He, who opens a school door, closes a prison - Victor Hugo.

Children are the future of the world, there are no second thoughts on that count. The recent decision of the state government to introduce CBSE syllabus in the government schools across the state from Class VI created a big furore.  There was vehement criticism from some quarters against the government’s decision.

Many top intellectuals in the state, including eminent teacher and legislative council member Chukka Ramaiah has cautioned the government against changing the syllabus in a hurry and warned that it would lead to possible closure of the schools.

“It is not a small issue and needs a lot of planning.  This would trigger school dropouts. Ultimately leading to closure of the schools,’’ Ramaiah said.
Arguments and counter arguments fired across as the state government went ahead with its decision to introduce English medium in 6,500 government schools across the state from Class VI.

But, not all were critical of government’s decision. “We welcome the introduction of English as the medium of instruction,”  remarked Democratic Teachers Federation (DTF)  general secretary M.V. Narsinga Rao. He said this would help the rural students to achieve better standards.

But, the case in point here is, whether the introduction of English medium or CBSE syllabus would do any good for the children in rural areas, who are deprived a lot compared to the students in metros and the towns.  And another important aspect to be looked into is, whether the teachers got the necessary wherewithal to meet the demands in a such a short duration of time?

No doubt, the state government has good intentions when it announced its decision to introduce English medium in government schools.  With IT and knowledge-based industries spreading their base in the state, the government thought it’s prudent to spread English, the largest spoken language across the world, in all parts of the state including rural areas.  The importance of the English language in this ‘Global Age’ needs no special mention here as it is so vital to keep the communication channels open with the world.

The government said the move was aimed at shoring up standards in school education and to prepare students to strengthen their base in the English medium and prepare them for national and global competition. Education department officials said this was to ensure that students from rural schools were on par with their counterparts studying in private English medium schools.

But the main problem here with the government decision, is that as many as 2,50,000 students  from 6,500 schools have to adapt to the new changes in no time.  The move is part of the World Bank-aided Strengthening and Universalisation of Quality and Access to Secondary Schools (SUCCESS) project.

Under the order, students of classes VI and VII of upper primary schools which are within two kilometre radius of high schools where English would be introduced as medium of teaching would be shifted to the nearby high schools along with teachers and other administrative staff.

The authorities have also made arrangements to train the teachers who are currently teaching Telugu medium syllabus. They would undergo training in English at reputed universities and institutes in the country.

Why not a ‘Vidyasree’?

In a democratic country like India, the welfare of the common man is the primary objective of any elected government. Despite Indian economy surging ahead, and thousands of new jobs are being generated every year, and the overall growth rate is consistent and improving, there still remains a large gap between rich and the poor. And, Andhra Pradesh is no exception to this.

The present state government, under Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, which is on the last leg of its five-year term, has been striving hard to cater to  the needs of the poor people. It has announced many populist schemes, which are intended to help the downtrodden in the society.

A couple of such programmes worth mentioning here are Rajiv Udyogasree and Rajiv Arogyasree. Particularly, the Rajiv Arogyasree proving to be a big boon with thousands of young children being cured with the help of the government aid provided under the scheme.

The Arogyasree scheme, which is like any other insurance scheme, entitles people, including young children with any major health defects, admit to any corporate hospital. And the government would refund the expenses incurred on the person, including surgeries. It’s a typical insurance scheme wherein the government stands as a guarantor in serving the health requirements of the people.

Take the case of a four-year-old girl Nandini from Hindupur, Anantapur district, who was suffering with a birth defect in the heart. She got admitted into  Wockhardt Hospitals, L.B. Nagar, and was successfully operated by the specialist surgeons there. And, the hospital got reimbursement from the government while Nandini’s parents were obviously elated as their daughter got cured from a life-threatening ailment. 

Yet,  another such scheme deserves mention here is the Rajiv Udyoasree scheme.  This scheme is intended to provide employment to the talented youth in the rural areas. The state government is planning to provide 10 lakh jobs to the rural youth in the next two to three years under the scheme.

Speaking about the scheme, Education minister R Chenga Reddy said, “The manufacturing sector in the state is growing at the rate of nine to ten per cent. We should not miss the vast opportunity to generate additional jobs by providing appropriate training to youth.”

No doubt, the children in the rural areas need one such ‘major tonic’ to catch up with the standards of their counterparts in towns and metros, who got better opportunities and better facilities. The success of Rajiv Arogyasree stands as a good example in this regard. Not that the children and rural poor have suddenly ‘discovered their life threatening diseases’ to make a beeline to the corporate hospitals and get cured of their ailments. It’s just because, the government is now providing a helping hand to them as it would reimburse the total medical expenditure incurred for their treatment for life-threatening diseases. And, the rural poor need not run to a money-lender or perennially wait with the hope that a divine help would cure all their diseases automatically.

In a similar way, the state government should come up with a scheme for rural poor in educational front as well.  Accordingly, the government should spot the talented and bright young children in the rural areas and ensure them ‘’good and qualitative education’’ by providing financial assistance as in the case of `Rajiv Arogyasree’. This amount spent on education or getting admitted into a corporate school should be reimbursed as in the case of Arogyasree scheme.

Children are the future of any country. Providing them a decent education should be the utmost priority of any elected government.  Certainly, it will go a long way in building a good future of the state. With the state government achieving tremendous success with Rajiv Udyogasree  and Rajiv Arogyasree schemes, why not come up with a scheme that serves the education needs of the talented rural children? After Rajiv Arogyasree, Rajiv Udyogasree, why not ‘RAJIV VIDYASREE’. Certainly, the  impoverished rural poor children in the state deserve one such scheme.
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