The Union HRD ministry’s decision to confer greater autonomy on the IIMs should have come long ago (cover story ‘IIMs: Overdue auto-nomy bonus, EW December). Over the past four decades the pioneer ‘ABC’ IIMs in Ahmed-abad, Bangalore and Calcutta have established excellent reputations, with their grad-uates being offered mind-boggling pay packages by top companies. They have managed to excel despite constant political and bureaucratic interference. The recent autonomy proposal is indeed overdue and will help the IIMs improve their international rankings.
The freedom to pay high faculty salaries, build endowment corpuses and establish international linkages is crucial for B-schools to deliver world-class education. Hopefully, with refor-mist Kapil Sibal at the helm in the HRD ministry, the IIMs will graduate from being national brands to world-class institutions with global reputations.
Suryanath Ganguly
Kolkata
Empty boast
Your special report on the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) was an eye-opener (EW December). NIOS is indeed under-publicised and under-promoted. Though chairman S. Jena says that the NIOS journey thus far has been quite successful, the institute is nowhere near meeting the demand for secondary school certi-fication. Every year 105 million children drop out of primary school and over the past 21 years NIOS has certified a mere 1.5 million students. That’s hardly anything to boast about.
To increase its reach and expand access, it’s a good idea to compulsorily introduce the NIOS board exam option in all government schools. Children who drop out of primary school should be enroled with NIOS, with government schools offering supplementary classes over weekends. Moreover NIOS should establish fully-owned study centres in all of the country’s educationally backward districts.
Sarita Deshpande
Mumbai
Reduce academic focus
Atula Ahuja’s Teac-her-2-Teacher column titled ‘Encouraging multiple intelligences’ (EW December) succi-nctly explains why parents and teachers must encourage every child’s other intelli-gences rather than obsess about academic success. School life is very stressful with children forced to cope with demanding teachers and busloads of homework. This compels many parents to do the entire homework themselves, and in many cases encourage children to cut and paste content from the internet. Instead parents should discover and develop their children’s other intelligences which could lead to great careers.
Mahesh Kumar
Delhi
True crusader
I am a regular reader of the editorial content of EducationWorld. Editor Dilip Thakore is a true crusader for social justice following the example and teachings of great luminaries such as Socrates, Raja Ram Mohun Roy, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhiji, Ho Chi Minh, and Dr. Nelson Mandela, to name a few.
On the occasion of the 11th anni-versary of EW, I wish to congratulate you and your team, urging you to carry on regardless, and be true to the motto of Lawrence School, Sanawar: “Never give in”. I assure you all right-thinking people are behind you in your quest for education reform and social justice for millions of our disadvan-taged children, denied opportunity to succeed by the country’s dysfunctional public education system.
Rajan Nathaniel
Chennai
James Bond babus
Your editorial on how to deal with the increasingly fire-breathing Chinese dragon (EW November) was enlight-ening. But if you expect our Sixth Pay Commission salary and TA and DA-drawing babus of the ministry of external affairs and RAW to transform into James Bond-type secret agents planting seeds of democracy in communist China, you are living in a fool’s paradise. Dream on!
Prakash K. on e-mail
Indian philanthropy
Re your postscript ‘Colonised benefactors’ (EW November), you are misinformed when you say that none of Bangalore’s IT billionaires have loosened their purse strings for the Bangalore School of Music. Yasmin, the wife of Wipro chairman Azim Premji — listed among the top 50 billionaires worldwide by Forbes magazine — donated two metal folding chairs (estimated value: Rs.1,000) to the school. That’s philanthropy Indian-style for Indian education institutions.
A. D’Souza on e-mail
Hard times
I read with interest your entertaining postscript items ‘Red carpet for Reds’ and ‘Colonised benefactors’ (EW November). Ayyo! You are caught between a rock and a hard place. Indian capitalists are writing invitation cards for Naxalites; you are being forced to pay bribes to government officials, and Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra are funding foreign institutions rather than Indian. These are hard times indeed! I feel for you.
S. Muthu
Chennai
Prayer for wisdom
I was delighted to read your cover story ‘Imminent investment boom in private education’ in your anniversary issue (EW November). Very timely, needing action immediately, urgently and importantly.
With senior counsel all set to argue the case for liberating K-12 education from the shackles of government bondage before a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, let us all bow in prayer that the learned judges be blessed with Solomonic wisdom to deliver a liberation judgement.
K.V. Simon
Mumbai