“My Right to Education”

This is about a little boy whom I met today. He is studying in 4th standard in a nearby school. His mother brought him to my home to make him sit and do his homework. I called him ‘Chottu’ because he was too small for his age.

And, there Chottu sat with a big bag that must have rolled through all sorts of earthly dirt.

“What homework do you have?” I asked him in a pampering voice. “Maths!” he replied in a tough voice with an implied face.

Chottu had no time to waste, so we began the chase.

His book was a priceless sight of how worst a study book can be kept, with plenty of red marks, pencil marks, sketch pens and many other sorts of unknown writing tools. The covers were torn to extremes and the book was three fourth uncovered.

I couldn’t resist asking him the reason behind the sketch pen marks in the notebook. Surprisingly, those were the contributions of his mentor. The teacher has used sketch pens as a substitute for red pens. Chottu too has contributed his creativity on them, giving the book a vibrant appeal.

I felt quite happy to do the divisions and subtractions after long years. Chottu too was happy because he understood that the Didi sitting in front of him knows to do his homework. The thought made him lazier and he began looking at me for every single digit. His pleading face or his cute little face, I did everything for him.

Homework got over in twenty minutes and Chottu was all set for the pack up. Like most of the elders, I advised him to study better and asked him to visit frequently so that I can help him out with his studies. Chottu doesn’t seem to be concerned. I decided to make him a little frightened. “You will fail next year if you go like this”, I warned him.

Chottu replied, “Didi, teachers won’t fail us. Government has said not to hold back any student in classes till he completes the 8th grade.”

I went speechless for a moment. While bidding him good bye, I was terrified of the knowledge he had about his Right to Education.

Will Kerala emerge or submerge?

For the past three decades, Government of Kerala had nothing to flaunt in the sector of industry and agriculture. Most of the projects undertook ceased at the brink where they begun. The corporate companies were not ready for investment on a land where most of the days are strikes. 

A matter of joy

Here we see a new dawn. With the global connect event Emerging Kerala 2012 occurring from 12th September 2012 to 14th September 2012, hundreds of conglomerates are showing their interest to invest in God’s own country. This will surely execute many of the abandoned, yet aspired projects of the state. A few of them will be Kochi Metro Rail project, High Speed Rail Corridor, Vizhinjam International Deep Water Seaport, IIT Kottayam, Power plant projects and Electronic Parks. 

The fear 

However, the joy also raises a few concerns. When the state heads to a multinational investment hub, it shows an equal chance of being susceptible to few hazards. The major one is the environmental impact. 

Kerala, the land which is known for its scenic beauty can never take the risk of being a land of concrete masses. Hence, the projects that bring fortunes must be executed with care without harming the godly land, protecting every inch of greenery it possesses. A special care may be requested in the case of Cochin because it is a city with innumerable infrastructural developments every day and more are in the offing. It also faces the issue of improper waste management.  

Another foremost issue is about the land transaction. The state with a small area of 38, 863 km2 has to be careful from blindly selling its lands to investors. It is already reported that the land mafias have buckled their shoes. This has to be taken care before the issue gets worsened into a state of social exclusion.

As far as now, the Chief Minister Ummen Chandi has assured that no land will be sold and only providing land for leases are in consideration. Even if those are leases, they have to be clear cut on the papers according to the norms of the acts like the Land Reform Act and Forest Act of 1980. Transparency in the dealings is what is expected out of the Government in such cases. 

Beyond these lawful issues, the government needs to guarantee that no citizen gets affected in the whole process of implementation. With multinational projects coming up, millions have to be rehabilitated and sheltered. Many road side markets and make-shift businesses will get affected. Their right to live can never be ignored. Although no talks are sprung from the part of the Government about this, the issue has to be discussed and get accomplished rightly. 

Above all, the Government must be careful that the weakest sector in the state will not fall back in the race of development. Multinationals come up with products and lifestyles suitable for the middle classes and the upper classes of the state. The employment opportunities which they now highlight as a prime benefit for the state may only cater for a few sector of people. There are high possibilities for the farmers to get expropriated leaving them deprived. 

Beyond making currencies, the prime policy of a state is to ensure its citizens a quality life safeguarding their rights. Let us hope Government of Kerala will remember this while executing the projects through Emerging Kerala 2012, making the state emerging and not submerging.