The word ‘education’ certainly sends chills down the spine of all the parents plunging into the vicious cycle of what we call admissions. For some, education for their loved ones is of utmost necessity, whereas, for some, education is nothing but a status symbol. Thus, paving the way towards a big gap between public schools and private schools, ultimately leading to the dying down of government-funded education.
I strongly believe that education is a fundamental right of every human being across the globe. Unfortunately, this is still a distant dream in my country where even basic education is not free for all. Some of the many reasons are lack of infrastructure, corrupt education system and the rise of private institutions providing quality education.
I have had the privilege of visiting a few countries such as the USA, Australia and Singapore and everywhere the public schooling system is well structured with all facilities and amenities to provide proper education to a child without leaving much of a burden to the parents’ pocket. Some will say that taxes cut a major chunk from salaries and hence the government can provide quality education.
But think about India, don’t we pay taxes (almost 25-30%) which is similar to what people pay in these countries as well? Yet, we end up paying a sizable chunk of our hard-earned money to these so-called profit-making (non-profit) organizations called ‘private schools!’
There is always a hovering stigma among people regarding government schools being shabby and not providing proper education causing parents to admit their children in a private school after paying exorbitant fees years after years.
Why can’t governments implement the same for public schools across the nation and provide the best possible education system? The mindset of the people has to change regarding this, otherwise, we would end up falling prey to the education mafia.
According to me, the Delhi government has taken some significant steps towards educational reforms and have succeeded in doing so. If this model can work in Delhi, it can definitely work in other states as well. All we need is a leader with the right mindset who can speak what people think and not what people should think!