Exemplary corporate

Your cover story ‘Microsoft’s deepening engagement with Indian education’ (EW January) was a revelation. The company’s management deserves profound thanks for its contribution to improving and upgrading Indian education, especially training government school teachers in ICT usage and delivery. Given that Microsoft founder Bill and his wife Melinda Gates have promoted the world’s most well-endowed philanthropic foundation in global history, it’s not surprising that Microsoft India takes its corporate social responsibility seriously.  Even if a hard-headed business organisation, it is an exemplary practitioner of enlightened self-interest.

I hope the over-celebrated and lionised captains of Indian industry read your cover story carefully and learn about the importance of giving back to the community. I have yet to read of any meaningful education initiatives launched by any Indian company or industry leader. Instead, it’s usual to read stories in the media about their indulgences and conspicuous consumption even as over 80 percent of Indians eke out miserable lives on less than Rs.20 per day.
Sanjeev Gupta
Mumbai

National manners deficit

Your editorial ‘Revisiting national manners deficit issue’ (EW January) was excellent. Without doubt there’s a serious life skills and manners deficit in Indian society. Most people, unless they are interacting with superiors or people in important positions, display a shocking lack of elementary politeness and courtesy. In fact not just in India but on my travels abroad I’ve found that Indian residents don’t bother to even greet their countrymen, forget about exchanging notes. They assume that ‘poor Indians’ are out to cadge and dupe them.

I couldn’t agree more with your suggestion of introducing formal life skills and civics programmes in schools and colleges across the country. Growing consumerism and obsession with gadgets, computer games and social networking sites is further damaging children’s socialisation and inter-personal communi-cation skills. We must catch them young and emphasise the impor-tance of good manners in work and social spaces.
L. Raghunathan
Chennai

Something fishy

Reference your editorial ‘Congress should concede JPC probe demand’ (EW January), I’d like to remind your readers that in 1987 Parliament was stalled for 45 days before the Congress party conceded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Bofors scandal. In relation to the current 2-G spectrum allocation scandal, the opposition parties are likely to continue to demand a JPC probe through the budget session, again stalling Parlia-ment’s proceedings.

There’s something definitely fishy about the Congress party’s obstinate refusal to setting up a JPC. The demand of the opposition may not be entirely justifiable but why is the Congress afraid of a JPC? This way the party is losing its respect and may lose the next general elections as well.

I suggest this matter be solved by appointing an arbitrator — the Supreme Court. Let the JPC demand be judged and decided by the apex court, whose decision should be final and acceptable to all political parties of India.
Mahesh Kumar
Delhi

Double standards

I have enjoyed reading EducationWorld for the past five years but at times your articles manifest double standards — although that may be required in journalism.

For instance your Postscript item titled ‘Cantonments query’ (EW December), which questions army cantonments in urban habitats is completely off the rails. I believe that defence and army cantonments are the lungs of cities and provide clean spaces in India’s polluted and ill-planned cities.

Your accusations of corruption against army generals are misguided since defence land is looked after by the Defence Estates Office which is governed by bureaucrats. Urban space vacated by the defence forces will fall prey to gated colonies for the rich and will widen the poor-rich divide.

EW will do well to promote education to the larger masses by voicing concerns of the underserved and less privileged. Towards this, please consider publishing EW in regional languages starting with Hindi.
Prem Prakash on e-mail

Research culture failure

The expert comment essay by Dr. Rahul Choudaha titled ‘Time for quality precedence’ (EW December) is well researched, to say the least. Being from an education background (MA, education and democracy), I am deeply aware of how miserably Indian universities fail in giving due importance to research.

Research requires a lot of funding and infrastructure to begin with, but also a lot of expertise of senior faculty members. Nor do our universities offer interdisciplinary programmes. Ours is a higher education system driven by complex sociological factors, which in turn causes inequality in terms of access to education, quality of educa-tion, and career opportunities.

Although I do admire Kapil Sibal’s work, especially his views on public-private partnership, I believe his initiatives are far too late.
Anonymous on e-mail

Mousy outcome

Your special report on NIOS (EW December) is too soft on this institution. After 21 years it has certified less than 3 million secondary, higher secon-dary and vocational stream students.

This is hardly an achievement given that the country has over 350 million adult illiterates plus another 200 million child school dropouts. The truth is that NIOS is just another government organisation using a mountain of resources to produce a mouse of outcome.
Santosh Kumar
Varanasi