High on Hillary

Quality is never a problem with government funding. If only our bureaucrats, engineers and contractors woke up to national interest instead of personal interest. How about an infrastructure cess instead of an education cess or other meaningless cesses.

Adult-erated education

A district collector from UP was in Delhi recently to receive an award for implementing an adult education scheme. But he admitted to me that the scheme was never implemented, and the award was a recognition of his ability to fudge the records. I wasn’t very surprised.

Almost all education schemes — whether known as adult education, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, literacy mission or other similar names — are a big eyewash. In all my years as a journalist or MP, I am yet to meet a single individual who claims to have benefitted from such adult education schemes.

The government earns thousands of crores with its 2 per cent education cess, most of which ends up with the district administration. Often these education schemes are nothing more than a money-making machine for countless NGOs. Schools and institutes exist on paper, get the necessary accreditations, ghost staff and fake students, while commission paid to district magistrates and subordinate officers ensures that nobody rocks the boat.

Instead, half the money spent on such futile schemes should be diverted to primary education, to the government schools which are in dire need of funds.The other half should be channeled to the equally needy primary healthcare.

NASA, no sir

A young man, perhaps backed by another mastermind, and certainly aided by our media, sent the entire nation into a tizzy over his topping the fictional NASA International Scientist Discovery examination. In his few days of fame, Saurabh Singh met President Kalam and was all set to meet PM Manmohan Singh too. Till NASA’s denial. Now, the storm may have died, but the dust refuses to settle.

If we must appropriate the blame, it has to be shared by our media too. Shouldn’t they have cross-checked the veracity of the exam with the NASA authorities instead of taking a 15-year-old’s word for it? Had they made just one call to the NASA’s press department, they would have prevented a lot of embarrassment — to themselves, the Centre and the UP Government, both of which announced cash awards worth lakhs to the youth, and then had to revoke them.

The writer is a Congress MP. He can be reached at shuklarajeev@gmail.com.