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...
Good one Aditi !!! Even I second you in your thoughts. It looks like my thoughts are given a beautiful blog format.. Thanks for bring them up :-)
ReplyDelete"the Ministry of HRD invested the couple of lakhs of Rupees they had spent in this ad, to educate even a couple of students"
ReplyDeleteFYI (Indian Budget 2010)
! Plan allocation for school education increased by 16 per cent from Rs.26,800 crore
in 2009-10 to Rs.31,036 crore in 2010-11.
! In addition, States will have access to Rs.3,675 crore for elementary education
under the Thirteenth Finance Commission grants for 2010-11.
I would like to make a point here that the advertisement is to "CREATE AWARENESS" which is very necessary...money is not a constraint....
i think the objective of the advertisement is served if it "IGNITES" few minds and drive the others for a cause...
I appreciate the effort you invested in gathering these statistics. By means of this article, I in no way way intend to contest the fact that money is being invested or at least being allocated for primary education.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I wish is to express my opinion that when most of the people in the country aren't aware of their rights, the govt should take it up as their DUTY to ensure that every citizen is educated. To put it in simpler words, why would a person be proactive enough to ask for a 'right' if he/she does not even understand the importance of education, even if they're getting it for free. They would rather invest time in doing some labour which would fetch them some money.
Addressing your other point of creating awareness, I have already written, that this ad should have probably published in hindi, or maybe broadcasted on a radio to reach the intended audience. English newspaper readers would just flip through the page, and does it even mention a sentence asking the well read to spread the word to the uneducated !!!!! Whose mind will this ignite? I wonder.
Hope this makes some sense :)