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Mar 24, 2007

An area of darkness

The 2007 Budget has turned the spotlight on the social sectors, especially education. Apart from increasing the education cess, the Budget speech of the finance minister underscored the importance of investing in education and health of people - the real wealth of our country. While this is indeed a welcome step one needs to come to grips with the real challenges facing us today.
Government of India (MHRD, Department of School Education and Literacy) and National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) have developed an educational development index using four variables - physical access to a elementary school, infrastructure, teacher related characteristics and outcome using retention and drop out rate and an "exit ratio" being the proportion of children who enrol in class one and successfully complete the primary cycle (NUEPA and GOI, 2007). Educationists may squabble over the robustness of these indicators and may be we can make this index more sensitive. Nevertheless it reveals a lot about the regional variations that exist in the country.

The five "worst ranking" states on a composite primary and upper primary (together known as elementary) are Bihar (35), Jharkhand (34), Assam (33), Uttar Pradesh (32), Arunachal Pradesh (31) and West Bengal (30). The top five ranks go to Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. (The rank of Delhi and Chandigarh is also high, but they cannot be compared with states with rural and urban areas). The ranks of states traditionally seen as being educationally backward are - Chhattisgarh 24, Madhya Pradesh 29, Orissa 27 and Rajasthan 25. What makes some states come at the bottom of the pile? Here are some startling facts.

If we take the ratio of primary schools to upper primary schools it is quite alarming to note that the worst situation prevails in West Bengal where the ratio is 5.28 - meaning that there is only one upper primary school (class 5 to 8) for 5+ primary schools. Next to West Bengal is Jharkhand with a ratio of 3.97. Perhaps this indicator drags the W Bengal ranking down. Travelling across districts of West Bengal it is quite apparent that the situation on the ground is indeed quite grave - a large number of children who complete class 4 are not able to access schooling because of a severe shortage of upper primary schools or high schools with upper primary sections.

Another set of sensitive indicators of quality and functionality are the percentage of single classroom schools, the percentage of single teacher schools and percentage of schools with a pupil-teacher ratio of more than 100.

The five states with high percentage of single classroom schools are - Assam (52.59%), Andhra Pradesh 24.83%, Meghalaya 18.39%, West Bengal 15.04% and Jammu and Kashmir 11.39%. Goa also has a high percentage of single classroom schools - being 23.94% - however the average size of school is small with around 24 children per classroom. The percentage of children enrolled in schools with a student-classroom ratio that is more than 60 (meaning 60 children in one room) - it is highest in Assam ( 74.47%) followed by Uttar Pradesh (60.27%) and West Bengal (52.39%). If we juxtapose this information with the percentage of single teacher schools then it is indeed revealing that the above states (with the exception of Assam) are not the worst. Two or more teachers have to make do with one single classroom.

Another genre of problem persists in a few states. The percentage of single teacher school is high in Rajasthan (26.17%), Arunachal Pradesh (48.08%), Jharkhand 25.70%), Madhya Pradesh 25.05%) and Goa (31.52%). The most alarming situation with respect to pupil-teacher ratio prevails in Bihar ( 18.13% schools with PTR>100) and Uttar Pradesh) 15.22% schools with PTR>100).

It is therefore not a surprise that the retention rate at the primary level is alarming in states where there is little between availability of schools at primary and upper primary levels, availability of teachers and school infrastructure. Only 42.34 percent children in Bihar are retained in school through the primary cycle (classes 1-5). The situation in Rajasthan (51.74), Jharkhand (59.38), West Bengal (58.26) and Uttarakhand (52.31) are also as alarming with less than 60 percent children completing the primary cycle.

Two national programmes District Primary Education Project (1993 to 2004) and now the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (2001 onwards) have allocated a lot of resources to augment infrastructure and appoint teachers. The 2007 budget also provides for appointment of many more teachers. Utilisation of resources is obviously rather skewed and thereby upsetting the balance between the space available and the number of teachers appointment.

It is indeed quite ironical that West Bengal now turns up in more than one indicator of educational backwardness. The net enrolment ratio at the primary level is 82.76 - with almost 17% children in the 6-11 age group not enrolled in school! In 17 of the districts enrolment in classes 1 to 5 declines over the last year. Only 46.14 percent of boys and 44.70 per cent of girls passes the class 4 examination with more than 60 percent marks. In the academic year 2003-04, 79 percent of the children who completed class 4 were able to enrol in class 5 (upper primary school). Close to one fourth of the children in classes 1 to 4 (primary) are either under age or over age - and notwithstanding Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan only 33.11 per cent of teachers reported that they got any in-service training.

It may be worthwhile asking why the Left Front in West Bengal is so different from the left in Kerala and why does it continue to ignore the educational needs of its people. A recent study by the Pratichi Trust highlights the problem of private tuitions. Commenting on the findings Prof Amartya Sen observed, "The evil of private tuition must be uncompromisingly overcome. While this cannot be achieved overnight, given the low quality of school teaching, it has to be borne in mind that the safety valve of private tutoring - available to the more wealthy children from more powerful families - makes the teachers less concerned about not getting enough done in school."

Political analyst need to explain why educational development is not on the front burner in West Bengal. Here is a state that has had a good record on land reforms and pro poor strategies. This is also a state which has had a great deal of political and administrative stability. Yet, when it comes to education the state is slipping steadily.

The situation is alarming and what is disturbing is that there is so little debate especially among the more progressive sections of out society. The additional resources made available in the budget or in five year plans will not enable us to make progress on the educational front unless we - as a nation - a willing to take a fresh look at the situation on the ground and muster the courage to take hard decisions.

http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=SEG20070323065620&eTitle=
Insight&rLink=0

Naxal-sponsored rally in capital keeps cops on toes

RANCHI: The state police remained on high alert on Friday in a bid to prevent Naxal outfits participating in a rally organised at the Morhabadi Ground to mark the anti-imperialist day.

The rally organised by various democratic-socio-cultural organisations of Naxals was also attended by several frontal organisations of extremists hailing from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa.

Talking to TOI, DGP JB Mahapatra said the police had information about Naxal outfits sponsoring the rally and it was maintaining a strict vigil.

"We did everything except restricting the rally," he said. Police also prevented some of the vehicles entering the capital from the Ranchi-Lohardagga route and even the rally was escorted by police force while it moved on the thoroughfares of the city.

Prior to this, the congregation of different democratic fronts held a preliminary meeting and declared a charter of Ranchi convention.

Announcing the formation of a nine-member steering committee under the chairmanship of Bramhadeo Sharma of Bharat Jan Andolan, convener of the meeting and noted social worker of Andhra Pradesh GN SaiBaba said, "They have rejected the present model of development and chalked out an annual programme to be adopted at the national-level".

Beginning with mass rally in Chattisgarh, Orissa and Polabaram in AP the newly-formed steering committee has decided to gherao the Parliament in October in which artists and intelligentsia will participate in a large number.

The forum has also given a call for an all India bandh in October but the date is yet to be finalised. Sharma said the forum is against the concept of state-owned resources and will make all efforts to reinstate people's right over natural resources.

The government is only the custodian of resources and transfers ownership to multinational companies at its own wish setting aside the concern of poor and downtrodden and this will no longer be tolerated, he said.

Working on distinct platforms in different states against oppressive moves of state government, the forum was seen as a major development in which the participants vowed to cooperate each other during upheavals.

Literature on different extremist movements and success stories of comrades was available during the two-day programme which concluded here with the rally.

Elaborate discussions werealso held prior to the rally on people's resistance in Singur and Dandyakarni and elimination of villagers by forcing them into armed rebellion like Salwa Judum of Chhattisgarh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Cities/Patna/Naxal-sponsored_rally_in_capital_
keeps_cops_on_toes/articleshow/msid-1800795,curpg-2.cms

Bihar's big dilemma

PATNA: The metros in the country may have gone ahead with "Euro II" cars, but, in Bihar, the word "Euro" does not exist in the state's pollution dictionary. Bihar is still living in the "non-euro" ages and all sorts of vehicles, no matter what their age, are plying in Patna.

Bihar's "non-Euro" state has also made it a favourite dumping ground for highly polluting auto-rickshaws, Ambassador cars, trucks and buses which have been phased out in other Indian cities.

The pollution norms followed by the state government remain outdated allowing cars that are about nine times as polluting as the euro II cars. The euro pollution norms, which are recognised globally, relate to vehicles which are less polluting as their engines are more advanced.

Euro norms have been upgraded in the past few years to euro II which relate to even less polluting vehicles. Already, there are more than four lakh vehicles in Patna alone. Government officials say even if euro II norms are adopted in Bihar, nothing much would change as the government did not have adequate infrastructure to implement it.

At a pollution control centre run by NGO Taru Mitra, it was found about 95 per cent cars pollute more than the euro II norms.

Taru Mitra's environment expert Chiranjeev Kumar said, "It's very common to see cars over 20 years old with a Chandigarh or Delhi registration number plying in Patna. Such second hand cars, which cannot be sold anywhere else, are driven to Bihar and sold here." Kumar said,"A good number of auto-rickshaws that move in Patna have been brought from Delhi after the Capital converted to CNG. All these old auto-rickshaws are highly polluting as they have very old engines and use adulterated cheap fuel which causes deadly emissions."

Eleven-seater three-wheelers, commonly known as "Vikram" and another very polluting vehicle, which has been banned in many cities in the country, does brisk business in Patna. Such vehicles are, in fact, the mainstay of the public transport system in Patna. Similar is the case with other commercial vehicles such as Tata 407 and Ambassador cars, Kumar said. These vehicles, too, are brought in from other cities after they are over 15 years old and used in Patna.

Most of these commercial vehicles run on diesel and emit strong pollutants. In fact, such diesel emissions lead to high SPM (suspended particulate matter) in the air, which, in turn, causes a host of respiratory illnesses. On the condition of anonymity, a senior transport department official said: "In Patna, we have decided not to give permit to commercial vehicles more than 15 years old. But the problem is that the rule is not being followed. A large number of vehicles move around freely without permit."

The official said, "The government does not have enough manpower to monitor vehicles. The enforcement wing has two persons for every district. Quite obviously, these two are unable to make much of a dent. Some motor vehicle inspectors hold charge of more than two districts."

"Even traffic DSPs, who have the power to check vehicles, are usually so busy with VIP movement that they just do not get time to set up pickets," the official said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bihars_big_dilemma/articleshow/1800793.cms

Marxists on PR exercise for Bengal plans

The CPI(M) today decided to launch a fresh campaign to inform the people about the various developmental and industrial projects in West Bengal.

Left Front chairman and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose said, from April 3 a campaign would be undertaken to inform the farmers and labourers of the various development projects undertaken by the state government.

"The educated people including, doctors, lawyers and intellectuals in the society would be involved in the public relations exercise," Bose said.

The party also decided to expedite the developmental work at the municipalities and panchayats for the upliftment of the poorer sections of the society.

Bose said, the state government wants to carry on the developmental work in consultation with the people of the state.

The state government wants to strengthen the economy of the state through consolidating its position in agriculture and industrialisation, which can only meet the employment requirements of the state, he said.

"We want to carry on the development work in consultation with the people and intellectuals in the state," he said.

He said, the party would try to educate people of "anti-development" forces working in the state.

Bose lambasted the opposition for politicising the issue in Nandigram despite the chief minister announcing that the project would not be taken up without the consent of the people of the area.

He said the police wanted to enter into the area to restore normalcy in the area.

Bose also questioned the role of the Calcutta High Court in ordering a probe by the CBI.

"The developments show that anti-Left forces are trying to destabilise the Left forces in the country," he added.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=11&bKey
Flag=IN&autono=21745

'The people of Bengal support industrialisation'

Six days after the West Bengal police sought to re-establish control in the Nandigram area, 140 km south-west of Kolkata, on March 14, Nirupam Sen, the state's commerce and industry minister, spoke to Ishita Ayan Dutt and Tamajit Pain about how the state government and the Left Front intend to repair the damage caused by that day's events.

Sen is one of the most senior members in the CPI (M) state hierarchy, comes from the farming belt of Bardhaman, north-west of Kolkata, and is widely regarded as a "pro-changer" in the government. This is his first interview to the media after the Nandigram crisis, which caused the deaths of many local people. Excerpts:

What impact will the Nandigram incident have on industrialisation in the state?

Industrialisation is a continuous process. The process has slowed a bit after the incident, but we are trying to speak to the investors and convey the real situation to them. Investments have already been taking place in the state.

Four steel companies are setting up plants in the state. IISCO is going in for a major modernisation. The construction equipment unit of Telcon (to manufacture heavy equipment) and a biotech park have been planned near Kharagpur (west of Kolkata).

In Howrah, the government is helping industry set up parks for foundry units, rubber products and foods sectors. The chemical hub was proposed as part of the Centre's initiative to specify a petroleum, chemical, petrochemical investment region and the state evinced its interest in having the project near Haldia.

So how does the government plan to regain investor confidence?

We will fight a two-way battle. On the political side, we will expose the political gains that vested interests are deriving from this crisis. So we have to talk to the people and explain the benefits of industrialisation.

On the administrative front, we will look at a comprehensive rehabilitation package for the people who are impacted in all the projects. We will tell investors that every project must have a rehabilitation package.

We have done that in the Tata Motors (for its small-car project north of Kolkata) project as well. The state will go beyond compensating people. They will be rehabilitated.

But investors must be worried...

We are in constant touch with investors. They understand. And it's not something unique to West Bengal. It's happening everywhere, but unfortunately only West Bengal is so talked about. People don't talk about Kalinga Nagar.

But how can the government achieve industrialisation against the will of the people?

The perception is wrong. The people and, more so the youth, support industrialisation. It is a necessity. If you consider the population density, you will realise that the success in agriculture cannot be sustained. We need to take the pressure off agriculture and land is required for industrialisation.

The entire situation is politically motivated. The land-owners were misled for political gains. Not a single opposition party is saying it is against industrialisation and this reinforces our belief that people are not against industrialisation as a concept. But industry cannot happen in the air. The opposition is just trying to destroy the congenial atmosphere we created for industry.

How much land would be required for industrialisation over the next five years?

We have proposals worth Rs 1,00,000 crore (Rs 1000 billion) over the next five years, which would require 1,00,000 acres. The total agricultural land area in Bengal covers 1.35 crore acres. We have only 23,000 acres vested with us, which is largely scattered across 18 districts. In fact, some land parcels are as small as one acre.

The perception is that the land acquisition process adopted by the government was faulty. What is your step going forward? Will you let the companies negotiate directly with the land owners?

In the case of small projects, we are asking companies to negotiate with the land owners directly. But for large tracts of land like the Tatas' Singur project, the government has to intervene since there were 13,000 landowners in the 1,000-acre plot and it's not possible for the company to convince everyone to sell.

In the case of the foundry park, we asked the foundry association to acquire land on its own, but it faced problems. Land speculators had acquired about 80 acres of land in patches out of the total 300 acres. We stepped in because the government's primary role is to act as a facilitator.

We are facing problems while acquiring land for a bypass through Bongaon to reach the Petropole border trade post with Bangaldesh. The government also needs land for the link roads to Assam via Siliguri and Kolkata and the proposed East-West Corridor.

Why did you choose Nandigram for Salim's special economic zone project?

The chemical hub project requires proximity to a port since the raw materials had be imported through a pipeline. That is why the government chose the region near the Haldia port. It was a comprehensive project and we wanted to transform a backward area like Nandigram. It would have changed the economic pattern of Nandigram.

Now that the SEZ plan is off at Nandigram, what other locations is the government looking at?

The project will have to be around Haldia.

Will the government shelve land acquisition closer to Kolkata?

No, that's not possible. We can't ask Infosys or Wipro to go to Purulia or Bankura (districts in western West Bengal). Location depends on the nature of the project. For instance, the steel companies don't want to be close to Kolkata, which is diametrically opposite to what the IT and ITeS companies want.

What will you do with the disputed 330 acres in Singur, which the opposition claims was acquired without landowners' consent?

There is no issue here. Even if it is taken into account, we should consider that we are a democracy, so why are we supporting the minority? If we take this allegation at face value then we have consent for the majority of the land.

How will the government rehabilitate people?

For the Singur automobile project, we have ensured that training is being imparted to the people. Self-help groups are being formed to ensure alternative employment opportunities for the displaced people. Tata Motors has been asked to collaborate with five ITIs in the state to ensure right training and employability. Catering training is being imparted to women.

In the foundry park at Howrah, a training institute has been planned. Our government is very concerned about the economic rehabilitation of the marginal farmers who are losing land in the process.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2007/mar/23inter.htm

Sarah's visit brings hope to Indian slum

SECONDS after Sarah Hancox set foot in a sprawling Indian slum, the unbearable sights and smells hit her senses like a sledgehammer.

As far as the eye could see, poverty-stricken villagers were sharing cramped, dingy conditions – eating, sleeping and collecting water in the same spot.

For Sarah, who had flown to the region as a guest of the charity WaterAid, it proved heartbreaking.

The 27-year-old graduate management trainee for Anglian Water was chosen to go on the two-week tour because of her tireless fund-raising for the organisation.

But whatever she had imagined, nothing could have prepared her for the hell-like scenes in front of her.

"There were no toilets at all. They have to use the riverbed, which is where they also fetch water to drink, because they have no source of drinking water," she recalled.

"A lot of these people didn't have much hope and there was so much disease.

"It made me cry seeing the conditions that people had to live in."

The slum in Cuttack, a city in the state of Orissa, was one where WaterAid had not yet carried out their life-saving work providing water, sanitation and hygiene education to some of the world's poorest areas.

But after the team installed a public toilet block and water pump, renewed hope was visible in the slum-dwellers' faces.

The aim of the visit was, as Sarah, from Orton Malborne, Peterborough, said, to "put a face to the statistics", see the difference the charity's projects had made and rally more people to donate to the cause.

Not surprisingly, infant mortality is soaring, with nine children out of 100 dying from preventable diseases.

Many of the villagers' stories moved Sarah to tears.

Jemanani Sahoo (63) proudly showed her the new latrine and water pump funded by WaterAid. Before
that the grandmother had no access to toilets apart from open land where she was in fear of snakes. She collected drinking water from an open well.

Another man who benefited was 70-year-old Kulamani.

Sarah said: "He suffered from chronic diarrhoea, leaving him too weak to work.

"He lived in a tiny space under a tarpaulin propped up by some pieces of wood, with his wife. They lost two young sons to diseases.

"We opened a new community sanitation block which will benefit him and hundreds of others."

In villages, Sarah helped fit latrines in houses and taught school children about the importance of hygiene.

She also spent time with a family of six, where she was treated to a "VIP welcome", and was daubed in multicolour paint to celebrate the Hindu festival, Holi.

Although many of the horrors she witnessed will never leave her, Sarah said she felt heartened by the efforts to improve lives. She said: "When we went to places where the work had been completed, the difference was amazing.

"It's quite straightforward to make a difference and save lives. WaterAid projects cost £15 per head."

Sarah staged a quiz night to coincide with World Water Day at the POSH ground on Thursday, which she predicts raised £4,000.

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=2143837§ionid=4419

Chhattisgarh pilot project gives wing to a tribal dream

Raipur, March 23: Hailing from the tribal heartland of Bastar, Ankur Ekka or her family has never set foot in an aeroplane. Now, if a Chhattisgarh government plan takes off, she will soon be one of a group of 10 tribal girls from the state working as airhostesses.

The small step might also prove the giant leap tribals, who form 44 per cent of the state's population, need for integration into the mainstream.

"The entire process has been like a revelation to me and my parents," says an excited Ankur.

State Tribal Welfare Minister Ganesh Ram Bhagat, the brain behind the pilot project, says the government will bear the cost of training the girls. "We will be spending an amount of about Rs 1 lakh on each of these girls. However, this amount is nothing when we consider the fact that they will be breaking new ground," says Bhagat.

The first batch of 10 girls, selected under the project, will begin training at Air Hostess Academy, a private institute in Raipur, soon. The applicants had to be between 17 and 24 years of age, have a pleasing personality, good communication skills, and should have at least passed Class XII.

Christina Lal, who hails from the tribal majority district of Dhamtari, says what's driving her is the memory of the late Kalpana Chawla. "I think there is a definite correlation between our cases as both of us tried for a profession that has not generally been associated with our communities, in her case as a woman and in my case as a tribal," Christina says. The government will be lobbying with private airlines for a job for each of these girls once they are through with the training. "Unless we are able to secure a job for each of these trained students we won't consider our responsibility complete," says Secretary, Tribal Welfare Department, M K Raut.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/26512.html

Naxals attack police station again

New Delhi: Within 15 days of the massacre of 55 policemen, Naxals on Saturday attacked a police station again in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, police said.

However no policeman was injured in the second Naxal attack in the region.

"Several armed naxalites attacked Maraiguda police station in Dantewada district, about 550 km from Raipur in hyper-sensitive Bastar region," as quoted by PTI, police sources from Dantewada said.

Exchange of fire between police and Naxals continued for a long time, police said, adding no policemen were injured in the fire.

Since the Maraiguda police station is located close to the Andhra Pradesh border, most likely the Naxalites had crossed the border as police had launched combing operation of that area to trace the armed rebels, police said.

On March 15, naxalites had attacked the Rani Bodla police station of Bijapur district of the region and killed 55 policemen and injured 11 security forces and looted a huge number of weapons and explosive materials.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/naxals-attack-police-station-again/36872-3.html

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