. Religion is not the disease, but merely a symptom. It is used by oppressors to make people feel better about the distress they experience due to being poor and exploited. This is the origin of his comment that religion is the “opium of the masses” — but as shall see, his thoughts are much more complex than commonly portrayed.

This is a long debate and I will leave it here to proceed with the original issue- the government schools are non-performing institutions, hence go for private school.

The purpose of above argument is to make the point clear that many of us are picking of the last sentence of the thesis/ article which says that the government schools are not performing. We have to read the whole issue in proper context- the thesis in support of trade in education so that selected few can get “quality education” and the rest…

The government schools (read institutions, because the next target is other organs of the govt.) are not This is 100 % wrong statement and understanding. People who support private players in education  or trade in education points two things-

[1] They don’t understand the dynamics degrading government institutions or

[2] They

What is the vision of education?

========++++++=======

Satish Jha

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arkitectindia/message/15939

Government schools DO NOT offer education. Anyone who even thinks education happens there needs to take time off to rethink what education is or should be in the times we live in. Only those who went to government schools and ended up getting a government job may think it works.

Imagine this: even the government sets 33% as a bare minimum pass mark. How many children going to government schools end up knowing how to write correctly in their own mother tongue even after a B degree like a BA etc?

Did you not see the results that less than 1 percent teachers with a B Ed degree could pass the governments test in Delhi?

EI has found a niche for itself that is good while being a century out of date. But india is growing a century behind if you take the weighted average of its collective knowledge anyway!

Twitter:@satish_jha

www.olpcindia.net

+1 301 841 7422

Sent from my iPhone5

Indo-Persian World

Indo-Persian World 

It was in 1996 or 97, I booked this name for a Research Journal from Brahmaputra Hostel JNU.  It was registered at RNI, New Delhi but we never brought it in a printed form. 

A group of students from CAAL/SL/JNU would write and bring it as a wall magazine because of lack of fund to support it.

Now the time has come to think about bringing it in two format- online & offline.

The wall magazine was discontinued after l left JNU in 2002.

Shaheen Ansari 

https://indopersianworld.wordpress.com/