Tablets or Classrooms?

Right to education is every Indian’s fundamental right. Yet, India is one of the countries with lowest levels of literacy in the world.

Since independence, the Indian government has been struggling to bring changes to the illiteracy figures of the country. There have been numerous literacy missions, programmes and huge amounts of funds spent to make education accessible to everyone. But after 65 years of Independence, India’s literacy level is below 74% which is one of the lowest in the world.

No classrooms but, we have laptops!
Interestingly, after what seems like 65 years of failed literacy mission due to poverty and lack of ‘the basics’, an Indian political party are promising laptops and tablets to students. The Samajwadi Party in its election manifesto has promised free computers for students. The party's manifesto says, "If voted to power, will give students that pass class 12 a laptop and those who pass class 10 a tablet pc".
At a stage when it’s necessary to bring changes to the fundamentals of Indian education system, it seems like an irony to provide free tablets to pupils. Is it possible to change India’s literacy figures through few free tablets and PCs? Isn’t it mere political agenda to bag in votes?

Comparing with the developed world
Surprisingly, countries like the UK and the USA whose literacy levels are much higher than us, are stressing on basic educational improvement and reforms when they can afford to aim for higher targets. The prime minister of United Kingdom, in his recent speech urged parents to read to their children every night no matter how busy they are. The UK government is aiming to improve the quality of education through improving the quality of teaching, restoring discipline, raising curriculum standards, empowering teachers and closing the gap between the richest and poorest pupils.(Source: The conservatives).
Similarly, the Obama administration focuses on making education within reach of every child through various basic reforms and policies. (Source: The White House)

Basic Problems
A vast majority of children in India can’t even receive primary education due to poverty. Their families prefer them to work as cheap labour and add to the family’s income instead of getting education. Poverty is one of the biggest factors behind the failed efforts to educate India.
Another big issue is the lack of basic infrastructure in schools. The majority of Indian families send their children to government funded schools because they can’t afford private or public school education? Most government schools lack electricity, furniture, classrooms, toilets and blackboards. Those who wish to study are forced to cope up with poor or missing facilities which turn education into an agonizing experience. Open air classrooms, where pupils are forced to sit in the fields to study is a common sight in most Indian villages.

Absentee Teachers
More than one-fourth of primary school teachers don’t go to work and only half the number of total teachers engage in actual teaching. (source: world bank survey). Huge funds for education get wasted due to issues like this which has become a norm in most schools.
The problem of illiteracy in India is deep rooted and multidimensional. A Political party distributing laptops and tablets to the students seems like a mockery of the situation where access to basic primary education, high dropout rates, infrastructure and poverty should be the main concern.

India needs a renovation in its basic education system and structure. It is first necessary to make education accessible, affordable and desirable to the vast masses. We can’t think of giving away free tablets from public funds when there are so many around who survive on less than $179 a month.

Unreached Territory

The immaculate serene beauty of the north east India is incomparable. Away from the corporate world, competition, crowd, traffic, pollution and complexities of life, people in this part of India live a simple basic life. 

This is the north east India. They are surrounded by miles of dense forest on all sides which boasts of its rich flora and fauna. The numerous hill stations are like unexplored hamlets and not as commercialised as the rest of India.  It attracts more travellers and explorers than tourists.

The Problems

But, beyond the beautiful serenity lie numerous issues which need immediate address.
Connected to rest of India through a tiny strip of land called the Silliguri corridor with Nepal on one side and Bangladesh on the other, just one railway line serves this vast region and even that merely goes as far as the end of Assam. There is no railway service beyond Assam. Though it is connected by road and air, the bad condition of these roads and dense forests en route makes travelling difficult and most people in this region can’t afford air travel. Apart from poor connectivity, this region is very sensitive due to terrorist activities and insurgencies by rebel groups like ULFA who want to establish a sovereign state separate from India. Illegal migration from neighboring countries is another major problem faced by the authority.

For more pictures, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldaroundricha/

Poverty, Illiteracy, Diseases and Superstition

Being cut from rest of the mainland, this region is underdeveloped and issues like poverty, illiteracy and poor health facilities are major concerns. Most of the population lives in remote rural clusters distant from even the basic amenities. Lack of clean drinking water is the biggest problem faced by these people which also leads to several diseases like diarrhoea, worm infestation, malaria and jaundice. Due to lack of health facilities these infectious diseases go untreated and spread rapidly and result in loss of life  of many people who are affected.

Hospitals and health centres are limited to cities while the poor villagers depend on local quacks and witch doctors (ojha). Poverty, illiteracy and poor government infrastructure have incorporated various myths and superstition among the villagers. Since there is no immediate medical facility for these villagers, they turn to witch doctors who does all sorts of so called magic on the patients to remove bad spirit from the body. Mostly, such activities make the patient’s condition worse and sometimes even result in death.
One such village is Balunala basti near Lumding township of Nagaon district. in the state of Assam. Poor inhabitants of this village are deprived of basic minimum amenities. Unhygienic surroundings in and around these dwellings increase their suffering manifold. They hardly have any access to the developments and progress in this difficult geographical area. They earn their livelihood from local cultivation of seasonal vegetables, sugarcane and paddy. Per capita income of these people is extremely low as compared to the country's average.

A Cry for Help

The north east India are highly neglected and backward. While rest of the country seem united and flourishing, this particular area seems cut off and forgotten. The simple people in this remote part of the world need help. They need basic infrastructural development. They need clean drinking water, sanitation, hospitals, schools and roads. They need basic human amenities. They need to be connected.