Page 8 - EW JAN 2022

Editorial

RETURN TO GOVERNANCE BASICS biscuits and plastics, classic political
and economic theory is unambiguous
that the prime duty of government is
ith the highly contagious bottom-of-pyramid households are to maintain law and order and pro-
Omicron variant of the nov- doomed to pay a heavy price by way of vide fair and speedy justice.
Wel Coronavirus which made chronic ailments and learning loss, is India’s police and judges to popu-
its India debut last month forecast to being compounded by the steady ero- lation ratios are way below the global
peak in early February, Republic Day sion of the rule of law and descent of average. Under-investment in law
celebrations are again likely to be sub- the world’s most populous democracy and order and the justice system —
dued this year. into a chaotic mobocracy. the outcome of continuous canalisa-
Although initial indications are On December 26, a congregation tion of public savings into non-per-
that Omicron is less lethal than the of Hindu priests and seers gathered forming public sector enterprises and
Delta variant which peaked last sum- in the holy city of Haridwar openly self-serving failure to ring-fence the
mer, its high transmissibility may called for the murder and extermi- autonomy of the police, has ruined
require mass short-term hospitalisa- nation of minority Muslim citizens. the law, order and justice systems,
tion. This will impose enormous strain And in Karnataka, emboldened young especially in the states. Contempo-
on the country’s too-few hospitals and men of sangh parivar (‘Hindu fam- rary India is burdened with 30 mil-
already under-resourced healthcare ily’) outfits have been barging into lion pending cases, the largest judicial
system defined by chronic shortages Christian churches and schools to in- backlog worldwide.
of beds, doctors and nurses. With an- terrupt religious services and Xmas Smooth functioning law, order and
nual investment in public healthcare celebrations. Moreover on December justice systems are a precondition of
averaging a mere 1.2 percent of GDP 25, Tejaswi Surya, a young member of socio-economic development and
for the past half century (cf.10.2 per- Parliament, speaking perfect English, progress. As the nation prepares to
cent in the UK, 19.7 percent in the US demanded forcible re-conversion of mutedly celebrate its 72nd Republic
and 7.1 percent in China) what can Muslims and Christians to Hinduism. Day while bracing for the third wave
you expect? Although left-liberals persist with of the devastating pandemic, there’s
Yet persistent under-investment in their belief that government should urgent need to return to basics and
public health and education for which own means of production and also ex- chart a revised course for our drifting
unfortunate children of 200 million pend official energy in making bread, Republic.

DON’T SHUT DOWN SCHOOLS AGAIN its variants.
According to Dr. Joseph Allen, di-
rector of healthy buildings program at
he inevitable arrival in india of necessary initiatives to manage the Harvard University, the rate of hospi-
the new highly transmissible imminent Covid third wave. However, talisation of school-age children due
TOmicron variant of the novel the typical knee-jerk reaction of the to Covid infection is 1 in 100,000. Al-
Coronavirus, aka Covid-19, which Delhi state government to re-order though similar data about the impact
since it mysteriously originated in shutdown of all schools even as Omi- of the virus on youngest children is
Wuhan, China back in November cron infections in the national capital unavailable in India, anecdotal evi-
2019 and surfaced in the subconti- region are still in three digit figures, is dence suggests that they are the least
nent in early 2020 forcing an unprec- unwarranted panic. susceptible age group, although it’s
edented sealing of industry, business Especially when set against the possible that while they may be as-
and commerce for over six months, reality that India’s pre-primary and ymptomatic, they could infect sus-
has set alarm bells ringing in New primary school children are just ceptible elders at home.
Delhi and state capitals. And rightly emerging from the longest schools However, this distant possibility
so, because the US and Europe report lockdown worldwide of 70-75 weeks. doesn’t justify additional lockdown of
a huge spurt in Covid infections and These children as the annual ASER early childhood and primary schools.
hospitalisations owing to the highly surveys of the Pratham Education The risk to the health of youngest
contagious characteristic of the Omi- Foundation have been highlighting children needs to be balanced against
cron variant. Epidemiologists and for over a decade, were already suf- learning loss which could blight their
virologists expect a surge in Omicron fering declining learning outcomes future advancement and sentence
induced Covid infections in end Janu- before the pandemic. them to eking out adult lives as un-
ary/February in India. Therefore, shutting them out of skilled low paid labour.
Quick decisions taken to step up school again and compounding their Instead of decreeing total closure
the vaccination drive ensuring that deprivation of critically important of all education institutions in time
all citizens are administered two jabs foundational education is tantamount of the Omicron variant, state govern-
of the provenly effective Covishield or to jeopardising the future of over 200 ments should permit in-class learning
Covaxin vaccines, and that frontline million children. More so since the at least twice per week for youngest
medical workers and the elderly are preponderance of medical and pan- children. To sacrifice the lives and
given a booster third dose even as demic research indicates that young- livelihood of the next generation for
masking, social distancing and hy- est children are least susceptible to the total safety and comfort of elders
giene norms are strictly enforced, are severe infection from Covid-19 and is unjust and iniquitous.

8 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2022