FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Keep syllabus of academic year ’20-21
Maintain the syllabus of academic year of 2020-21 only, while reopening schools. It has been observed that, online studies could not work out successfully in the academic year of 2020-21. Therefore academic year of the students of year 2020-21 required to be continued while reopening the schools for the year 2021-22 to achieve basic studies, specially for the students of standards from first to seventh. Due to COVID pandemics, schools could not be opened, owing to which students missed their basic and valuable studies. Computers, laptops, and mobiles cannot take the places of our teachers.
Classroom environment in presence the teachers is practical connection of studies with the students. Minds of students are always focused what teachers interact with them. When teacher simplifies a text book in the classroom, that is a real recitation for the students. The students always adhere to the talk of the teacher. The teachers are the mind setters of students as far as classroom studies are concerned.
Some parents may think that it would be waste of one year of their children. No, we have saved our children from corona, we have matured them with the age of one year to answer the exams of academic year 2020-2021. Don't think that children are detained. They have to restart the same academic education in year 2021-2022 to achieve their missed studies due to COVID.
Merely, passing students without proper and complete studies is not the options as per the law, government has power to amend the rules for the betterment and future of the students.
Rajesh Banaulikar, Arpora
Save a girl child
A girl child has to learn how to defend herself. Parents should teach her judo and karate, instead of cooking, sewing or household chores. She should be told to carry pepper or chilli powder to defend herself and kick at strategic points when attacked. It is very absurd that only skimpy outfits are a provocation for rape.
Was the gang rape victim Nirbaya wearing suggestive attire? Was the five year old who was recently raped in Delhi revealing herself? No "they were subjected to atrocities which only devil and demons are capable of committing. Let us all live like human beings and not animals and pledge to make this world a better place to live.
Diomedes Pereira, Corlim
Let’s determine to stop rape
The negligence on the part of the district hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly left an 11-year-old rape survivor to fend for herself. The girl, a student of Class IV, was admitted to a hospital in Shahjahanpur only after intervention by a child helpline team and the local MLA. The report goes on to add that the girl's father rushed her to the district hospital on January 8. She was sent back home after a preliminary medical examination and had to suffer in pain at home for four days before a child-line team was able to reach her.
On one hand, government's failure in stopping rape brings about a terrible fear among people. On the other hand, negligence of government hospital authority increases concerns of people towards their daughters and sisters.
Let people of every society determine to stop this heinous act teaching our boys and girls and the new generation good morals and manners and train them how to respect a human being.
MN Alam, Saharanpur
Municipal amendment, bad for house owners
The Government on December 22, 2020 has issued the Goa Municipalities (Amendment) Ordinance to further amend the Goa Municipalities Act 1968 with sweeping changes in the taxation protocol both for the trading community and house owners within the jurisdiction of the municipality.
As a knee-jerk reaction, the shopkeepers and traders called for a general strike across the State but later retracted as the Government kept the ordinance in abeyance. Two State ministers, Babu Ajgaonkar and Michael Lobo expressed their solidarity with the traders allegedly with selfish motives to safeguard their own business interests.
While Section 88 specifies provisions with regard to transfer of property, Section 110 relates to the introduction of Capital Valuation System of Taxation for House Tax. This replaces the erstwhile Rateable System of Taxation by taking into account the existing marketable value of the property with a three slab tax structure ranging from 0.1 per cent, 0.5 per cent to 1 (one) per cent. A back of the envelope calculation at the higher end for a one BHK flat valued approximately at Rs 40 lakh works out to Rs 40,000 per annum.
On a conversative estimate that will be the house tax payable on a recurring annual basis. Unlike the trading community who are an organised lot and can down their shutters in protest, the majority of taxpayers will have to fend for themselves without an umbrella organisation to protect them against the new legislation. While the politicos have brought up this discourse in public domain they have basically concentrated on how it will affect traders in the marketplace coming under the jurisdiction of the municipality without dwelling on the plight of the middle class taxpayers who are facing the brunt of the pandemic-induced economic crisis.
Needless to mention here that there are vested interests at play who have an eye on the municipality funds to finance their own interests.
Everette Assis Telles, Margao
Do away with the reservation system
Reservation is detrimental to society and should be done away with. Gandhiji always believed that reservation would create a divide between castes in India. He had proposed that the reservation system be there for 10 years and then be scrapped, but we don’t see that happening today.
Reserving seats for castes that cannot get in on merit is unfair to the open category. This reservation system has become a hurdle for every individual, especially the youth of our country, thereby preventing them from achieving excellence for themselves as well as for the nation. This ultimately leads to lack of motivation, which is not a good indicator for booming economy.
Quota system after 74 years of independence is not acceptable, as it was introduced for the uplift of lower castes to a limited extent, but it is being increased due to the unwarranted interference of politicians. It is time that our government sets up an independent panel to reassess the actual objective behind reservation.
The entire reservation system needs to be reviewed.
KG Vilop, Chorao
Covid-19 vaccine roll out
In a homogeneously complex logistics operation, the Government of India has ensured that the first batch of vaccines reach the farthest corner of the country. Kudos to the Government and all the agencies who have made this possible. And the PM made it very clear that politicians and other so-called VIPs would not get a first shot at the vaccine. The digital platform will assist programme managers across National, State, and District levels while conducting vaccination sessions. It will help them track beneficiary coverage, beneficiary dropouts, sessions planned versus sessions held and vaccine utilisation.
Fortunately, we have a PM who has been able to turn a deaf ear to all the cacophony. India’s exercise to vaccinate its population against COVID-19 shall be the largest immunisation drive of the world. Both the indigenously manufactured vaccines have proven safety and immunogenicity records and are the most important tools to contain the pandemic.
CK Subramaniam, Mumbai
