Goat, Tiger and Grass stack

                                                                        Goat, Tiger and Grass stack

          I am reminded of a puzzle my father gave me to solve when I was in the third standard. This was about the goat, tiger and the grass stack to be ferried across the river in a basket boat that had space only for two occupants. Since the boatman had to be a constant fixture, he had to make three trips to ferry all three to the other shore. The problem was he could not leave the tiger with the goat or the goat with the grass on either shore .If he took the goat leaving the tiger and the grass, on his next trip, he faced the choiceless choice of leaving either the grass stack with the goat or the tiger with the goat which would provide a sumptuous repast for one of the two- the goat or the tiger. The puzzle remained unsolved till my father told me that the key to the solution was the space for two in the boat. I leave the puzzle at this point to you to solve the boatman’s predicament. This puzzle sums up the political puzzle of electing our next President where the space is limited to one alone. We have a Bengali versus another Bengali (Pranab vs Somnath), a Muslim technocrat versus a Muslim diplomat (Kalam vs Ansari), a SC versus a ST (Meira Kumar vs Sangma) or PM (Manmohan Singh) versus PM(Pranab Mukherjee). It is ludicrous to renominate Abdul Kalam. Even assuming him to be a role model, in this country with a billion people can’t there be two Kalams but only one? M&M have muddied the waters for the BJP and AIADMK to fish  in troubled waters while Congress continues testing the waters in an effort to reach a consensus. The puzzle remains unsolved unless the boat(wo)man comes up with a trump ace.

The Congress has been put in a quandary despite the fact that M&M are in agreement with Madame Sonia that PM should be the 13^th President. M&M say that PM shall be the next President while Sonia’s choice is also PM-(Pranab Mukherjee). Our desi M&M, like the American M&M (candies with letter ‘m ’printed on one side) that fills candy shells with a variety of colorful chocolate centres has made the President’s post an empty shell into which they can have their signature fillings. M&M’s personal bitterness, inflated ego and vaulting ambition have left a bitter taste not just for the government in power, but for the whole nation. While politicians take umbrage in the saying that there are no permanent friends or foes in politics, this does not give license to political leaders to don the robes of an Assange and leak out what transpired in a one-to-one meeting with the host who had invited them. Since Sonia had not revealed the names till there was a consensus, it is downright chicanery on the part of the Bengal M to make the names public. As for the other M, he thinks it morally right to run with the hare and hunt with the hound. Seated next to Sonia on the anniversary bash of UPAII, he led her along the garden path assuring her of his support. Congress was lulled into complacency without noticing his newfound bonhomie with his counterpart M.  The two M’s have displayed crass Machiavellianism, in their employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft and in general conduct. It would have been in order to list out their preferences to the UPA chief as they are still its allies.  They have a right to make their choice public but they have no right to make Sonia’s choice public. It is an act of betrayal- something we Indians have to be wary of as we had allowed the Mughal and the Britsh conquest through the internecine betrayal and rivalry of the Hindu rulers. The BJP has had a martyred grievance that it had not been approached by the arrogant Congress, forgetting that even before the race to Raisina Hill began, Madame Swaraj decisively ruled out support to any Congress nominee-especially Pranab as a Congressman and Ansari as a man of no substance. Its frequent assertions that we will keep our cards close to our chest and will play a wait and watch game show scant respect for the high office of the President. Congress may now feel back stabbed by M&M, but it has no one to blame except itself. Unlike other times as in the Lokpal Bill, FDI in Retail, NCTC, FDI in Pension, this time it had been assiduously working to take the allies with it, but it failed to see M&M”s writing on the wall.

While our political pundits discuss the fallout of M&M’s googly, what is most distressing is that the highest office of the president has been cheapened through murky intrigues and unscrupulous wheeler dealers. It is unfortunate that in the last few weeks’ debate about the next President, no one talked about what qualities are required to be the President of India, but only in terms of minority, caste, religion, gender and de facto domicile(from North or South or East or West  or North-East of India.). It is sad that we cannot expect our politicians to leave aside their personal and party prejudices to look for a President who has faith in our people, in our Parliament, empathy and compassion, honesty and integrity, courage of conviction founded upon social and moral responsibility.  The political drama or tamasha has shown that our politicians are not looking for a person of erudition and wisdom who will bring back a humane, ethical and moral society.

 Indian Republic today needs an active President who will lead the bickering politicians to replace their present trend of packaging humanity into politics by packaging politics into humanity. Can we expect our politicians to give up their egoism, vaulting ambition and mindless intrigues and showcase to the world that parliamentary democracy in India is strong and vibrant. Democracy that is principled on unity amongst diversity can be best illustrated through the Presidential election in the coming weeks. Let us hope that our political class displays maturity and not play musical chairs to grab the sole seat nor play a game of chess to capture power nor resort to gamesmanship for the sole purpose of defeating the opponents, but play fair and square true to the highest principles of democracy

.  

Reflection on XIIth Board Examination Results

                                                        Reflections on  XII^th Board Examination Results

The eagerly awaited XII^th results are out. The results are no different from the previous years- as usual girls have done better, Chennai once again has put up the best performance with a pass percentage of 90.59, (though last year, the pass percentage of Chennai was 91.32), pass results in government schools have improved and high scoring marks all over India  have scaled new heights. The mad scramble for admissions to colleges has begun and the eligibility cut-off for the elite colleges as in the previous years will be 96-99%. Anxiety is writ large on all those young faces whose marks range between 90 and 95, having failed to reach the toppers’ scores by a margin of 3-4 %. With limited number of seats available, their dreams of joining the elite colleges shall remain only dreams. As for the under 90s, the prospects of joining second rung colleges that are next in order of merit are bright. The disappointment for that large number of students who have managed between 70 and 80% is too grim to be written about.  But for the rest who have cleared the XII^th Boards with less percentage, there are umpteen colleges –that are colleges only in name-who have a lower eligibility bar, besides open learning institutions that have a gargantuan space for any number of entrants in search of a degree. In the University of Delhi, the number of seats available in colleges is 54,000 while its Open School of Learning is open to more than a lakh of students. There is also the Indira Gandhi National Open University and a few recognized Distance learning Centres to admit all those who are left behind mainstream college education. In this respect higher education in India attempts to satisfy at least quantitatively, if not qualitatively. The same tilt in favour of quantity over quality is evidenced in the school Board examinations.

The high scores in the Board examinations raise two pertinent issues that pose a challenge to college admission.  They relate to examination and evaluation.  The number of students who took the XII^th Boards – both as regular and private students- is about 81,000 and pass percentage is 80.9%. In terms of arithmetic calculations, a little more than 64,000 students have cleared the examinations this year. Since CBSE caters to all regions within India and a few Indian schools abroad- especially in the Middle East, it is a creditable achievement. But such a result is possible only because the papers are set in such a way that even the below average student can manage to pass. Most of the questions are for two marks barring a couple that are marked out of five. No wonder, the pass percentage is high and higher is the number of students scoring over 90%.

The truth is-with no disparagement intended about the merit of the high scoring percenters- the Board examinations do not test the real intelligence or high order thinking of the students. It is obvious the Boards are more mindful of the below average students passing the examinations than testing students’ knowledge, understanding and their analytical and logical skills. This is not intended to haul the CBSE over the coal as one of the main objectives of CBSE is to focus on the lowest common denominator of the large number of students who can answer simple questions. When the students after school join college, where they have to write long essays and assignments, even the 90 percenters find it difficult to score more than a modest 60-70% or even less than that. As for the others, their attempt at university examinations is pathetic. Thus the disconnect between school learning and college education has disastrous consequences for a majority of students entering the university portals.

The second issue relates to evaluation which varies from region to region. For the last so many years, Tamilnadu has topped the Boards.  What makes Chennai schools different from the rest of the country? Is it that Tamilnadu students are brighter than the rest or are the Chennai teachers far superior to the rest in the country? It is not that one doubts the credentials of Chennai schools, teachers and students, but no one including CBSE has analyzed the reasons behind the spectacular performance of Chennai year after year. If Chennai schools have distinct quality pedagogy, why can’t that be replicated in other schools?  Or is this high scoring and high pass percentage phenomena anything to do with evaluation? Are the Chennai teachers more liberal in marking than teachers elsewhere? Has the CBSE tried to find out what distinguishes Tamilnadu schools? Has it ever taken out the answer sheets of students at random from different regions and compared the evaluation?  

Quantity versus quality is an issue that dogs all educational reforms in the country. With RTE in place, it is imperative to see that no student is denied schooling and denied the opportunity to realize and utilize his capabilities to lead the life that he or she values. Hence the present CBSE system of examination and evaluation will help our young men and women to be educated and use their learning to realize their potential to be gainfully employed. But this does not ensure quality learning. It is time for reflection and action.

CBSE should have two sets of question papers for the XII^th Boards similar to the ‘O’ and  ‘A’ levels in UK. The difference is, unlike UK where the O levels are at the end of the X^th, here both the options should be available only in the XII^th class. The present set of question papers as they are, should be continued as it guarantees a minimum qualification for employment while another set of advanced papers with essay type questions should be offered to those who wish to pursue higher studies in the Universities. The latter must satisfy the minimum entrance qualification required by the universities. Those who wish to pursue university education will have to opt for the advanced level while all others seeking to pursue vocational degree courses can opt for the former. This is one way to make school education integrative both of quality and quantity. This should not be mistaken for discrimination of students as they are given the freedom to opt for any one of them. Accordingly they shall be taught and trained to take up the examinations of their choice. 

It is best to recall Amartya Sen’s theory of  Capability Egalitarianism where the capability approach advocates that the evaluative space should be that of capabilities. Democratization of education should not be limited to making education available to all, but to be expanded to include the right of every individual to raise his bar and to be given the opportunity to realize his attainable outcome. One of the weaknesses of democracy is that in the context of equality and equity it does not have room for merit. All efforts in our country is geared towards LCD(Lowest Common Denominator) which in itself is a good thing, but fails to provide space for HCF (Highest Common Factor)- also called Greatest Common Measure(GCM) or Greatest Common Divisor(GCD). The focus cannot always be only at the lower rungs at the cost of merit and quality. This is particularly true of democracy in education. It is an opportune moment for educationists to institute reforms at the school level to synergize quality and quantity, to ensure reconciliation at the University level of these two imponderables of equity and merit. The Delors report on Education presented to UNESCO in 1994-95 and the Annual Report of the World Bank have expressed the four pillars of learning and development for the 21^st Century as learning to be, learning to know, learning to do and learning to live together which is basically the aim  of education- to develop  skilled and educated individuals and set up  Knowledge and Research Institutions, laboratories and Networks that will work with other networks involving  trade, companies, research centres and  manufacturers.

 Can Indian academics with their wisdom and vast experience alter the dynamics of education to bring about a new ideology of learning in our society! I wish we can Obama-like say “Yes, We can”

Consumer Activism:A Platform for our Rights and Duties

                        

               Consumer Activism: a platform for our rights and duties.

Activism is the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or social goals. There are many types of activism such as the judicial activism, student activism, media activism, internet activism etc, but the most potent, wide-reaching and the most sought after activism is Consumer activism. This is because it is not limited to any specific group like the judiciary or students or the Media, but extends to connect with everyone in the society. It presupposes awareness of unfair practices that affect the consumers and it anticipates redressal of complaints against unsatisfactory products, unfair price and above all it is a potent tool to assert consumer’s rights. Consumer activism helps the consumers to make informed buying decisions- to make buying pro-active. In short, it empowers the Consumer as King, in the sense that he is the final decider and arbiter in any unfair transaction between the seller and the buyer. But the most important element that underlies consumer activism is that it involves some degree of personal sacrifice, a willingness to deny oneself a necessary product or thing in order to demand better quality and fairer price for it. It is this element that is missing in Consumer activism in India. Let me illustrate this from what we experience daily as we shop for fruits and vegetables.

This is the season for mangoes, leechis, melons, tomatoes etc- fruits and vegetables that have a fair amount of water to quench our summer thirst. Invariably every year these are either in short supply or of poor quality ( the better quality fruits are exported to fetch very high price and that too in foreign currency ) or priced beyond the affordability of  consumers who do not belong to that microscopically small percent of the affluent class. The large majority of consumers from the middle and lower middle class have either to buy inferior fruits and vegetables at a high price or pay phenomenal price to buy quality products.  It is easy to blame the government for price rise specially relating to the food index, but the real culprit is we, the consumers who surrender to the greed of the sellers. If consumers are ready to forego tomatoes and onions, mangoes and bananas, these perishable items under the scorching sun will soon rot and move out of the store shelves into the garbage dins. Active Consumer movement should unite us all  as consumers to boycott perishable food items that meet neither our purse nor our palate.   Consumer activism can succeed if there is a voluntary effort to give up these vegetables and fruits until the prices are brought down as per the Law of demand and supply.  The goal should be to pressurize the sellers to make available fruits and vegetables of better quality at affordable price.  It is this united movement that is missing in our society. It is a sad reflection of our mindset that prioritizes selfishness to obtain for oneself goods and products without a thought for the millions who have to do without them. The development of social awareness with regard to consumer activism is closely linked to the development of moral and spiritual awareness. Embedded in this movement are morality, selflessness, sacrifice and united effort to make the traders and sellers recognize the power of Consumer activism.

The operation of consumer activism is needed in cases of adulteration- adulteration of edible oils, water, milk, foodstuff like rice, flour and pulses, medicines, besides fuel that corrode the car engine and cause  kitchen fire. There is certainly legal recourse to all these adulterated products and unfair practices, but in our country the judicial wheel moves slowly and never reaches its destination. Unlike the USA where consumer movements have developed as a potent form of resistance against unethical marketing and industrial practices, in India, the movement often gets stymied for lack of united effort. Traders know that they can sell goods of whatever quality as there is no strong protest movement that unites all consumers. Organizations like consumer forum, Shoutout etc have boldly emerged to take the traders bull by their horns. But these organizations need grassroots level support through boycott of goods that are quality-wise low and price-wise high.

Consumer is King-  because of his commitment to the cause of his fellow beings, because of his awareness of the unethical practices among the traders and shopkeepers, because of his courage to renounce all those products until their quality and fair price are ensured.  This is yet another fight against corruption- corruption that is insidious and working in a hidden injurious way. Let the Consumers of India unite to overcome all injustices, immoral practices and deceit in their transaction with traders and shopkeepers.

Consumer activism is not limited to ethical shopping, ethical purchase behavior, ethical consumption only, but it also includes action against ethical wastage so that less privileged consumers can have access to them. In many families, medicines that include vitamins and anti-biotics and tonics lie unused. Consumer organizations should keep cardboard boxes in prominent places in different neighbourhoods where consumers can deposit the unused medicines. If these medicines are within expiry date, these activist organizations can deposit them in hospital and charity clinics. We travel on roads, walk on streets and move around markets. Thus we are consumers of the state’s largesse to us. While it is our right to protest if roads are bad, streets are filthy and markets are disgustingly dirty, we also have our share in maintaining them. Consumer activism extends beyond rights to acceptance of responsibility. As consumers, we should not make our roads garbage dins, nor waste power and water so that others can share the available limited necessities with the rest of us.

Consumer Activism starts with consumers’ duty before it becomes consumer’s rights.