Where are we heading to....??

Its been a long time that I sat down to write about issues that run in my mind all the time. Today finally I got some time off my two lill sweeties!

Recently I had a small conversation with a neighbor regarding schools in Chennai specially the ones which are closer to where we stay. We spoke about all aspects of schooling including the board the school is affiliated to... after a while this neighbor of mine made a statement.. that completely shocked me...according to her it just doesnt matter what board the school is affiliated to till class 10... after 10... she will put her child in a state board school.. because after that it is the marks and her number in the merit list that is going to get her to colleges!! and this coming from a well educated working mother!!
well..... many must be wondering what is so shocking in this... she is completely right...!!
But I don't come from that school of thought. While I agree it doesnt matter much as to which board the school is affiliated to.... it does matter as to what kind of education is my child going to get from that school. At the same time..... I also completely feel scoring well by mugging books is no sign of an educated child... in my terms the child is only literate then. What is education without knowledge??
I dont blame this neighbor of mine for her attitude towards education... but thats how our higher education systems are....!! Cmon... isnt it?

Recently the IIT-JEE results were out... and the boy who topped the test, proudly stated that he put in 12 hrs of study time at the coaching centre,went to school, studied at home and still found time to watch IPL....!! man... he must be a robot! Anyways.... congrats to the child and I do wish him all the best. One of my relatives son also went for coaching classes , however dint clear the tests, but the boy who cleared the tests from his batch from the coaching class, apparently used to skip school to study for the entrance....!! Thats where the truth lies! In the race to get into the biggest of institutions we fail to give due importance to our school.... the school which makes us capable of appearing for such exams....! Again.... whom are we to blame ? Our education system is like this.... isnt it!!

My maid has put her children in a school, for which she has to save every bit of penny earned to educate them. Where is the government ... to support these people ... to give them good education.... why cant the government do anything for the economically backward class? Why is our reservation policies caste based?? Why cant the economically backward upper castes avail of any reservation policy or economic help from the government?
I believe there are also difference in the pass percentage eligibility criteria for higher education depending on which caste you belong!! I fail to understand how can a child from one caste who shares the same teaching environment which another upper caste child can get the advantage of a lower pass percentage eligibility criteria!! Though I would understand it completely if the same backward caste child belonged to a small village and excelled in the exams there ....! Doesnt it mean that we are being partial to that upper caste child who must have performed extremely well in his /her small village but would have failed to get admission for higher education only because of the higher pass percentage criteria..?? Cmon.... why are we living in this 18th century civilisation??
Why is there such a sudden change in the attitude of our society....?? Why is it necessary to know who belongs to what class or caste.... ?? How can one score brownie points just because he/she belongs to a backward class. Is the value of education so cheap??

My daughter has just joined a school which doesnt boast of any rank holders .... but still is considered as one of the best schools in Chennai... mostly because of their idea of holistic child development and not concentrating only on academics. However, my relatives still ask me why did I choose the school which has no rank holders to a school which boasts of rank holders every year!! Goodness.... why are we so crazy about marks and rank holders.... when will we ever realize that we dont need to send our children to school to make them rank holding machines... we want them to be illuminated minds... educated children. By educated I dont mean scientists and engineers and doctors only.... any field ..which they find interesting and doing the best in that. Imagine if we never had archeologists .. how could we ever learn about history??

Coming from a defense background and studying in a Kendriya Vidyalaya all my schooling years, I never realised that I belonged to an upper caste ... and at the same time, my friends were mix of all castes, we never found the difference and till date we are all good friends.

In the name of caste and class are we providng our children ... the future of this country good education.... are we as the present generation parents being truthful to them....?? With the current education system... I wonder where are we headed to??