Subject: Shutting down of 4,093 primary and secondary schools in Maharashtra.
Respected Sir,
Many news sources have reported that the state government has decided to shut down as many as 4,093 primary and secondary schools within the state. This move by the state government, in the middle of an academic year is absolutely not making any sense to me and seems definitely uncalled for. The state government has stated that this decision is taken to improve the education system in Maharashtra. Education minister Shri Vinod Tawade further said that students and teachers will be shifted to other schools nearby. I doubt this will happen as it is still the middle of an academic year and the quick transition, seems impossible.
Well, in my opinion, shutting down schools will never contribute towards any development. Instead, the BJP government is driving Maharashtra in reverse gear for at least 20 years with this action. I say this as I believe that present students are India’s building blocks after 15-20 years from now, and depriving them of education is depriving Maharashtra of the engine oil it requires to run the state machinery efficiently. Instead of focusing on enrolling new students, the Maharashtra government seems to take pride in crippling the youth and future of Maharashtra. “Education” is the most basic thing the government should work on improving. This action by the government will not only cause loss to poor students but also it will be a severe loss to the state and the country, eventually.
According to a report by the Times of India, dated January 11th, 2017, the Maharashtra government spends only 18% of its total budget towards education. Interestingly, more than 2/3 of that is used to pay staff salaries, leading to only 0.4% used towards the training of teachers. Contrary, if we study the Delhi education model, the AAP government has allotted 25% of total budget towards education and principals from the government schools have been sent to Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard like top universities for training. There is something the Maharashtra government should learn from the Delhi AAP government as far as running the education department is concerned.
In this great land of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule, the Maharashtra government’s unjustified action on shutting down the schools is very concerning, and as being an activist, I protest. I also request Shri. Vinod Tawade to consult Manish Sisodia and Atishi Marlena who has changed the face of education in Delhi within a matter of time.
While concluding, I would like to enlighten you with one of Nelson Mandela’s famous quote which said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” I hope you will consider this famous personality and take back this harsh decision.
Finally, I would like to say, “Let’s Make Education, and not Break Education.”
Thank You
Sincerely,
Nihal Kirnalli
A Common Man and A Social Activist.