On Differing Systems of Education
ZD: "I'm going to be honest. I don't know anything about this topic."
LT: "Neither do I, but I'm going to pretend I do."
ZD: "That's what makes you a politician, and me a journalist."
India is probably not the first country that comes to mind when one thinks of nightlife. Spain or Italy are most likely the leading contenders, and the United States puts up a strong showing. Nevertheless, at least in Pune, there is an already well-established nocturnal scene for the kids who like to play in the dark, and in a city that is home to several of the best universities in the nation the local culture is well able to provide for such diversions any day (or night, I should say) of the week, due no doubt to the considerable student population. Unaware of this, a certain Californian Jew who was previously a roommate of Chhatrapati Lukeji once questioned the evening activities of Lukeji, subtly insinuating that his conditions were preferential. And though I suspect he may be correct (he is in Tel Aviv for the semester), Pune is home to a wealth of nighttime festivities that keep the Chhatrapati well occupied.
ZD: "I'm going to be honest. I don't know anything about this topic."
LT: "Neither do I, but I'm going to pretend I do."
ZD: "That's what makes you a politician, and me a journalist."
India is probably not the first country that comes to mind when one thinks of nightlife. Spain or Italy are most likely the leading contenders, and the United States puts up a strong showing. Nevertheless, at least in Pune, there is an already well-established nocturnal scene for the kids who like to play in the dark, and in a city that is home to several of the best universities in the nation the local culture is well able to provide for such diversions any day (or night, I should say) of the week, due no doubt to the considerable student population. Unaware of this, a certain Californian Jew who was previously a roommate of Chhatrapati Lukeji once questioned the evening activities of Lukeji, subtly insinuating that his conditions were preferential. And though I suspect he may be correct (he is in Tel Aviv for the semester), Pune is home to a wealth of nighttime festivities that keep the Chhatrapati well occupied.
There is only one issue; despite the rich cultural heritage of the various musical styles of India, the thumping beats and maximum intensity house music blaring from the speakers is imported from the US and Europa. Some DJs do mix in some songs in Hindi and Punjabi, but those numbers are few and far between. At least the style of dance shows more class than in the clubs of the US, but I was rather disappointed to have inadvertently corrupted a few of the Indian females of our group, who in the style and spirit of the soundtrack adopted movements more akin to those across the globe. This was truly not my intention, though a Miss Chhatrapati Lukeji may believe otherwise.
Moving ahead to Wednesday, at long last the App for Carmen Sandiego was released on Facebook. Growing up slightly after the generation of Schoolhouse Rock, the re-release of Carmen Sandiego, combined with Math Blaster and the Jump Start Series rocked my grade school world. In addition to being one of several childhood fantasy crushes, Carmen Sandiego was everything that I wanted to be. She was smooth, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and incredibly elusive, even against the cunning acumen of the Acme agents, whose fearless operatives and eccentric masterminds were always two steps behind her and her dim-witted but devious henchmen. Her motives were mysterious, but her primary objective always bordered on a fantastic quest for knowledge, and indeed many of the treasures that she sought (and stole) were intangible objects that could not, in fact, be stolen (i.e., the Great Wall of China). Her imperial red trench coat and matching fedora that covered her eyes (sometimes portrayed as green, and other times amber brown), were downright sexy. Without doubt, she is in the top five fictional characters who I wish were real, along with Randy Marsh, Hiro Protagonist, Artemis Fowl, and Austin Danger Powers.
During our class discussions in Issues in Political and Economic Development (IPED), we addressed the definition of development, and whether the reality of development is feasible and/or appropriate for India and other parts of the developing world. A major controversy is whether development, which is a heavily influenced by Western values, should supersede traditional Indian values as India ascends to a position of global influence. We also argued over the pragmatism of education in rural India, and whether such initiatives truly prepare the students of the village for increasingly urban life in the 21st century. Being an idealist, it is uncharacteristic of me to argue that such initiatives are not effective, yet as the honeymoon effects of our tribal visit have now diminished I can re-examine our endeavor afresh.
It is not true to claim that we visited any of the village educational institutions, for we did not. Nevertheless, it is evident even from a surface perspective that there is a considerable gap between education and a corresponding niche in India's economic structure for these students. While it is wrong to abandon the youth in these villages, in many cases the educational initiatives fall far short of what is necessary to assimilate Indian students from rural areas into the urban economy. This is not unique to India, and one could argue that even in the United States there exists such a gap. But the focus of our debate was not on a comparison to other parts of the world, and we considered only India during the sessions.
In India, it is required that the government provide formal education up to the age of fourteen, which corresponds to the tenth standard. Beyond this, many students in rural villages find themselves without the means of continuing any formal education, and proceed to a career according to the profession of their parents. In the villages that we visited, which were prosperous relative to many others, the initiatives of the NGO had increased their family wealth, and the younger generation had more opportunities to interact with and observe urban life. While the growing prosperity is a direct benefit of such initiatives, the effect on the youth was mixed. Many became disinterested in carrying on in the tradition of their parents, and were desirous of seeking employment in an urban setting. Without proper training, however, they are left with few options, and run an inherent risk of leaving behind a life of rural poverty for a life of urban poverty.
None of the above commentary is intended to discredit the monumental and widespread progress that India has made. If anything, our discussion highlighted the fallacies of the Western model, asserting the often problematic emphasis on consumption and individualism as dual structural flaws within the liberalized mentality. With India poised to compel substantial change in the global economic structure, a central point of intrigue will be whether she may retain traditional values while fully participating in open multilateral trade. If so, perhaps India will succeed where the West failed, and in doing so mark a point of departure from the current global economy to a new system in which the collective society in place of the individual is of paramount importance.
On Friday we had a guest lecture from a member of the Indian Revenue Service. Though the Internal Revenue Service in the United States is not the most popular federal institution, in India civil servants are generally credited with more prestige, even in the revenue department. In the movie Stranger Than Fiction, Will Ferrell, playing the role of an IRS agent, visits a psychologist to voice his concerns over what he believes to be attempts on his life. The psychologist, concerned, asks if there is anyone who would hate him enough to do such a thing. "I'm an IRS agent," he replies. "Everyone hates me."
Despite his profession, we did not hate our guest lecturer. In fact, his discourse was thoroughly fascinating. He explained that the Indian Civil Service (ICS), a highly prestigious career, is desirable for a variety of reasons. Firstly, although the salary is not as high as in the corporate sector, civil servants at the higher levels receive no shortage of perks. Prestige, power, and and job security also make the ICS a highly coveted position. And lastly, though not a universal attribute of the service, the intrinsic nature of the career is based on a contribution to civil society.
The requirements to become a civil servant in India are very high. Of 200,000 applicants per annum, only 800 are selected for the service, a figure that is even less than in the US, which accepts approximately 2% of applicants to the .004% that India accepts. There are a number of exams, beginning with an objective test, and progressing to more rigorous, specialized exams. The final stage is an interview in front of a five person panel. Following this process, and if selected, the new civil servant will submit his or her top three preferences for the department in which they would like to serve. Our lecturer admitted that revenue was not his top choice (surprise, surprise), and stated that the Intelligence Department and the Foreign Service were the most competitive. Nevertheless, he was happy enough to have passed the exams, and his job was anything but dull. Tax evasion in India remains a colossal problem, as the poor are not required to pay taxes and the wealthy are adept at avoiding them. He estimated that the equivalent of USD 1 Trillion of taxable Indian incomes were currently stashed in secret accounts in European banks, a figure which would effectively double the central government's faux Louis Vuitton pursestrings.
As a student focusing on economic development in South Asia, I could probably carry on for awhile, but it is now Saturday night, and the night is young. The rundown closure for the week to commence: 1) Happy birthday to my German housemate. Your party last night was sehr gut, and your coworkers were awesome. 2) An apology to my US and Indian friends who tonight find themselves in Lonavala minus a Chhatrapati Lukeji. I am sure that you will find something to do tonight in a hotel in a Maharashtrian hill station with massive amounts of alcohol at your disposal. Just a guess. 3) A discussion with my host mom about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, an extremist Hindu organization) proved quite interesting, but I may not take her up on the offer to observe a public display of their pseudo-militant pageantry. I'm cool with the Muslims. 4) Good luck on tracking those materialistic, tax-evading scumbags, civil servant and protector of Indian revenue. It certainly sounds like a tremendous responsibility, perhaps a task worthy of the criminal genius of Carmen Sandiego. Though a lesser criminal would take it all back, my lady in red is not interested in dirty money. Besides, why rob the Bank of India when you could steal the Taj Mahal?
During our class discussions in Issues in Political and Economic Development (IPED), we addressed the definition of development, and whether the reality of development is feasible and/or appropriate for India and other parts of the developing world. A major controversy is whether development, which is a heavily influenced by Western values, should supersede traditional Indian values as India ascends to a position of global influence. We also argued over the pragmatism of education in rural India, and whether such initiatives truly prepare the students of the village for increasingly urban life in the 21st century. Being an idealist, it is uncharacteristic of me to argue that such initiatives are not effective, yet as the honeymoon effects of our tribal visit have now diminished I can re-examine our endeavor afresh.
It is not true to claim that we visited any of the village educational institutions, for we did not. Nevertheless, it is evident even from a surface perspective that there is a considerable gap between education and a corresponding niche in India's economic structure for these students. While it is wrong to abandon the youth in these villages, in many cases the educational initiatives fall far short of what is necessary to assimilate Indian students from rural areas into the urban economy. This is not unique to India, and one could argue that even in the United States there exists such a gap. But the focus of our debate was not on a comparison to other parts of the world, and we considered only India during the sessions.
In India, it is required that the government provide formal education up to the age of fourteen, which corresponds to the tenth standard. Beyond this, many students in rural villages find themselves without the means of continuing any formal education, and proceed to a career according to the profession of their parents. In the villages that we visited, which were prosperous relative to many others, the initiatives of the NGO had increased their family wealth, and the younger generation had more opportunities to interact with and observe urban life. While the growing prosperity is a direct benefit of such initiatives, the effect on the youth was mixed. Many became disinterested in carrying on in the tradition of their parents, and were desirous of seeking employment in an urban setting. Without proper training, however, they are left with few options, and run an inherent risk of leaving behind a life of rural poverty for a life of urban poverty.
None of the above commentary is intended to discredit the monumental and widespread progress that India has made. If anything, our discussion highlighted the fallacies of the Western model, asserting the often problematic emphasis on consumption and individualism as dual structural flaws within the liberalized mentality. With India poised to compel substantial change in the global economic structure, a central point of intrigue will be whether she may retain traditional values while fully participating in open multilateral trade. If so, perhaps India will succeed where the West failed, and in doing so mark a point of departure from the current global economy to a new system in which the collective society in place of the individual is of paramount importance.
On Friday we had a guest lecture from a member of the Indian Revenue Service. Though the Internal Revenue Service in the United States is not the most popular federal institution, in India civil servants are generally credited with more prestige, even in the revenue department. In the movie Stranger Than Fiction, Will Ferrell, playing the role of an IRS agent, visits a psychologist to voice his concerns over what he believes to be attempts on his life. The psychologist, concerned, asks if there is anyone who would hate him enough to do such a thing. "I'm an IRS agent," he replies. "Everyone hates me."
Despite his profession, we did not hate our guest lecturer. In fact, his discourse was thoroughly fascinating. He explained that the Indian Civil Service (ICS), a highly prestigious career, is desirable for a variety of reasons. Firstly, although the salary is not as high as in the corporate sector, civil servants at the higher levels receive no shortage of perks. Prestige, power, and and job security also make the ICS a highly coveted position. And lastly, though not a universal attribute of the service, the intrinsic nature of the career is based on a contribution to civil society.
The requirements to become a civil servant in India are very high. Of 200,000 applicants per annum, only 800 are selected for the service, a figure that is even less than in the US, which accepts approximately 2% of applicants to the .004% that India accepts. There are a number of exams, beginning with an objective test, and progressing to more rigorous, specialized exams. The final stage is an interview in front of a five person panel. Following this process, and if selected, the new civil servant will submit his or her top three preferences for the department in which they would like to serve. Our lecturer admitted that revenue was not his top choice (surprise, surprise), and stated that the Intelligence Department and the Foreign Service were the most competitive. Nevertheless, he was happy enough to have passed the exams, and his job was anything but dull. Tax evasion in India remains a colossal problem, as the poor are not required to pay taxes and the wealthy are adept at avoiding them. He estimated that the equivalent of USD 1 Trillion of taxable Indian incomes were currently stashed in secret accounts in European banks, a figure which would effectively double the central government's faux Louis Vuitton pursestrings.
As a student focusing on economic development in South Asia, I could probably carry on for awhile, but it is now Saturday night, and the night is young. The rundown closure for the week to commence: 1) Happy birthday to my German housemate. Your party last night was sehr gut, and your coworkers were awesome. 2) An apology to my US and Indian friends who tonight find themselves in Lonavala minus a Chhatrapati Lukeji. I am sure that you will find something to do tonight in a hotel in a Maharashtrian hill station with massive amounts of alcohol at your disposal. Just a guess. 3) A discussion with my host mom about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, an extremist Hindu organization) proved quite interesting, but I may not take her up on the offer to observe a public display of their pseudo-militant pageantry. I'm cool with the Muslims. 4) Good luck on tracking those materialistic, tax-evading scumbags, civil servant and protector of Indian revenue. It certainly sounds like a tremendous responsibility, perhaps a task worthy of the criminal genius of Carmen Sandiego. Though a lesser criminal would take it all back, my lady in red is not interested in dirty money. Besides, why rob the Bank of India when you could steal the Taj Mahal?
You said: “ the educational initiatives fall far short of what is necessary to assimilate Indian students from rural areas into the urban economy.”
ReplyDeleteMy question is: should education in the rural setting be geared towards preparing the youth for an urban setting or towards more pragmatic skills that will improve their lives in rural settings. While interning with Nourishing the Planet, I have come across numerous NGOs that are working to try and keep children in rural settings and educate them on better farming practices that will solve food security issues and create economic opportunities.
I am not suggesting that youth in the rural areas should not have the choice of where they want to live and work, but I think that a principal reason there is high volume of rural to urban migration in India, and other developing countries, is due to lack of economic opportunities in the rural setting and the promise of better ones in the cities. And lets face it, our cities do not have the capacity for this trend to continue.
And, its not to say that more pragmatic education for rural areas is focused solely on farming techniques; there are NGOs that are working to educate children and adults in rural regions with ICT skills, accounting and business skills.
I will not deny that there is a gap in quality between education in the cities and the villages of India. But, I don't think that education in the rural areas should be geared towards assimilating them towards an urban economy.
Supriya