Right to Education

The landscape in Rajasthan is beautiful only if you have an eye for the desert.  In the wilderness, virgin sand dunes a-la-Lawrence of Arabia are not found everywhere.

 There are specific hamlets where these are being preserved for tourist attraction.
The people are simple, rustic and living in the pre industrial age, small ‘Dhanis’ every km or so, some sort of agriculture where the main crop is millets.  Life  is not complicated, a son grows up looking after animals, may visit an occasional school, more as a ritual, than for any quest for knowledge or growth.
By 14-15, he is of a marriageable age, the bride is still 8-10, illiterate but adept at house hold requirements.  The fact that she has not attained maturity dose not concur anyone.
The Camel carts, dhanis and sand dunes have a rustic charms, which instantly appeals to us urban people.  Colourfully attired, bangled, veiled, ghaghra choli clad ladies are physically strong; but the desert does take its toll and they          age early.

All this is fine, but what sets me thinking is, the lack of growth, in real terms, this part of the country seems to be still caught up in medieval times.          A village, by the road side, but has no electricity, that too when power lines pass through the village simply ignoring them.  I wonder, if it would be appropriate to leave them, as they are, happy in their present state, or should we force them to adopt a life style alien to them, the urban way of life.  After all, the cities are not far or in distant lands, means of transport are available, but if they prefer to stay where they are and in the state they are they must be happy that way. An argument, which may not find many takers, growth does not mean abandoning the villages, simply, the basic amenities must be available even in the villages.  But these have to be tailor made for villages, so that they do not upset their life,         for example, if a child has to take his livestock for grazing so be it, school timings need to be modified to suit his availability.  Obviously, you can’t expect his parents to undertake grazing, they may have other jobs and more importantly, in their way of life, it is natural for children to take live stock for grazing.  They find this ok and do not think that this practise needs to be changed.  So, timings need to be changed, with snacks/ meals as added attraction. What about syllabi?  The syllabus which is prescribed for CBSE/ ICSE, will not only be boring and dull, but also completely at a variance from their needs.  The three Rs(Reading wRiting &; aRithmetic) are a must, but these also must merge with their day to day activities.  The language, ought to be their own dialect, it is their mother tongue, they are more comfortable with it, may be gradually they could move to Hindi or Hindustani.
Education cannot be structured, it has to be all encompassing, stories from their historical sagas can be included, geography should focus on their village and vegetation in the vicinity. Festivals, mythology will also interest most of the kids.
Animal husbandry and fundamentals of agriculture are an absolute must. Some basic trade training such as carpentry, masonry or smithy could be included during the high school. Sports and physical fitness are essential and must form part of the curriculum. Theory exams may be done away with at least in the initial years. Oral and practical exams however should be held to ascertain the levels of comprehension.  The aim should be to ignite the spark of learning, to enable them to pursue further.  Even primary level schools should cater for some children of middle and beyond, in case distance prevents them from pursuing further studies.  In short the system will need to be highly flexible to accommodate each and every child.
Education may not even be class room bound, may be better outdoors, but this requires dedication which an ordinary school master may not possess.  So NGOs have to come forward, because education is the key to growth and progress.  By simply making it a fundamental right and passing a bill in the parliament, things will not change.