A time to learn

In my view, all adult education schemes should be scrapped immediately, the only possible exception being schemes offering vocation training to adults. The money thus saved can be used for opening more institutes of higher education. It should be our endeavour to open a primary school in each of India8217;s villages.

Though the primary education sector has seen a Rs. 4,000 crore rise in its budgetary allocation, the government is sitting on a huge cash pile of thousands of crores it has collected as education cess in the last two years. Today we have abundant financial resources but the fund allocation and utilization has let us down. Most of our public education schemes have been a failure.

The state of government-run primary schools is only too well known. To one of my earlier questions this session, the HRD Ministry stated that it acknowledges the findings of a World Bank and Harvard report that 25 per cent of teachers in government primary schools are absent on a given day, while only 59 per cent of those present actually teach in the classroom. It is high time the government cracked down on its own education schemes, withdrawing all under-performing schemes with immediate effect.

The band of the banned

Activists of a political party have threatened and managed to prevent the screening of the latest Aamir Khan film in Gujarat just because Aamir lent his support to the demand for rehabilitation of people displaced by the Narmada Dam. Although I am of the view that Aamir should have avoided getting into a political controversy, as a citizen of India he has the right to support a cause he believes in. But it is a crude form of vendetta-based politics, if not a brazen display of intolerance, when large political parties prevent a film screening just because one of its actors happened to take a stand opposite to theirs. Seizing upon films to further selfish and political motives is a disturbing trend and, regrettably, it is not the first such incident either. Two years ago in UP, another party had threatened to stall all Shah Rukh films in the state following a tiff between the actor and its high-profile leader. It was only when people defied the ban and overwhelmingly flocked to theaters screening Shah Rukh8217;s earlier films that wisdom prevailed and the ban was lifted.

Da Vinci Code8217;s release in India was delayed by Christian organizations 8212; who threatened to attack theatres 8212; when the Vatican itself had no objection to it. Such rowdy protests and blatant bullying against films is a trend unique to India. Once cleared by the Censor Board, a film should have a free run anywhere in the country. Even though the fallout for the film industry is immense, not a single voice in protest is heard from a spineless industry.

In thin air

Time was when flying an Air Force Jet was the most glamourous job one could dream of but today pilots cite, as reasons for wanting to resign from the IAF, poor working and living conditions and the difficulties of being away from their families. In the past three years, 246 IAF pilots have retired prematurely; 58 pilots left last year alone, even after the IAF tightened its rules, presumably to join private airlines. So desperate is the situation that the Defence Ministry is considering a proposal to allow Air Force pilots to go on deputation in government-run airlines, let them make some money and then rejoin IAF.

But the real problem is still not being addressed. Most aircraft flown by IAF pilots are ancient and the routine MiG crashes only highlight the almost-unnecessary risks they face. The bureaucracy holds up proposals for even simple reforms to improve the working conditions of the pilots. The salaries are a pittance compared to what commercial airlines offer. Unless sweeping reforms are initiated to keep our pilots content by improving their working and living conditions, the government will struggle to keep the flock in check.

The writer is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha