This white paper is incomplete and does not address the issues properly
I would suggest to highlight certain issues more prominently
1) The primary school teachers, be in govt/private should be the highest paid job in the country
2) Remove all kinds of corrupt practices in the education sector- the most important objective of education is to transform an individual into a healthy human being who is capable of doing his share of work in nation-building; all activities of education- from selection of students/teachers/allocation of schools/courses/valuation etc etc should be non-corrupt.
3) Health Education should be one of the primary objectives in education- (Health care is not disease care) it will address all the objectives of social needs including social security and human development - because healthy citizens in any country is the reflection of social security and human development.
4) Gender education/family education/sex education should be included in the curriculum
5) Merit alone should be the criterion for election of teachers in both private and govt sector
7) Clause 17 in the white paper should be modified- educational institutions should not be for profit- even the thought of making profit out of it should be opposed and curbed or dealt with- it should only be established for social objectives - the only profit should be human empowerment - or the existing ones should be transformed into non-profit establishments- if we identify educational institutions as profit making, we will authenticate this deadly culture of doing business with education
To make a beginning let us stop corruption- How to stop corruption?
STOP CORRUPTION & BLACK MONEY TO SAVE INDIA
The root cause of all the problems in India is Black money and corruption. Both are intimately related issues, We need to get out of both to save INDIA and our next generation. We have the resources and we have the potential to take India forward. Human resources are the best in the world, weather is optimal, rich in natural resources, naturally beautiful- truly GOD’S OWN COUNTRY- All our wealth is now dumped as dead investments in GOLD, REAL ESTATE, HUGE HOUSES and in foreign banks. The total worth of gold in India is estimated at 75 lakh crores of Indian Rupees (1250000 million dollars). In spite of not being a gold producing country, one fifth of the world’s total gold possession is in India. Mostly it is the black money that goes into investments in gold, land and huge houses. India is rich but Indians are not rich is the situation that we face. 2% is holding 80% of our wealth, all because of corruption; corruption stems from money- mindedness instilled into our psyche by the lack of social security. We forget the fact that wealth accumulated by any individual will not last for more than two generations. The huge wealth in India is unavailable for providing social security and human development. Apparent lack of resources is the result of all these and lack of resources is the reason for ignoring social security, human development and social health for all. Healthy individuals in a society anywhere is a manifestation of social security and human development. We ignore social health- ( we do not provide balanced diet for all, there is no proper waste management , no safe drinking water for all, We do not promote good lifestyle habits, but we promote consumerism with the help of film stars and cricket stars or other celebrities; We do not provide play grounds, parks,foot paths and cycle paths and other facilities for doing exercise)-Because of the absence of these basic facilities only diseases are multiplying disproportionate to population growth. We are at least 50 years behind the developed countries in providing basic amenities to our citizens or in terms of providing social security and human development, but we boast of our hospital facilities which are largely inaccessible to the majority here.To tackle the increasing patient load we concentrate on building hospitals and increasing the number of medical colleges but the students who come out are not trained for our country. We copy the USA model of disease care which is hugely expensive and patient unfriendly.
Counterfeit notes printed in other countries circulate freely only because we allow cash transaction more often rather than insisting on the use of transparent methods like debit cards, cheque, drafts or online transactions. Counterfeit notes cannot be circulated if we stop liquid currency transactions. Similarly if large transactions in liquid currency are banned, all corruption within the country will stop at once. This is because no one will accept bribe as cheque or draft or through bank- With ban on cash transactions counterfeit notes and Hawala dealers will disappear, Black money will disappear, people will stop making huge houses using black money, they will stop investing in gold and real estate. Naturally we will get enough resources for providing basic amenities like safe drinking water& balanced diet for all and for proper waste management which will reduce the disease burden; then we can focus on human development and to provide social security. With cashless society no one will dare to be corrupt and no one would accumulate black money in any form. The most important practical solution to stop corruption in India now lies in making our country a cashless society at the earliest with determination - as had already happened in developed countries.We need to set ceiling on gold possession, ceiling on possession of unused land, size of house etc and ceiling on cash possession with individuals and large cash transactions more than a certain amount by individuals should be punishable. Institutions and business houses should be insisted on to accept debit cards and those not accepting debit card and accepting cash only should be punished. Whatever they collect in cash should be deposited only in banks the very next day at least. Those who love India should join to save our nation from corruption and black money. Once these two are tackled all the other developments needed will follow automatically.
Dr.P.K.Sasidharan
INDIA more