Misquoting Sadhguru on Education — Part 1
Sadhguru spoke about education system recently in a Satsang event and is being targeted by certain elements in the society for that. Let’s look at the facts.
Did Sadhguru actually ask for shutting down of Government schools?
NO
Did Sadhguru ask for Government to provide school fees for poor children?
YES
Did Sadhguru suggest vocational training in schools?
YES
Did Sadhguru ask for Government to not run schools?
YES — It was a suggestion because some of them are being run in a pathetic manner.
Is the state of Government schools really bad in Tamilnadu?
YES — anybody who has ever been to a typical government school in TN will know the truth. There is no hiding it as the media records have made it very clear.
https://scroll.in/article/821820/tamil-nadus-schools-are-in-crisis-but-nobody-is-talking-about-it
Many Government schools in Tamilnadu are shutting down or are on the verge of shutting down.
Does anyone think that the state Government has so much more money and is
- Letting the free schools be shut down just like that?
- Letting its teachers protest for salaries just like that?
Are all Government schools of Tamilnadu in a pathetic shape?
NO. But many are.
There are systemic problems with the Government schools, not just in Tamilnadu but in many parts of the country.
- Lack of good teachers & No skill-enhancement options for teachers
- No attendance from children because they have to work
- Student drop-out ratio is high
- Lack of building & school infrastructure
What can be done for making education better in Govt schools in Tamilnadu?
There are several suggestions that have been made over years to fix the problems with Tamilnadu Government schools.
Solution #1 — Revamping the entire school infrastructure & teachers.
This is a no-brainer but is going to cost like heck. Fixing each school along with trainings for teachers is estimated to be about Rs 2 cr. With more than 37000 such schools, the costs involved is so high.
https://www.staffnews.in/2020/09/number-of-schools-state-ut-wise-total-number.html
Also, every year, education sector gets the maximum allocation in budget. Yet, we are not able to fix this. A disproportionate amount from the budget is simply going towards the salary and incentives for the teachers, compared to the spending on infrastructure and amenities for school children.
Spending more money on setting the school infrastructure right does not seem to be a very practical solution, given the budget limitations of the state, and could take a very long time.
Solution #2 — Let private organizations adopt a school.
This is a viable option & I believe TN govt is already having this option open.
https://www.staffnews.in/2020/09/number-of-schools-state-ut-wise-total-number.html
There are apparently no budget constraints. But how many corporates have come forth to do it is the question?
If many good hearts can influence the corporates, it will be nice. This process will be long and there have to be clear laws put in place if the corporates mess up with imparting education.
Solution #3: What Sadhguru has suggested, that let Governments not manage the schools and rather pay school fees for the underprivileged.
This is very similar to what Mr Maridhas had proposed some time back as well.
So, obviously people will now question how will government pay lakhs of rupees for each child? That’s where education laws should come in place.
Why can the Government not fix a minimum and maximum fee (fees range) depending on the education and extra-curricular facilities a school provides, for the underprivileged?
Can this be done?
YES
Will it be liked by everyone?
NO
Will private schools be ok with it?
LIKELY YES — if it is made into a law
Will this save any money for the Government?
YES — Check Maridhas’ video where has given all the financial stats in this regards.
More Ideas: These and more solutions have been proposed over time to better the state of education in Tamilnadu.
Why Target Sadhguru?
But why did no one corner Scroll or IndiaToday for publishing their opinions about the bad state of TN govt schools?
Why is Sadhguru alone being targeted for his suggestion?
The people who are targeting him are primarily:
- Ignorant people who do not know the facts about our schools & what can be done to make it better
- Periyarists and DMK folks, who are simply abusive
The latter really have no basis, except that their own business interests are at stake if such steps are taken.
These are all CBSE schools run by the DMK politicians / their kin and with such a move, they will be forced to get lesser fees from the poor children. This is not just problem for the DMK party but many other political parties as well. If top politicians set aside their petty political ideologies aside and really want to make education affordable in TN, they certainly can.
Will all those who are accusing and abusing Sadhguru please ask their political leaders first to toe this line by accommodating poor, underprivileged children in their schools? Let’s see that happen!
