कभी गुमसुम, कभी हैराँ, कभी नाशाद कर देंगी
तेरी यादें, मेरे हमदम, मुझे बरबाद कर देंगी
बहुत नाज़ुक ये रिश्ता है सो अब ख़ामोश रहता हूँ
न जाने कौन सी बातें तुझे नाराज़ कर देंगी
कोई शिकवा नहीं दिल को इल्म-ऐ-हकीकत है
कोई दिन और हैं बाकी सांसें आज़ाद कर देंगी
Monday, December 30, 2013
कभी गुमसुम, कभी हैराँ, कभी नाशाद कर देंगी
कभी गुमसुम, कभी हैराँ, कभी नाशाद कर देंगी
तेरी यादें, मेरे हमदम, मुझे बरबाद कर देंगी
बहुत नाज़ुक ये रिश्ता है सो अब ख़ामोश रहता हूँ
न जाने कौन सी बातें तुझे नाराज़ कर देंगी
कोई शिकवा नहीं दिल को इल्म-ऐ-हकीकत है
कोई दिन और हैं बाकी सांसें आज़ाद कर देंगी
Saturday, December 28, 2013
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
Prime Minister’s concern about
the declining quality of education in India is worth giving a relook. He
rightly noticed that the Indian Universities have failed to make up to the list
of world’s top educations institutions. He has talked about the lack of
inter-disciplinary researched, shortage of faculty, growing demand of education
with expanding economy and population.
India has been neglecting heath
and education sector for a long time. We have very low budgetary allocation for
both the sectors. Our budgetary allocation for education in 2013 budget stood
at: Rs. 65, 000 crore. Out of which, the flagship scheme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA) was allocated Rs.27,258 crore (aimed at implementing the Right to Education Act that
promises education to all children in the 6-14 age group).
Amartya Sen is of the view that
heath an education do not only help in improving the human capital that goes on
to support the economic growth but the two actually lies at the very heart of
the development goals of a State. There is a complementarity here. If people won’t
be healthy and educated all other developments will become soulless and
unsustainable.
We have talked about increasing literacy
percentage in India but it should be noted that the definition of literacy had
been 'both ability to read and write in any language’ as per Ministry of Home
Affairs, GoI. Several studies have shown that students in class five find it
difficult to add or subtract four digit numbers. The mid-day meal scheme has
been instrumental in improving the enrolment figures but quality of education
imparted is still a question mark. Then there is a problem of shortage or
absentee teachers. Without a holistic scheme on education that includes
training teachers and incentivising the occupation of teaching by raising
salaries, we cannot hope for achieving the right ends.
Corporate investment under
Corporate Social Responsibility in raising educational incubators can improve the
educational facilities in higher education.
Education and Skill Development and the 12th Five Year Plan
The 12th five year plan
identifies the concern that a fifth grade student finds difficulty in reading a
second grade text at many places. It calls for decentralization of recruitment
process of the teachers so as to address the problem of accountability in
teacher selection process. There are half-million vacancies of teachers in
India. For the successful implementation of RTE, 2009, teacher recruitment
becomes the first priority. 0.6 Million teachers in public schools are untrained.
The National Curriculum Framework
for Teacher Education, 2009 calls for a shift to four year teacher training
programme. To access the grade competency and quality of teacher there should a
grading system in place. The government can also consider training teacher
under PPP model.
MDMS can draw private investments
if the government comes up with certain tax exemption for private investors who
are willing to invest in education. There is also a need of to converge the
Central schemes such as MGNREGA with education schemes to as we can provide a
holistic development to the poor. Web based monitoring of SSA and MDMS aimed at
making the schemes more transparent can make the implementers more accountable
to public.
Expansion of Secondary Education
Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) at
the secondary school stage (classes IX-X) is currently around 60.0 % which is
very low. The Rastriya Madhamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) was launched during the
11th five year plan with an aim of improving the enrolment and
quality in secondary schools. The centrally funded Kendriya Vidyalayas and
Navodyalayas have done well so far. There is a need expanding their coverage.
Right now there are 1,060 KVs and 576 NVs.
Vocational training should be aligned
with school education. This will improve occupational mobility. The National
Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) is already in place.
Higher Education
Currently 18% of budget allocated
for education is spent on higher education. It should be raised to 25 %. State
Universities and their affiliated institutions provide for 90% of total
enrolment and yet they suffer from severe fund constraints and poor governance.
Some reforms are underway.
Educational tribunals for quick redressal of disputes, National Commission on
Higher Education and Research (NCHER) to ensure more autonomy of the
institution and entry of foreign education providers.
There is need of connecting the
students with the society. The NSS and NCC need adequate boost. Our problems
can be solved with our innovation and that can come with more engagement of the
educational centers with the public.
In India the scientific and
research community works in isolation and there is little contact with the
students pursuing graduate courses. This has to be corrected. When the students
will have more contact, they will aspire to go into research and it will help
in improving the quality of research in the long run.
ICT and Distance Education:
Prasaar Bharti have been using
the television platform for educational purposes. ISRO launched GSAT-3 (EDUSAT)
in 2004. The satellite is totally meant for educational purposes. Many people
or India who don’t have access of means, can get education through satellite.
More investment in such endeavour coupled with improvement in technology can go
a long way in educating more and more Indians.
There are three challenges involved
in distant education:
1. Challenge
of Language: India is a multi-lingual country and it is not possible to meet
the needs of one and all without translating the study material in several
languages.
2. Challenge
of content: Being a vast nation, the content has to vary from place to place.
3. Challenge
of Cost: India is still battling to provide for the basic needs of living such
as food and shelter to a vast number of its people. The network devices are
costly. Aakash tablets are still to come up with some glitches such as low
battery backup, low capability etc.
With advancement of Information
and Communication Technology, the next goal that India can eye upon can be
spread of internet network and connecting more and more people with data so
that they can teach themselves.
ANNEXURE
What is the mandate of UGC?
UGS is a statutory body, established
in November 1956 by the GoI.
·
Promoting and coordinating university education.
·
Determining and maintaining standards of teaching, examination
and research in universities.
·
Framing regulations on minimum standards of education.
·
Monitoring developments in the field of collegiate and
university education; disbursing grants to the universities and colleges.
·
Serving as a vital link between the Union and state governments
and institutions of higher learning.
·
Advising the Central and State governments on the measures
necessary for improvement of university education.
What is AICTE?
The AICTE was constituted in 1945
as an advisory body in all matters relating to technical education.
AICTE is an Apex which has
several functions, some of them being:
·
Undertake survey in the various fields of
technical education, collect data on all related matters and make forecast of
the needed growth and development in technical education;
·
Coordinate the development of the technical
education in the country at all levels;
·
Allocate and disburse out of the Fund of the
Council such grants, on such terms and conditions as it may think fit to
institutions.
·
Promote innovations, research and development in
established and new technologies, generation, adoption and adaptation of new
technologies to meet development requirements and for over-all improvement of
educational processes.
·
Formulate schemes for promoting technical
education for women, handicapped and weaker sections of the society
·
Promote an effective link between technical
education system and other relevant systems including research and development
organizations, industry and the community.
·
Evolve suitable performance appraisal systems
for technical institutions and universities imparting technical education,
incorporating norms and mechanisms for enforcing accountability;
·
Formulate schemes for the initial and in service
training of teachers and identify institutions or centers and set up new
centers for offering staff development programmes including continuing
education of teachers
·
Lay down norms and standards for courses,
curricula, physical and instructional facilities, staff pattern, staff
qualifications, quality instructions, assessment and examinations.
·
Fix norms and guidelines for charging tuition
and other fees.
·
Grant approval for starting new technical
institutions and for introduction of new courses or programmes in consultation
with the agencies concerned.
·
Advise the Central Government in respect of
grant of charter to any professional body or institution in the field of
technical education conferring powers, rights and privileges on it for the
promotion of such profession in its field including conduct of examinations and
awarding of membership certificates.
·
Lay down norms for granting autonomy to technical
institutions.
·
Take all necessary steps to prevent
commercialization of technical education.
·
Provide guidelines for admission of students to
technical institutions and Universities imparting technical education.
·
Inspect or cause to inspect any technical
institutions.
·
Withhold or discontinue grants in respect of
courses, programmes to such technical institutions which fail to comply with
the directions given by the Council within the stipulated period of time and
take such other steps as may be necessary for ensuring compliance of the
directions of Council;
·
Etc.
What is the mandate and functions of NCERT?
(a) Research and development.
(b) In-service and pre-service
training.
(c) Dissemination of research on
school education in India.
Accordingly NCERT:
• Develops curricula,
instructional materials, teaching aids and learning resources;
• Organizes pre-service and
in-service training of teachers, of teacher educators, and of other educational
personnel;
• Conducts and promotes
educational research related to pedagogical improvement;
• Disseminates improved
pedagogical techniques, practices and research findings;
• Acts as a clearing house of
ideas and information for all matters relating to school and teacher education.
मैं धीरे धीरे पंख फैलाने लगा
मैं धीरे धीरे पंख फैलाने लगा
मैं आज़ाद हूँ
मैं आज़ाद हूँ
अब फिर से कई बरसों के बाद
न चाह है के कुछ कहूं - कुछ सोचूँ
न सवाल हैं, न दुःख, न दर्द
न रही चाह दूर टहलते जाने की
दूर अपने सच से कहीं दूर निकल जाने की
न चाह रही किसी और से सहमति पाने की
सामंजस्य बनाने की
मैं आज़ाद हूँ
अब फिर से कई बरसों के बाद
शांत हूँ, मौन हूँ, खुश हूँ
मैं - मैं में पूरा हूँ
अब मैं अधूरा नहीं
मुझसे जानना चाहोगे के जिंदगी क्या है ?
तुम यहाँ क्यूँ और तुम क्या हो ?
मैं जानता हूँ तुम नहीं मानोगे
पर मैं बतलाता हूँ
तुम मैं हो
मैं तुम हूँ
यहाँ कुछ भी दो नहीं
केवल एक है
एक शून्य, एक व्योम, एक दूर तक फैला विस्तृत आकाश
नहीं मानते हो न ?
मैं जानता हूँ तुम नहीं मानोगे
तुम लड़ोगे हर तर्क-वितर्क से
बुद्धि तुम्हे सोचने नहीं देगी
तुम नहीं मानोगे
मैं आज़ाद हूँ
मैं देखता हूँ
एक बाज़ार - दुकानदारों का, करीदारों को और भिखारियों का
राजाओं का, रंकों का, सेनापतियों और संतरियों का
खबरों का, चर्चाओं का, सोच का विचार का
एक जंग - अहम् की, एहंकार की, द्वेष की, अपनी - पराई
एक निरंतर गोल गोल घूमता पहिया
कोल्हू का बैल, अपनी दम को पकड़ता एक कुत्ता
मैं देखता हूँ
एक दोस्त, एक दुश्मन, एक दंगा, एक आग, एक चीखता बच्चा
पर मानोगे मेरी बात
यहाँ दो कुछ भी नहीं
सब पर्याय है यूँ समझो
एक ही शब्द के
एक ही अर्थ है
एक ही आशय है
तुम मैं हो
मैं तुम हूँ
मैं आज़ाद हूँ
मैं देखता हूँ
मैं उलझता नहीं
इस बाज़ार में
इस छीटाकशी में
इक तर्क-वितर्क के घेरों में
इस अहंकार - जनित माया में
मैं गीता से परे हूँ
मैं केशव वचनों से परे हूँ
अनछुआ हूँ
महाभारत के मैदान में उठती धुल में
श्वेत-वस्त्र में साफ़ सुथरा हूँ
katate गिरते सहीरों के बीच हँसता हूँ
खुश हूँ
तुम नहीं मानते न
के तुम मैं हो मैं तुम हूँ
चलो यूँ समझो
के कुछ भी नहीं
न डरती न सूरज एंड अम्बर अन व्योम न जीवन न मरण न पत्थर न देवता
न हंसी न ख़ुशी न दुःख न सुख न रिश्ते न नाते न उम्र न समय
कुछ न होना कुछ होना है क्या ?
बुद्धि को रोक सकते हो इस शून्य में ? नहीं न ..
तारका हैं वितर्क है
सोच है सब कुछ तो है
तुम हो तुम्हारा नाम है
तुम्हारी पहचान है
फिर कुछ कैसे नहीं ?
संभव कहाँ है तुम्हारे लिए ऐसे शून्य में ठहर पाना ?
तुम तो बाध्य हो अपनी प्रकृति से सोचने के लिए, बंधने के लिए एक पहचान में, एक नाम में एक स्वरुप में
तुम आज़ाद कैसे होगे कहो ?
नहीं samajhte न
जब मैं कहता हूँ
के तुम मैं हो
और मैं तुम हूँ
यहाँ कुछ भी दो नहीं
एक ही अर्थ है
एक ही आशय है
एक ही कविता है
एक ही गीत है
एक की चित्र है
एक ही दर्शक है
एक ही श्रोता है
एक ही चित्रकार है
एक ही सत्य है
एक ही असत्य है
एक की निर्वाण है
एक ही मोक्ष है
एक ही aastik है
एक ही नास्तिक है
एक ही बागवान है
एक ही इंसान है
एक ही दैत्य है
एक ही असुर है
एक ही पहाड़ है
एक की नदी है
एक ही तालाब है
एक की kankar है
एक ही लहर है
एक ही सूरज है
एक ही शाम है
एक ही शराब है
एक ही साकी है
एक ही हिंदी है
एक ही उर्दू है
एक ही कवी है
एक ही शायर है
एक ही मैं हूँ
एक ही तुम हो
तुम मैं हो
मैं तुम हूँ
कहो कितने बड़े हो तुम अब
अपने शरीर जितने ?
क्या उम्र है तुम्हारी
दो तिथियों के बीच ?
कितना जी पाए हो अब तक
कितने जीने की है इक्षा कहो ?
मानते हो मेरी बात ?
समझते हो क्या तुम
मैं जो कह रहा हूँ?
नहीं न ?
चलो जाने दो...
फिर पढना मुझे
फिर कभी
किसी और दिन
अभी तुम तुम हो
तुम मैं नहीं ...
तुम आओगे एक दिन
मैं जानता हूँ
स्वेत वस्त्रों में
युध भूमि में जय-पराजय को रख कर अपने पीछे
हँसते हुए
तुम्हारे वस्त्रों पर कोई daag नहीं होगा
तुम आज़ाद होगे
तुम मैं होगे
मैं तुम हूँगा
ये होगा मैं देखता हूँ
इतना ही होना है क्यूंकि
इससे ज्यादा कोई अर्थ नहीं है
आशय नहीं है
इस काल चक्र का
यहाँ सब कुछ एक ही है
और एक में ही सिमट रहा है ...
कितनी पकती की ये कविता कहो ?
खाली पन्ना ही तो है ...
----------------------------
- ये तुम्हारी कविता है
A possible US-Iran Alliance?
America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.
Henry Kissinger
In 2011 Putin brought up the idea of Eurasian Union with an idea of integrating the Soviet-era States into an economic and political unit, much on the lines of the European Union. Armenia, Azerbaizan, Georgia, Belarus, Khazakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgystan have shown their interest in such a grouping. Any such grouping is going to be of grave concern for USA. Post Cold war, this would be the first time when the US hegemony as a world power will stand be challenged by a neo-USSR in the name of Eurasian Union, which more than economic and political entity might serve as an strategic entity.
The Syrian crisis and the Russian show of influence in the way the things are going, has already given USA enough reason to rethink its geo-political policies in the Middle East region
Note that Israel and Saudi Arabia (both US allies) badly wanted military intervention in Syria. Syria has been an ally of Shia majority Iran. Syria is a Sunni majority State but is ruled by Alawite ethnic group, who comprise the minority of its population and have sympathies of Iran. The Northern region of Syria is dominated by Kurds, who have been demanding more autonomy. Kurds also, comprise a major population in Southern Turkey and here comes the interest of Turkey in whatever is happening in Syria. The Assad government has been sympathetic to the Kurd demands and Turkey sees this as a possible threat as it can strengthen the Kurdish in Southern Turkey. For Turkey the best thing would be the fal of Assad regime so that a moderate Sunni government can come to power and suppress the Kurdish voices of self assertion. Turkey wont draw itself into the Syrian conflict and has given refuge to the Syrian refugees. But Turkey has huge stakes in whatever emerges after the present Syrian civil war. For Israel and Saudi Arabia, such a shift in power won't mean much. Total isolation of Syria from Iran is what these countries are looking forward for.
Amidst all this, the developments related to controlling the Iranian nuclear programs was also seen by both these States as a possible ticket to militarily confront Iran and weaken its influence in the region. This could have happened with the way Ahmedinijad was handing the developments. With new government coming in the picture seems to be changing now.
No one can have any difficulty in accepting the idea of a possible US-Iranian alliance in future. Already, Rouhani's liberal tone and the Geneva peace agreement coupled with the Syrian crisis slowly shifting to a possible settlement without dismantling of its government or military intervention, has embittered US-Israel and US-Saudi ties. Russia probably proved to be more powerful in deciding the fate of Syrian crisis than the US (by the way, its yet to come to a final conclusion).
US is also having stakes in the East China sea, with China getting assertive by unilaterally declaring an ADIZ. Any US intervention in favor of Japan will affect the US-China ties. Who all would be the allies of the US outside Europe, if all these crises and possible crises escalate? As far as Iran's ideological position and internal resistance against Iran-US ties are concerned, sanctions will weaken all such forces plus what choices does Iran have? Iran has hegemonic aspirations in the middle East. Without US support, with an expansionist Russia and an unstable Afghanistan, who are the Iranian allies on whom Iran can rely upon? Certainly any US-Iranian alliance wont come up just like that, but then I can see no other feasible option for either US or Iran to go ahead in the region without each other and still be able to achieve what they want to.
Russia is again coming face to face with the US like never before post cold-war period and US will not leave any stone un-turned to counter the expansion of Russian influence in the middle east. East China sea, for the time being, may be just an isolated event but there is a possibility of Russia getting assertive in the region too and thereby making the situation more serious for the US.