RTE in India by 2015 - a mission (im)possible

“The Right of Children To Free and Compulsory Education” (RTE), an act passed in the year 2009. Though It has taken such a long time for our political leaders to pass a bill as essential as this, it is welcomed whole-heartedly. The important point to ponder about is how far it is being implemented, and what role we; as responsible citizens can play to help in achieving the target to have every child complete primary school by 2015.

Several norms have been prescribed under the RTE act; to be adhered to by the government, schools, teachers, parents, and the community at large. Some of them are:

• All children between the ages of 6 and 14 have the right to free and compulsory elementary education at a neighbourhood school
• No direct (school fees) or indirect cost (uniforms, textbooks, mid-day meals, transportation) to be borne by the child or the parents to obtain elementary education
• The government will provide schooling free-of-cost until the child's elementary education is completed
• Schools shall constitute School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising local authorities, parents, guardians and teachers
• The SMCs shall form School Development Plans and monitor the utilization of government grants and the whole school environment
• Compulsory inclusion of 50 per cent women and parents of children from disadvantaged groups in SMCs
• Ensuring child friendly whole school environment through separate toilet facilities for girls and boys and adequate attention to health, water, sanitation and hygiene issues
• Two trained teachers to be provided for every 60 students at the primary level
• Specific provisions for disadvantaged groups, such as child labourers, migrant children, children with special needs, or those who have a disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economical, geographical, linguistic, gender or such other factors

• Families and communities have a large role to play to ensure child-friendly education for each and every one of the estimated 190 million girls and boys in India who should have been in elementary school today

The reason for the controversial title is to emphasise that whether this dream turns into a reality or not, is solely in our hands, and each one of us can contribute – in a small, but significant way. The AWAAZ DO campaign initiated by UNICEF is doing its part in spreading the good word around.
(I have come this far in my life owing to the good primary education that I was blessed with, so it is high time I return the favour to society)

Want to know what you can do? There are an umpteen number of ways to help, and to start with, check this out-

http://www.awaazdo.in/

UNICEF is playing  an instrumental role in bringing together relevant stakeholders from government, civil society, teachers' organizations, media and the celebrity world to make this RTE act into a reality, and achieve.

To know more about what has been achieved so far in India under the RTE act, follow the links below.

A few stories around Education on the UNICEF India site:

Bringing Child Labourers Back to School in Bihar
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_6455.htm
Masti Ki Paatshala Curbs Dropouts
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_6245.htm
Children enjoy learning in Activity Based Learning Schools
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_6022.htm
Isolated Islanders Support Schools to Educate Their Children Closer to Home
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5429.htm
Community radio connects, educates and entertains in rural India
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5964.htm
ADEPTS – An innovative strategy to improve educational performance through teacher support
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_4831.htm
Storybooks to help marginalised children bridge language barriers
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5962.htm
Headmasters train to become better Managers
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_4671.htm
A Braille version of the CRC spells out rights for the visually impaired in India
http://www.unicef.org/india/education_5911.htm

Videos around education on the UNICEF You Tube Channel:

The Classroom - The right to free education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2b2nKhIvZU
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsQBTfc5lgQ
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYljSCFIdc
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYljSCFIdc
Priyanka Chopra on Girl Child Education 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRs8FpVlSIs
Bringing Child Labourers Back to School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlC-dlwMZ6E
Girl Stars - Krishna the Teacher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdlB9-HKgeo
Anita-The Bee Keeper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtUiVVDQYwA

A Welcome visitor!

The SUN!! True, today at around 12.15 pm, I was really thrilled to catch a glimpse of the sun, hardly to be seen here these days.

And, at that moment I was reminded of a hymn that we used to sing in school. It has a lot of in depth meaning, and it is just a right one to start the new year with.

Life and light and joy are found
In the presence of the lord:
Life with richest blessing crowned,
Light from many fountains poured -
Life and light and holy joy,
None can darken or destroy.

Bring to him life’s brightest hours,
He will make them still more bright;
Give to him your noblest powers,
He will hallow all your might;
Come to him with eager quest,
You shall hear his high behest.

All your questions large and deep,
All the open thought of youth,
Bring to him, and you shall reap
All the harvest of his truth;
You shall find in that great store
Largest love and wisest lore.

Then when comes life’s wider sphere
And its busier enterprise,
You shall find him ever near,
Looking with approving eyes,
On all honest work and true
His dear servants’ hands can do.

And if care should dim your eyes,
If life’s shadows come a pace,
You shall find him ever nigh
In the glory of his face.
Changing sorrows dark as night
Into morning, clear and bright.

I believe, that faith in the ultimate power above us, be it of any religion or country will change all our sorrows into happiness, and make our mornings clear and bright.

I wish all my readers
A VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS
NEW YEAR 2011

10 points to those who guess the location right

I’m no big quiz master… but I couldn’t resist myself from showcasing this to the world… snapshots from a place I visited very recently.
I do hope that it keeps you guessing till the end…

Here is a rock garden… with water cascading down into the pond.

                          Okay…. so, so much for the ducks, could it be….. ?

                   Anybody noticed a small shelter for the rains in the vicinity?

Orchids for the flower vase?

We indeed make nature dance to our tunes – a collection of Bonsai plants.

                                                     A walkers’ paradise?

                                              Must be enthralling at night!?

                              This should be “CLUE” enough – ring a bell?!!
And, yes it is the…….
Semmozhi Poonga, in Chennai. I bet Chennaiites must have made early guesses. If not, it is high time you guys took a turn at Cathedral road. It is  a must-see for nature lovers and anybody else who need a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Even within a few days of its inception, this botanical garden has added itself to the very many places worth visiting in Singara Chennai.

The place really looks stunning especially with the rains helping it keep its colour a lush green. And informative too, with the name tags for a few plants. There is a large collection of different shapes and forms of plant species, water fountains, rock gardens, ponds and streams, ducks… and even a spot dedicated to kids.

I would surely like to show off all my photographs, but I hope these few ones were rather tempting, urging you to go have a look for yourself.

Hats off to the administration, for here we have witnessed the perfect example of how with a little planning and a hell lot of green plants, an age old drive-in restaurant could turn into a bountiful landscape.
And that’s Chennai for you…!!

My first WINTER… (what if I were in the North Pole?!!)

The temperature is averaging 15°C… and I am shaking.

Believe it?

Surely, native Delhiites are not going to agree with me, dismissing this to be an exaggeration. But true, to get past each day this winter season has really become a Herculean task for me. Sometimes, I wonder what if I were in the North Pole now? Would I live to see the centre of the Pole? Or freeze to death at the perimeter??! Wild thought actually… and then I correct myself thinking that in my case, surviving Jammu’s winter itself is a big question, so why care taking my imagination up to the North Pole!!

A Blog forgotten….!!

After almost three months, I remembered starting to blog online. Life at IARI, New Delhi has kept me that busy? Of course not…. I have been too lazy to even think of anything else but food and sleep apart from my classes. So, today is sort of a revival maybe!

Remembering Nyanamma... on Teachers' day

Today, the 122nd birth anniversary of Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, celebrated all over India as TEACHERS' DAY. Without teachers at home, and in school I wonder if I would be writing this blog at the moment?! Where would I have been if not for them, if not for their moulding me from a mischievous little brat, to an urbane young lady...?!!

Thus, my day started off with a long list of messages that I had to send to all my teachers especially on this day, wishing them to have the best in life. Just one person I miss the most today is my own, sweet grandmother aka Nyanamma, a Maths teacher herself. Even at this time of the year, we hear about female infanticide, innumerable tortures against the girl child, dowry, social injustice, gender inequality.. the list is endless. But it sets me to think about the kind of calibre my grandmother must have possessed, to brave the hardships against women in society at her time, and to justify her responsibilities at home, as well as at work. Though I do not wish to delve into women's rights now, I would surely put my grandmother on top of everyone else in the world-an epitome of "women empowerment".

Last year this time, I remember wishing her a HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY, though I could get back only a weary smile...but that meant a lot to us. It takes me back to the times I spent with her, playing carrom and chess: the stats stand thus that I have not defeated her even in one game-such was her capabilities!! (Rather put, my inability). She was fond of reading Sundara kandam (episode in Ramayana,wherein Hanuman crosses the mighty ocean on the lookout for Sita), classic English novels, or any other book she could lay her hands on. Her day usually started off with religious hymns, and my favorite being Bhaja govindham, by M.S.Subbulakshmi (an epitome herself). She loved small treats in the evenings: chocolates, potato chips, biscuits and cakes. She must have been a big fan of Rajnikanth and Kamal, since those were the persons she always introduced us to, whenever she saw them on TV, and a special mention to Thenkinnam on Jaya TV: she could even miss a meal, than miss the chance to watch this show on yesteryear melodies. Her evening strolls in the terrace were always on the dot-emphasizing her virtues of punctuality and discipline.

Thinking about her, I am having a wild thought of having been her student in school, but destiny took me a step closer to her, right into her own home!!

So, on this day, I remember my grandmother-for the wonderful woman she was, and a great teacher too.

And to all those whose lives have been touched by her, be thankful for being so blessed and lucky to have been on earth while she was around.

From Chennai to Delhi,Life really took a startling turn.

This being my first blog post, just a little something about myself.

I consider my first Alma Mater, Vidyodaya Girls' Higher Secondary School, Chennai, to be the BEST too... since school gave me most of what I am today, it was the purple hours of my life, with lots of play and lots of fun, lots of studies too!! My teachers never insisted on State ranks or Merit medals, all they taught me was living a life of discipline and decorum, and one filled with love, lots of it!! With love, everything else follows.

Graduating as a vibrant Horticulturalist from Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam I decided to specialise in Crop Physiology from Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore as part of my Masters program. At that time, I was more inclined to settle down with a job as soon as possible, so I was on the lookout for the most lucrative job offers for Horticulturalists/Physiologists in my state.

Looking back, I really wonder when was the first time I immersed myself into a book, what is called "The Bible" for Plant Physiologists world over, the one by Lincoln Taiz and Eduardo Zeiger!! And there it all started.... thoughts about a Doctoral program, Post Doc?!!, fellowships, projects....

During the time when my Masters thesis almost drained me of myself, and at a time when most around me were ready to flee at the word 'GO', I thought of a career ahead; not just another Ph.D, but a Ph.D from one of the top institutions for science research in India. (It is of my opinion that getting into a college abroad is relatively easier these days, what with the number of coaching centres who help you master "THE ACCENT", and irrespective of where you land up finally-you are entitled to the status symbol of "such-and-such country-RETURN". Get my point? No offence meant, though!!) Whereas, pushing back a crowd of intelligent, well-educated students, and getting past the rigorous admission procedures of top institutions in India, is one heck of a task.

I aimed at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore... (it still appears to me as "THE" place for doing SCIENCE.) But here I am now, at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. No doubt about its standards with regard to research and development in the various disciplines of Agriculture. I specialise in Plant Physiology (was it in my veins??) It has been a week short to a month's time since I landed up here, and IARI is indeed a place which a person who wants to make it big in the Agricultural research should never miss.Here is EVERYTHING TO GAIN, AND NOTHING TO LOSE.

Life has really taken a startling turn for me; from Chennai, down south to Periyakulam and Coimbatore, and an accelerated U-turn (forgetting to step on the brakes I suppose) right up to Delhi...!! With loads of expectations and a fresh, unused brain I intend to explore the problems and challenges ahead of me. Quoting Emerson, "All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud, you have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason", I am looking to surge ahead.