Page 26 - EducationWorld Oct. 2022

Education News

cation Foundation, the percentage of class VII children THEY SAID IT
in government schools who cannot read and comprehend
class III textbooks has risen from 23.7 percent in 2014 to “Skill is the currency of the century. Eco-
31.7 percent in 2021. Unsurprisingly, an estimated 20 per- nomic actors have a more important role than
cent of 23 million children enrolled in government schools imagined. An educated and skilled workforce
have dropped out of attracts investment, enhances productivity
school during the
two years of the Co- and is critical for moving up in the value chain.
vid pandemic when Academia and industry must collaborate for
the TMC govern- better outcomes.”
ment locked down Vikas Singh, economist & columnist on reforming
schools statewide for Indian higher education (Businessworld, September
91 weeks, the most 24)
prolonged schools
lockdown of any state “Education is the most potent mean for social
of the Indian Union. transformation and universities will have to
With the Calcutta play the role of change agents… It should be
high court’s teacher the aim of every Indian educational institution
recruitment direc- Mamata Banerjee to become a world-class centre of learning.”
tives of September President Droupadi Murmu speaking at the
26 and arrest of TMC heavyweight Chatterjee revealing inauguration of St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru
the sheer magnitude of the scam, chief minister Mamata (September 28)
Banerjee’s projected image as a decisive, can-do leader
of the masses has suffered a severe dent. In an urgent “As per government data, from 2015 to 2021,
damage control initiative she announced recruitment of more than 900,000 out of India’s total popu-
11,000 teachers in government primary schools following lation of 1.3 billion have surrendered their
a new TET scheduled for December 11. passports. Although it is a small percentage,
But the consensus within West Bengal’s intelligentsia
and especially influential b hadralok (cultured middle the worrying factor is that the number is ris-
class) is that the proclamation is too little and too late. ing year-on-year.”
With the TMC government having failed to conduct fair Vidya S, special correspondent, on the rising number
and transparent teacher recruitment exams even after 11 of Indian HNIs migrating abroad (Business Today,
October 2)
years in office, Banerjee’s dream of emerging as a national
leader heading an anti-BJP all-parties alliance in General “More than anything else, the Congress needs
Election 2024 has faded.
Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata) to tell and sell a story to Indian voters. Mr. „a-
roor does that well... he knows enough about
UTTAR PRADESH the Congress but is not caught in its intrigues;
Fresh hope buds and he knows better than most others how to
represent the Congress before the expanding
Indian middle class. He’s what the Congress
CADEMICS AND MEDIA PUNDITS IN LUCKNOW, THE ad- needs but, alas, won’t get.”
ministrative capital of Uttar Pradesh — India’s Varghese K. George, journalist, on the impending
Amost populous (215 million) state — which is an contest between Shashi Tharoor and M. Kharge for
also-ran on all socio-economic development indices, are the post of Congress party president (The Hindu,
pleasantly surprised by a spurt of positive activity in the October 2)
education sector.
With children having enthusiastically returned to “But perhaps the Left’s fortunes are changing.
classes after the prolonged lockdown of education in- Certainly, it’s holding its ground. With young
stitutions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the state’s blood coursing through its veins, another red
1.3 lakh government schools recorded their highest eruption may well be brewing.”
enrolment of 19 million in the new academic year 2022- Romita Datta, journalist, on the resurgence of the Left
23 which started in April. Moreover, 1,780 government parties in West Bengal (India Today, October 3)
schools in 890 blocks have been identified for upgrada-
tion under the Centrally-sponsored PM-SHRI (Prime

26 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2022