As I flipped though the newspaper on this lazy Sunday morning, a half a page advertisement caught my attention, and that is when I realized that today is Teacher’s Day. And, the subsequent pages too followed the trend with a quarter and half page announcements of the occasion by various political parties.
A half a page advertisement in the middle pull-out of the newspaper read
“Elementary Education is now a fundamental right of every child”
I saw three Passport sized leaders smiling straight at me, proud of announcing this ‘right to elementary education’. It struck to me, that had the Ministry of HRD invested the couple of lakhs of Rupees they had spent in this ad, to educate even a couple of students, they might have just got the credit of creating a new business leader, two decades down the line (if they are calculating the ROI)
I wondered who this advertisement was targeting at the first place. In all likelihood, the literate who are capable of reading the content of this advertisement must’ve passed the stage of elementary education. It does not even ask the readers to spread the message to those deprived of it. Does the government think that the illiterate, for whom, or for whose children this is apparently meant, would actually subscribe to an English daily? Why would they even consider investing on readable news when they can’t afford to satiate their hunger and at the first place, can’t read news! Maybe, it’s simply an act to have visibility. Who would not want to have one’s photograph published in the newspaper read by a million people, that too when the Ministry and not the individual pays for it!
A ‘Right’ has to be claimed, and the seeker cannot be deprived of it. But how would a prospective claimant know this at all, when the ‘rights of a citizen’ are taught not before a student reaches the sixth grade. Shouldn’t the government take responsibility and consider it their Duty to educate the illiterate and make elementary education accessible to everyone?
Only a student (learner) can understand the meaning of the guidance a teacher can bring into one’s life. Until the day we have 'enough' students (the 'enough' is for us to define), the celebration of the Teacher’s Day will remain as superficial as the piece of newspaper I hold in my hands...
