Open Letter to the NIOS

From 1st of April, the Indian Government has started implementing a new Act called "Right to Education Act". Sounds very progressive on paper - all kids have the right to demand education from the government. The government has to find ways to educate them - either by enrolling them in its own schools or givine money to private schools so that those schools will educate the kids.

But, it has also mandated that no child less than 14 years can study in the National Institute of Open Schooling. This is causing problems for our adivasi kids here. Here is a letter written by Ram about it to them - it brings out the other point of view. Thought many of you will be interested in this counter argument.

To,

The Chairman
National Insititute of Open Schooling
A-24-25, Institutional Area,
NH – 24, Sector 62
NOIDA 201309

Sub: Enrolment of Learners as per Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

Ref: Your letter NIOS/Acad/OBE/RTE/10/ Dated 14.01.10

Dear Sir,

We are in receipt of your letter mentioned above and note the contents with apprehension and dismay.

We have been given to understand that the Open Basic Education Scheme of NIOS was directed precisely at the below 14 age group in order to address a great anomaly that exists in our education system of lack of quality and meaningful education, particularly where it concerns the marginalised and depressed communities. As you can see we are a centre that caters exclusively to adivasi children and this move of NIOS affects the children totally.

We have 100 adivasi children, all of whom have dropped out or refuse to go to the government schools near their villages, where they are entitled to food three times a day, clothes, residential facility, books, stationery, toiletries that they need. They travel 16 kms every day one way to get to our centre. We provide them with education and nothing else except subsidized books - no food, no no clothes, no stationery. Yet they come.

NIOS has played an important role in providing the structures that have helped us impart quality education to our students. In the context of NIOS's decision to discontinue the OBE Scheme for children within the 6-14 age group, I wish to refer to the words of the Hon'ble Minister Kapil Sibal at the meeting of National Consortium of Open Schools -NCOS - on February 15th, 2010 (refer your website at http://www.nos.org/annualncos.htm):

“Expressing concern over the enormous challenge of reaching out to 15 million learners who are out of school, [Sri Sibal] emphasized on the need to improve the methodology of programmes in the Open Schooling system.
“The Minister said that the option for Open School should be regarded not as a poor alternative but as an effective empowering alternative, by producing high quality delivery materials which also needs to be continuously evaluated by an outside agency. ... He advised the NCOS to evolve a policy through incentives to attract regular schools to embrace the Open Schools to increase its credibility and improve its national acceptance. He also appealed to the NCOS to work out an effective policy to meet the challenge of reaching out to about 15 million learners by the year 2020.” (emphasis mine)

I also want to refer to an article in the `The Hindu', February 11th 2010, `Tangible Targets at School' (available at: http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article104610.ece) where according to the EPA Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO) the Education Development Index, placed India at 105 out of 128 countries in the year 2001. The EDI Report for 2010 now places India at exactly the same position -105 – out of 128 countries! This is after 10 years of World Bank funded DPEP and 10 years of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and over 20,000 crores down the drain. The data states that while the enrollment is 94%, the drop out rate at the primary level is a shocking 34%! “In all probability they drop out without acquiring any level of progress with respect to the basic three R's, contributing to the numbers of out-of-school children, to child labour and to the mass of illiterate population.” (emphasis mine)

Given this situation we are now compelled to put all these children back in the schools from which they dropped out and from which they will drop out again. What happens to them then? As we cannot address this problem they will end up in the mass of illiterate population. Is this what NIOS and the Right to Education Act wants? These matters have to be given sufficient thought. Also, referring back to Sri. Sibal's comments at the recent meeting of the National Consoritium for Open Schooling, it is evident that the recent decision by NIOS to not admit students between ages 6-14 to the OBE Scheme is completely repugnant with matters discussed at such meetings and with the way forward for NIOS suggested by the Honourable Minister himself. Given this, and the fact that the OBE Scheme has been successfully utilised by educationalists for over a decade now, we are completely unable to understand the decision that was communicated to us vide your letter.

This decision has serious adverse implications and we appeal to you to reconsider it.

Yours faithfully,

B. Ramdas

Vocabulary

Almost every year, Indian kids in US seem to be winning the Spelling competition. Some crazy complicated words, these kids will spell them correctly. But, when I was of their age, I knew only Apple, Boy, Cat ... Yellow and Zebra. Nothing more than that. Whatever is the basic minimum required, go with it.

When I was preparing for MBA exams with a couple of friends in the final year of my Engineering graduation, there was on section on vocabulary. We hardly knew any of those English words. So, we started reading the dictionary. One letter for each day, we thought. But, by the time, we came to the letter B, the exams were almost near.

Then, we did a clever calculation. This section has only five marks. If we spend the same time in learning the other 'quanti' stuff, we may be able to get more marks. So, we ditched the dictionary and along with that vocabulary.

So, I can sympathise with this Francis.


But, I continued reading Hindu from college days. I must credit whatever English I know to the Hindu newspaper - not that it is anything great. But, I can 'pass', I guess...

The Stranger - A real life story

This story would have happened in many of our families. A must read.

A while ago, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to
him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?.... .. .

We just call him 'TV.'

He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'
Their first child is "Cell Phone".
Second child "I Pod"

Deadlines and Modern Day CEOs

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

Douglas Adams

One of the most dangerous occupational hazards in the modern world is the Deadlines. Almost nothing comes without a tag of Most Important or Top Priority. Rumours are that there are bosses who write cryptic notes like "I want it yesterday", "if this isn't in, you are out", "First complete it, you can start it later" or things to that effect.

So, I enjoyed seeing this picture in one of the comics recently. It captures the essence. Well done!


One may think, things will be different in Development sector. In fact, there was a notion that things go rather slow, at our own pace etc. in the NGOs. We are more 'process-oriented' people, you see. No. Not any longer. The deadlines are more stringent (and absurd) in the development sector, than even in Corporate world.

To prove that you do things the way the donor (0r your supporter) wants you, the demands are ever increasing. Quarterly reports, monthly updates, weekly notes. The status reports will soon become Daily Situation Report or something like that. Take a snap at the end of each day and email it to us immediately. By 6.15 everyday, it should have been uploaded.

One might have thought that to work in an NGO you need a noble heart, compassionate thoughts and a determination to work for the underprivileged. That is old fashion. These days, you need a whole lot of qualities to be an effective NGO chap. In one of those frustrating moments, I decided to create an imaginary Chief Functionary of an NGO, whom all funding agencies will love! S/he will be a highly qualified, well-equipped, effective CEO of an NGO.


It will look something like this. Click on the picture above or here to see the full picture.

Do you agree?

Vatican Humour

After getting all of Pope Benedict's luggage loaded into the limo, (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb.

'Excuse me, Your Holiness,' says the driver, 'Would you please take your seat so we can leave?'

'Well, to tell you the truth,' says the Pope, 'they never let me drive at the Vaticanwhen I was a cardinal, and I'd really like to drive today.'

'I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! What if something should happen?' protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning.

'Who's going to tell?' says the Pope with a smile.

Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 kms. (Remember, the Pope is German.)

'Please slow down, Your Holiness!' pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.

'Oh, dear God, I'm going to lose my license -- and my job!' moans the driver.

The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.

'I need to talk to the Chief,' he says to the dispatcher.

The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going 205 kph.

'So bust him,' says the Chief.

'I don't think we want to do that, he's really important,' said the cop.

The Chief exclaimed,' All the more reason!'

'No, I mean really important,' said the cop with a bit of persistence.

The Chief then asked, 'Who do you have there, the mayor?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: 'A senator?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: 'The Prime Minister?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

'Well,' said the Chief, 'who is it?'

Cop: 'I think it's God!'

The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, 'What makes you think it's God?'

Cop: 'His chauffeur is the Pope!'


Now for the prayer :

Give me a sense of humor, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some humour out of life,
And pass it on to other folk.

HRD Managers

Call them in whichever name you want, the manager who is responsible for all other staff in the organisation will necessarily be an evil person. At least, s/he will be perceived so by others. Torn between the demands of the organisation and the personal inclination / interests of the staff, the HRD manager will be a much maligned person.

Traditionally, they were just called Personnel Manager. No Human Resources and Development and all that. Their job is get things done; bully the workers and cut salaries and leave and what not. But, as management developed (as did humanity), we got fancy things like motivation, morale and training and all those sort of things. But, when you get an insecure person in such positions, it is a nightmare for the staff. Whether you are happy or sad, whether you take more initiative or less, you end up as the loser. Take our famous Catbert, the evil director of Human Resources for instance.


Who would have thought of linking happiness with being overpaid? That is Catbert.

Slow Day in Texas

Dilip sent this story to explain how money works. Have read a few different variations of this before, one involving even Charlie Chaplin and a few children. But, this rustic story is nicer.

It's a slow day in a little East Texas town. The sun is beating down, and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

On this particular day a rich tourist from back east is driving through town. He stops at the motel and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

As soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything.

However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.