Professionals at Work

A few years ago I fell quite ill and was in the Incentive Care Unit (ICU) for a few days. After my discharge from the ICU, my situation had deteriorated compared to what it was before I was admitted. However, somehow, miraculously, I recovered. My doctor must have been surprised, but to my chagrin, he told me quite as a matter of fact that he had given up on me and was glad to see me alive and kicking. All the while I had been under the impression that medical professionals struggled to save lives!

Fast forward a few years and my parents and I were in the consulting room of a leading cardiologist, to discuss my father’s health. Admittedly nothing was serious and it was a routine check up, yet I was disgusted when the doctor deemed it fit to attend to a call (in the time that we were paying for) to argue about his fee not being paid. He glanced at the reports while on the phone and dismissed them. Of the time that we were there, there was little satisfaction of having been heard. Needless to say we have never been to that specialist ever again.

These are but two incidents that I have had first hand experience of and I am sure they are not the first or the last. We have all at some stage or the other read about the controversies surrounding drug formulation and clinical trials. Many of us have suffered an impact of negligent medical care. Many authors have widely written about malpractices in hospitals. Medical profession is the one entrusted with the lives of the world, unfortunately it is these lives that have become guinea pigs today in the hands of their own trustees.

Another profession entrusted with the shaping up of lives is that of education and it is rather sad to see that globally, the face of education is blemished with greed and incompetence. I have attended a dozen educational institutes (as a student), in varied parts of the world, and yet to my dismay there are very few teachers that I can remember making an impression on me. The one person that I do remember to date is my geography teacher in grade ten, Mrs Jaya Rajagopalan. Teaching for her was not a need, it was not a profession; teaching was her desire and her passion. Her engaging classes not only taught the class the lesson that the curriculum warranted, but she also showed us the way to become good human beings and women of substance. It was entirely her doing that even a restless student like me, who preferred analytical subjects, started taking a keen interest in geography. In fact she highlighted the analytical nature of the subject which had previously been hidden from the front view.

In stark contrast to Mrs Rajagopalan, I have had teachers criticising their mothers-in-law during lecture times or teachers who have had such little hold on their subjects that their lectures have flown out of the window even before hitting the ears of the class or teachers who have outrageously flirted with students during class. A number of these teachers are still teaching and that too in institutions of good repute. From the primary to the tertiary, the standard of education is falling and it is no surprise that a number of parents are opting for home schooling, especially in the west. For those who can afford, education comes at a premium, sometimes necessitating two incomes to support the household. Quality education should be the right of every child but apparently the economics ridden world seems to disagree.

Who should one turn to if one has suffered the ills of the medical profession? Who should one look to fight for ones right to education? While the simple answer would seem to be a legal professional, unfortunately even in that arena, there is little respite. Counsel and solicitors hesitate in taking challenging cases, scared of tarnishing their career record or in fear of standing against an opposing counsel they dare not irk. Even if some do take up cases, the client is serviced based on the interest of her lawyer and not her own. So when justice via the court of law becomes a near impossibility, there are people who seek justice in spite of the court.

With limited educational opportunities, the avenues to earn a living also constrict. With frugal earnings, access to medical care becomes restricted. With low incomes and poor health, incidences of crime increase. And then with limited legal support to set the wrong to right the increase in crimes is not a rationale surprise. So whether it is economics or it is ethics, in my view there needs to be the return of professionalism in the three fields of service mentioned. Otherwise equality, peace and harmony in the world will just remain dreams for the population at large.

Economics of Education

Professor King of East London University turned Halloween 2008 into a “Death of Capitalism” party but he is probably celebrating a little prematurely. Like the immortal Bollywood hero, capitalism has suffered incomprehensible battering, is severely injured and is hooked to enormous life support systems. However, with all global experts aiding resuscitation efforts, recovery is now visible; albeit sluggish. Just like the Bolllywood film, which, without the miraculous recovery of the hero would be a big box office flop; normal life in most of the world today will deflate without the existence of capitalism.

Capitalism has permeated our lives to an extent where most of our actions depend on their economic consequences. This includes even the most basic of human necessities such as access to education. In India for example we permit child labour with the excuse that in some cases it is the only means to help families survive. There is never a thought given to the fact that in addition to employing the tiny hands, the mouldable brains could be simultaneously nourished at the work place. But in the guise of practicality (i.e. economic gain), idealism is in hiding; setting lower benchmarks for the society. And we are thrilled at achievement of the mere stretch of our hands needed to touch these low ceilings.

Thus it is heartening and inspiring to know that the Indian parliament has finally (after six long years) passed the Right to Education bill. Now the state is not only guaranteeing free education to all children between the ages of six and fourteen, but also taking accountability such that a legal action is possible in case a child is wrongfully denied access to schooling. Without diluting the original draft, the bill also requires doing away with donation, capitation and interviewing the child or parents as part of a screening procedure. On the face of it, this seems to be a very fair enactment of a fundamental birthright of children.

There is also a requirement for private schools to reserve 25% of the class capacity at entry levels for the disadvantaged children from the neighbourhood. Now this makes complete sense as opposed to the caste based reservation that exists at the under and post graduate levels in India. The Right to Education bill seems to be aiming at creating a level playing field by providing an equal opportunity to all children and hopefully the government will supplement this in the coming years with financial aid for the meritorious but financially challenged pupils. The current “quota system” on the other hand is a blatant exploitation of the prevalent illiteracy to gain electoral votes.

Coming back to the basis of today’s society, the effective enactment of this bill can have far reaching economic benefits for the country. The theory of economics has for long been a proponent of increase in productivity as a means to economic prosperity. The first step in increasing productivity is increasing education levels. This is proven in examples of both Tamil Nadu and Kerela in India[1]. Literacy rate in Kerela is close to a 100%. The availability of skilled workforce in Kerela has earned it the number 5 position in the country in terms of investment attractiveness and infrastructure penetration. This in turn makes the state the third most affluent state in India.

In the 1980s, Tamil Nadu government decided to introduce the mid-day meals in schools. While it is debatable that the introduction of the scheme was more to gain electoral ballots than to promote education, the non-bureaucratic implementation of the scheme resulted in each child in the state spending an average of seven years at school. This is amongst the highest figures in the country and has contributed to the average 6% - 7% growth of the state economy over the last decade and a half (more than the national average in some years).

These two examples give a small preview of what is achievable if the nation with the world’s second largest population can effectively implement the Right to Education bill. Add to this that the average age of the country is c. 25 years and the impact seems to be even more far reaching.

No economic growth is possible without political stability and education can go a long way in making the Indian population more aware of the realistic situation. India is a land of myriad sensitivities. Varied cultures, languages, religions and castes complicate the comprehension of the simplest of view points. Add to this the extensive illiteracy prevalent and today a potent brew is available for the country’s power hungry politicians. Creating communal tensions and using cultural biases to skew perception of the masses away from the truth is what Indian politicians are most adept at.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) chief[2] has recently used cultural origins to create a so called “social welfare” agenda to fight the upcoming general elections. This is because probably he has no other action point on which he can sway the votes of the people in his favour. Instigating the indigenous population of Maharashtra (against immigrants from other Indian states) seems to be a low hanging fruit from which a violent and visible battle can be started. What the leadership has forgotten to highlight is that while immigration into Mumbai exists, the employment opportunities are also almost on an equal footing. Emigrating to other states in search of better livelihoods is an equal option to the people of Maharashtra. There is no law which is pro-immigrants in the state. And finally the same politicians who are crying foul against north Indians have fought previous general elections with predominantly north Indian parties to win a piece of action in the centre. But why has the common man not thought about these arguments, because his mind has not been trained to think beyond what he hears!

In a recent address Justice Shri S.Rajendra Babu, stated “It [education] emancipates the human beings and leads to liberation from ignorance.”[3] With one step having been taken in the right direction one can only hope that with increasing literacy levels, awareness permeates our social framework, such that we are no longer slaves to someone else’s ideas but we can use our own intelligence to make rationale decisions, understand our rights and acknowledge our duties. Hopefully India’s investment into education will be fair and lead us to more prosperity and stability.

[1] Source: India Brand Equity Forum
[2] Followed by the leadership of the Nationalist Congress Party
[3] Inaugural address by Justice Shri S.Rajendra Babu, Chairperson, NHRC at National Level Seminar on “Right to Education ” held on 11th and 12th September 2008 in New Delhi